A tea party birthday party is a delightful way to celebrate a special person. I recently had a beautiful tea party for my birthday, and I wanted to share how you can throw a tea party for a special person (or yourself) that will be memorable for everyone.
I’ll share my tips for planning the entire birthday party – everything from invites to party favors.
Planning Your Birthday Tea Party
The first step in planning your tea party is to brainstorm theme and/or color ideas. Having a bit of direction will help with every step of the planning process.
You don’t have to select a theme with expensive decorations – you can get creative and make a visit to the thrift store, use what you have at home, or select a color palette as your guide.
Tea Party Themes
Here are some tea party theme ideas that work for any type of tea party, including a birthday party:
- Alice in Wonderland tea party – Alice in Wonderland tea parties are popular and fun because the movie and book include a silly tea party. It’s fun to bring that scene to life.
- Book theme – Reading while enjoying a cup of tea is a common practice. So if your birthday honoree loves reading, a book-themed tea party can be a fun idea. Have a selection of books for the attendees as a party favor to take home.
- Hat theme – Tea party hats are a tradition that’s been around for a long time. It’s always fun to see what kind of hat your guests will show up in. Plus, every hat has a story and will get your guests talking to each other.
- Garden party – If weather permits, having a tea party outside, while surrounded by plants, flowers, and trees, is a great way to use your surroundings for decoration and celebrate the spring or summer.
- Downton Abbey party – Dressing up similar to Downton Abbey’s style and sipping tea while chatting and enjoying the day is a great way to celebrate for the fans of the show.
- Mother’s Day Tea Party – Enjoy a Mother’s Day Tea Theme Party with all your family and friends.
The Perfect Tea Party Invitations
You want your invites to include all the information about the party, like date, time, and location. But you’ll also need to include some additional information like the dress code and what types of food your guests can expect (i.e. light refreshments, dessert assortments, light lunch, etc.).
Of course, you’ll want to send invitations that represent the style/theme of the party and get your guests excited.
You can make invitations with free tea party printables, or design programs like Canva. Or, you can use companies like Shutterfly, Zazzle, or your local print shop. If you plan to send digital invites, Evite is a great service that helps you design the invites and manage the RSVPs.
Use your theme and/or color palette to help you design the invitations.
Birthday Tea Party Set Up
Once you have your theme or style and a rough idea of how many people you expect, you can start planning what you’ll need to set up the tea party.
If you’re going to have a large number of guests, consider an outside party. Foldable tables with pretty tablecloths work great in an outdoor space. Plus, they’re easy to store.
For indoor parties, you can make a beautiful tablescape at your dining table and utilize counter space in your kitchen, or wherever you have room.
Here are some ideas for decorations at your tea party.
Fresh flowers
Whether your party is inside or outside, flowers make beautiful and easy decorations for your tea party. You can use potted flowers (which also make a great party favor if you don’t plant them yourself) and/or bouquet arrangements.
You can order flowers from your local florist, or online companies like Urban Stems, or you can make your own arrangements. Get creative and make arrangements from flowers grown at home or in your area, or by buying flowers from your local grocery store (Costco and Trader Joe’s also have beautiful, inexpensive flowers).
Balloons
Balloons are a lot of fun for birthday parties. There’s something about them that makes a room festive and ready for a birthday party.
To select balloons, refer to your theme or color palette, and draw inspiration from photos (Pinterest is a great place to look!).
A balloon arch adds a fun photo opportunity and can be an elegant touch. Arches can be tricky, but you can order balloon kits online or visit your local party store. I’ve even seen them listed to give away in local Facebook groups by people who have already used them for their party.
Candles
Candles can help a space feel whimsical. Setting them up at your table can keep them in one area, so you don’t have to worry about a fire hazard.
Simple candles are all that is needed. Here are a few candle ideas:
- Candles in glass jars
- Candlesticks with holders
- Tea candles
- Chunky candles (
- Decorative flameless candles
Any candles will work. I recommend unscented candles so they don’t interfere with the taste of the tea and treats.
Place Settings
Place settings can be a focal point of the tea party. Whether you’re getting out your fine china, or setting up with disposable place settings, having a decorative setup can elevate your space.
To select a place setting, refer to your theme, color, or overall style for the party. If you want to make cleanup simple, opt for a disposable, or mostly disposable, setup. Feel free to integrate different elements into your table, like paper cups, fine china, and plastic silverware.
Amazon has a lot of decorative disposable tableware. Here are some great ones:
- Tea Party Set – This set includes vintage floral patterns and gives a feel of a classic tea party.
- Scalloped edge plate set – These plates come in a variety of different colors and add a whimsical touch while fitting with many different tablescapes.
- Floral Set – This set includes gold silverware and pretty floral plates that look much fancier than they are.
- These paper cups and these paper mugs are pretty disposable options for any tea party.
If you have the storage space, or already have some on hand, fine china is a lovely option for place settings at a birthday tea party. You can find many nice sets at thrift stores and on Facebook Marketplace.
Music
Whether you’re planning live music or just having music in the background, Music is a great idea at your tea party. It creates a nice background noise.
Some live music options include a band, a harpist, a pianist, or a flutist. There are many teenagers who would love a paying gig and would play at your party for a good rate. Don’t be afraid to ask around to find someone. You don’t have to spend a lot of money when hiring live music.
Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube are just some of the streaming services available. If you don’t already have a subscription, there are many services (like Spotify) that are free to sign up and allow you to upload your own music or play from their playlists.
