A Valentine's Day Tea is a wonderful way to share the love you feel for your BEST FRIENDS. Most of us think of a romantic dinner with the one we love for Valentine's Day, but gathering the women you love on Valentine's Day {or a day close to it} is a wonderful way to celebrate friendships. And so. much. fun.
Today I am honored to be part of the Styled & Set Valentine’s Day Tour. If you came here via Randi, of Randi Garrett Design, or any of the other blogs, I'm so happy to welcome you!
I hope you are enjoying the tour, and gathering inspiration for Love's Own Day. { If you started the tour here, all the other posts are linked at the very bottom.
Best friends ~ we count on them to encourage us, support us, inspire us and help us through life's fabulous as well as painful moments.
We are all so busy these days, that I bet you don't get enough friend time. I know I don't.
Hosting a Valentine's Tea Party is the perfect way to spend a few hours catching up with each other. Talking. Laughing. Pinking away a few tears, maybe. There is no more precious gift we can give each other than the gift of time.
This kind of table setting works for friends, a tea-for-just-the-two-of-us, or a special tea to invite your children or grandchildren to.
You can also create a little tea setting like this in the home of someone who is ill and can't get out in winter. If you have a friend who loves tea, but is in the midst of chemo, for instance, a sweet tea like this, brought to her by YOU, will warm her heart immensely.
Just pack up a few dishes, tea cups, tea, a few bought or home made treats in a basket and enjoy a beautiful tea time with her.
While sharing the love is more about the company you keep, we all cherish a feminine, pretty table setting, too, right? Valentine's Day is THE day to create a no-holds-barred romantic table setting.
Here are some Cupid approved details that are easy to do.
I'm sharing them with you in hopes that you will want to set your own romantic tea table, and spend a few hours in the company of people you adore.
I played around with a few ideas, and haven't decided on which ones I like best, yet.
HOW TO SET A BEAUTIFUL VALENTINE"S DAY TEA TABLE.
1. MIX AND MATCH. I set my table using antique silver, French enamelware, an antique French linen sheet as a cloth, and new dishes with birds and flowers. While antique lace tablecloths, and precious porcelain tea cups often make their way to my tables, I love the way this rough linen cloth makes the antique silver stand out. You can mix and match a beautiful table in so many ways. Antiques play nicely with new pieces...trust me, if you put some love on your table, it will be beautiful.
You can set up a table as a tea "buffet" or set a place for every guest. I took photos of both for inspiration.
2. HAVE FUN. Fun makes the world go around. Okay, not really. But for me, everything needs a little element of fun!
There is nothing that gets conversations started faster than an unexpected touch of fun at your table.
I planted this cute little antique place card in between the treats just. for. fun. Since this party is only for girls, I really should change her little message to Mon Amie. {I used her in front of a placesetting for Mr. FrenchGardenHouse last time, mon ami is the masculine form of friend in French.
Your tables should have a little quirkiness, so your guests know you are not the serious "don't touch anything" type of hostess!
3. STACK FOR INTEREST. Bring interest to your table by using at least one cake stand. I made the creamer and sugar share space on this table with the rose topped cake, since there was room and my table real estate was quite small on this round table.
Elevating some things makes your table look more interesting. Sure, you can use a stack of antique French books too, but a cake stand has the added bonus of leaving most of the space underneath free, so that you can nestle in little bowls of treats, a stack of napkins, or another plate of cookies or macarons underneath.
4. PLAY UP ONE COLOR . Or at least stick to a color theme. The beautiful French macarons are all in soft, pastel colors. I stacked two pink ones on everyone's plate, and added a rose petal too.
5. EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES. That collection of antique sterling tea strainers is perfect to strain the tea from the pot to each cup. But what if you used one as an unusual scoop for sweet pastel candies, too? There are so many more ways to use your cherished heirloom treasures...you just have to think beyond the "usual" and let your imagination fly!
Can I encourage you to USE your precious antique pieces? I dream up all sorts of ways to use the things I love. Who wouldn't want to scoop a handful of these little pink chocolate pearls from a bowl with a sterling tea strainer as beautiful as this one?
6. CREATE SPECIAL LITTLE SETTINGS. Here I placed one of those cute cupcake plates on top of an antique cake plate, and encircled it with pink candy pearls. What a beautiful setting this would be to pop one perfect cupcake on for each guest just before they arrive!
This is another sweet idea. Place a wrapped chocolate heart on each plate, and write out your friend's name. This is such an easy and inexpensive way to make each of your guests feel loved.
I hope this has inspired you in some way. No matter how you set your table, or what you serve, it's the time you spend with the people who are important to you that makes this party a hit.
My wish for all of you is that you are able to spend time with someone or everyone you love on Valentine's Day.
Thank you so much for your visit. I wish we could all sit down together at one huge tea party. Since that isn't possible, I want you to know how much your comments mean to me. I read every one, and cherish them.
Source List – Click on the items below for direct links to the products.
- Pink Birdie Bowls
- Cupcake Plates
- Silver Tipping Teapot
- Cake Pedestal
- Ribbon Rose Cups
- Antique Spoons
- Antique Cake Plates
Monday's posts:
Maison de Pax | Cedar Hill Farmhouse | Decor Gold Designs Life on Virginia Street | Bless'er House | My Soulful Home
Tuesday's posts:
Shabbyfufu | Ella Claire | Zevy Joy Town and Country Living | Kelley Nan | Driven by Decor
Wednesday's posts:
Maison de Cinq | So Much Better With Age | Sand and Sisal Randi Garrett Design | French Garden House
Thursday's posts:
Designthusiasm | CitrineLiving | Setting for Four On Sutton Place | Design Dining and Diapers
Friday's posts:
ZDesign at Home | Finding Home Farms | Becky Cunningham Home Eleven Gables | The Wood Grain Cottage
36 comments
What a lovely table! I adore tea parties and oh my, those macaroons look amazing! So nice to be on this blog tour with you!
Pegg, that’s a great idea! Maybe you can invite a neighbor or two, and make a new friend? xo
Rita, thank you! I love when antiques are mixed with new, “rough” with refined. You are right, it makes the whole thing more approachable, and makes guests feel less intimidated. xo
What a beautiful post, Lidy! I am going to be crazy-pinning this. Love the idea of Valentine’s Day celebration with friends. . .there are so many people that I love, I can definitely get behind this.
What a wonderful idea! I’m new to my town, so haven’t really made friends here yet, but I think I’ll do this for my sister and daughter.
You are so right, Gloria! For some, Valentine’s Day is a sad reminder that the one they love is no longer here. Having a tea for friends makes this lovely holiday a bright spot again!
All this pink makes me so happy ! :) Lovely blog ! You brightened my morning with this loveliness ! Thank you Lidy ! <3
Love the idea of Valentine with friends. They are loved ones too. Especially if someone has lost a loved one. A hug and a cup a tea can do wonders for the spirit. I agree a cake stand adds that extra touch to a table. It makes a great focal point of the table.
Thank you Shannon! I love that idea too, sometimes when a friend can’t leave home, packing up a basket with a treat, tea, and some tea cups is such a simple, beautiful idea. I’ve given the friend a new ( well, antique really!) tea cup as a gift, so that they will always have a sweet memory of our time together.
It looks lovely and appetizing and fun. Any friend would be thrilled to have a tea like this. And I never used my tip kettle for tea, as I thought it was for hot water and the set has a separate tea kettle. I like the idea of using it for tea as well. I also have the mother-of-pearl handled flatware, and one of Brooke Astor’s floral porcelain teapots and a few of her teacups and saucers. Now all I need are the pastries!