Tea Parties On A Shoe String

January is a down in the dumps month. The worst. So over the next few weeks I’ll be putting together a few posts to make it better. First up is my favourite, naturally, the tea party.

Tea parties are by their very nature frivolous, decadent and ostentatious. You can chuck a hundred quid at one and that’s all fun and games I’m sure, but that post will be for another time. I want to show you how to create an afternoon off with a few friends for under ten pounds (actually I reckon you can do it in five).

Of course, anyone who just got a student loan through will probably have a bit more extra cash at the moment, so I’ve included a more extravagant list, and you could even team up with a few other friends. It will certainly feed a small army!

It shouldn’t be hard to track down guests, let’s face it- no matter how busy you are, everyone always has time for a cuppa...

Winter Tea Party On A Shoe String

Budget: Between £5-10.

For Three to Four V.H.Gs (very hungry guests)

2x egg mayonnaise sandwiches

4x cucumber sandwiches

1x batch of ready made brownies

1x batch of home made cup cakes

1x pack of hot cross buns/ crumpets

Winter Tea Party On Not Quite A Shoe String

Budget: Between £20-£25

For Seven to Eight V.H.G.s

1x box of éclairs

1x batch of home made cup cakes

1x batch of mushroom vol aux vents

1x pack of blinis with smoked salmon, wedge of lemon and chives

2x cucumber sandwiches

2x egg mayonnaise sandwiches

2x tuna sandwiches

2x pack of scones with jam and cream.

2x bunches of winter flowers

1x 70cl bottle of gin

2x bottles of bitter lemon tonic

Top Tips for Ultimate Tea Party Success

+ You might run out of room at a table, so grab a table cloth, old duvet cover or stretch of fabric and clear as much space as possible in a living room or your bedroom.

+ Lay as much out as you can before hand, holding back just the tea pot and anything that needs to be heated in the oven.

+ If you’ve made loads, keep it in the fridge to chill, don’t freak your guests out with eighty sandwiches (ahem).

+ If you have any biscuit cutters, use these on the sandwiches, especially the cucumber ones which will stay together easily.

Tea Party Tracks

Breakfast At Tiffanys- Deep Blue Something

Moi Je Joue – Brigitte Bardot

Sing Sing Sing- Benny Goodman

I Would Die 4 U- Prince

Cecilia- Simon and Garfunkel

Lollipop – The Chordettes

I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked- Ida Maria

French Navy- Camera Obscura

Get Happy- Judy Garland

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart – Dusty Springfield

Alright- Supergrass

Crash- The Primitives