Tea Party

I have been cleaning out the garage recently. (When am I NOT cleaning out the garage? sigh) My parents are often bringing over my old school stuff and random items that are incorporated into our perpetual garage renovation. I ran across some boxes brought over a year ago. (See how prompt I am about taking care of things in there?) My mother had mentioned a tea set painted by my Great Grandmother, Dorothy Haire, but I had never taken all the pieces out.

Well, as I pulled the pieces out, I realized that there were just lovely. There is a cup, saucer, small plate, and dessert plate for each unique flower; eight in all, handpainted.

I was very impressed, but not nearly as excited as the house full of girls I own. Naturally, they decided on the spot that they were going to have a tea party. They planned the whole thing and made invitations for their friends. My favorite part of the invitation read: We have real tea stuff, but no bad tea. (ha)

They scheduled it for Spring Break, which was great so we could have a little brunch. The girls danced and I finished the last preparations and then we all sat down to test mom's nerves and see if she would be able to handle so many little fingers handling a precious tea set that was being used for the first time. 

I honestly believe that if you have something, you should use it and it shouldn't just gather dust on a shelf. However, if you break something the first time you use it, that is just a pity.

Luckily (and probably helped by multiple prayers) nothing was broken. All the girls were very careful. They even practiced putting out pinkies and acting proper.

As mentioned before, we did not have any bad tea. Even though we don't drink tea for religious purposes, I don't think the girls would have enjoyed tea very much in the first place, so we made our own Fairy Berry Tea. It was just warm jello, before it sets up. But it was a hit! Once again, there is always room for Jell-o.

The girls picked other fun snacky foods: cupcakes, mini sausages, cheese, and these fun little ladybugs. They are strawberries with grape heads and chocolate chip spots.

I admit that I took less pictures and spent more time serving and watching everyone closely. But they all had a good time and ended with coloring and a movie. It was a good way to start off Spring Break.