You can play the music through a Google Home, Amazon Echo Hub (Alexa), or Apple Homepod if you already have one. Or you can purchase an inexpensive Bluetooth speaker that’s small but plays great sound.
Tea Party Recipes and Food Ideas
A tea party wouldn’t be complete without small food bites and tea.
Some decisions you’ll have to make when it comes to what to serve are if you want to have desserts, savory foods, plain tea, tea drinks (like lattes), or a combination of it all.
Knowing how long your party will be, and how much space and time you have will help you determine what’s needed.
And don’t forget to have water available. Small water bottles, pitchers of ice water and/or infused water are always appreciated by your guests.
The Best Tea Party Tea
The time of year will be a factor in determining if you want hot tea, iced tea, or both at your party.
If it’s particularly hot where you live, or warm during the time of the party, iced tea is a great option. You can make it ahead of time, and serve it in glass drink dispensers that are easy to operate.
If time permits, you can serve fun tea drinks like a Thai Tea with Boba, a Chai Tea Latte, and/or a Matcha Latte.
Include a variety of tea flavors at your party so guests can choose what they like. Options like green tea, various black teas, flavored teas, and herbal teas are nice.
If you would like to serve hot tea, an easy way is to have an assortment of tea bags and tea kettles or an insulated carafe with hot water.
Offer a variety of tea mix-ins, like sugar cubes, honey, and lemon slices so your guests can prepare their tea as they wish.
Serving Loose Leaf Tea
Offering loose-leaf teas can help inspire your guests to create blends and try new flavors. Offer a variety of loose-leaf teas along with a few blends and encourage your guests to make their own blends from the teas provided.
When serving loose-leaf tea, you’ll also need something to steep the tea in, like reusable tea bags or stainless steel tea infusers.
While a tea ball may cost a little more, it can double as part of a party favor.
Tea Party Food and Recipe Ideas
A mix of savory foods and dessert treats makes a well-rounded tea party selection. Choose small bites and finger foods to make it easy and keep with the tea party tradition. You can make your own, or purchase them from a local shop.
Tea party sandwiches and scones are always a hit. You can make any simple sandwich a tea party sandwich by cutting off the bread crust and cutting the sandwiches into various small shapes. These Cucumber Tea Sandwiches are easy to make and always a crowd favorite.
Fresh fruit and vegetables with dips are an easy snack to prepare. Plus they add a nice variety of color and flavors without being too complicated.
Showcase your food on a tiered server, or any platters you already have.
When planning and preparing desserts, plan for finger food that’s simple to grab and eat. Matcha Green Tea Cookies have a fun bright green color and taste delicious. Earl Grey Cupcakes have a tasty and pretty lavender frosting that your guests will love.
Birthday Tea Party Entertainment Ideas
Having a few entertainment options at your party can help to get your guests talking and give everyone something to do. I like to have a few activities that can keep everyone busy without too much pressure to participate.
Here are some fun birthday tea party activities to include at your next party.
Photo Booth/Photo Station
Setting up a photo opportunity station is a lot of fun and gives your guests a nice way to remember the party. Plus, you’ll enjoy looking back at the photos of the day.
You can rent a photo booth from a local company if you have the budget but a simple area for photos also works great.
Just find a space and add your backdrop and decorations. Having a prop basket adds an extra bit of fun. Stock it with old hats, scarves, and costume jewelry. You can use what you already have, or check your local thrift stores for inexpensive items.
Games
If the weather permits, having an area for outdoor lawn games, like bean bag toss or a giant Tic Tac Toe game is a lot of fun and will get your guests talking.
Trivia games are also a lot of fun and can be played indoors or outside. If you’ve selected a particular theme for your party, you can find a trivia game to match. There are many trivia game options available on Amazon.
Tea Sampling
Whether you want to make a game out of tea sampling, or just have a variety of teas for everyone to try together, tea sampling is the perfect activity for a tea party.
You can buy teas that are unique and offer them to your guests. If you want to make a game, you can have guests try to guess the flavors.
Dress Code for Your Tea Party
You’ll want to come up with a dress code for your party and let your guests know what it is on the invitations. Your dress code can be as simple as stating it will be casual, but if you want to add a bit of a twist, here are some ideas:
- Fancy hats – Let everyone know to wear a fancy hat. It’s a great conversation starter and so much fun to see what everyone wears.
- Gloves and pearls – Having all your guests wear gloves and pearls adds a vintage charm to the tea party.
- Character outfits – If you have a specific theme (like Alice in Wonderland or Downton Abbey), have your guests dress in an outfit inspired by a character from the movie/show.
- Dress to impress – Have your guests wear their favorite dresses.
For more inspiration, check out how to dress for the tea party.
Tea Party Favors For the Guests
If you’re planning for an activity, your tea party favors may be built into that, but here are some more party favor ideas your guests will love:
- Potted flowers – As mentioned above, decorating with potted flowers and giving them to your guests at the end of the party is a thoughtful gift, especially in the spring.
- Dessert – Send your guests home with a simple dessert, like cupcakes or a bag of cookies.
- A tea mug – Add a cute tea mug with a few tea bags inside into a nice favor bag for each of your guests.
- DIY tea blend – If you’re great at creating tea blends, make some for your guests. They’ll love the personalized touch.
Celebrating a birthday with a tea party is a really fun idea. It’s a unique party idea that you and your guests will always remember.
With delicious treats, engaging activities, and delightful favors, your guests will leave feeling special and cherished.
A tea party is as much about connection and laughter as the tea itself. So it’s a great way to celebrate the joy of the occasion.
