A Formal Soirée By: Courtney Asin

                        

    It's every little girls dream- a tea party. While I might not have been dreaming of this since I was a child, it is definitely something that I greatly enjoy. Extravagant food, great tea, and most importantly, noteworthy company. In early August of last year, I had the idea to throw one of these British parties and invite some of my closest friends. It was not anything grand or extravagant, but it was something that definitely brightened things up for my friends and I. The party was ten times more fun than I ever could have imagined, so of course I had to have another one. Not to mention, the pictures were amazing. 

    Last weekend, on my second try of the soirée, I went all out. The food, the decorations, and the hats. I only had a week to plan, but I put my all into it. The first thing was the guest list, this was easy as I knew exactly what company I wanted there. Next, the food. A lot of research had to go to this, as I had never made tea party food before. I decided to go simple: lemon bars, cucumber sandwiches, and my famous scones. A few other people brought intricate finger foods such as fancy cupcakes and little treats. For the tea, I did mango, peach, and green iced teas, but also made lemonade for those with more specific tastebuds.  

    For my first attempt in august, I did paper invitations, but I did not have time to make them this go around. I used Evite and it was so easy and simple to create and send the invitation to everyone. I decided to go with a flamingo theme (although I am not quite sure if tea parties are even supposed to have themes), but my decor was pink, so I felt it was necessary to have a theme for this one. After further research, I learned that hats were a staple at these events, so hats were required.

    On the day of the event, I set up a few folding tables in my backyard, put some table cloths over, and started baking. For the tea, I put out mason jars which I thought would be a nice addition. There were name cards at each seat, and everything was almost ready. I laid out the final touches, and went to go grab my hat. 

    As a whole, it was an amazing time. We took pictures, ate, had some great tea, and I was able to see all my friends together for the first time in a while. It might have been cheesy, but it was a fun cheesy. We did toasts, danced, and did everything one would expect at a party like such. 

    The soirée was exhausting set up, but definitely worth it. Hosting is undoubtedly one of my new passions.  I would highly recommend anyone with a little free time looking for something fun to do to host one (or make one of your friends do it). Everyone had an amazing time, and it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I linked a few recipes below in case anyone wanted to look into it and needed some help starting. It is definitely something at least worth looking into!

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/lemon-bars-recipe/

https://scheckeats.com/fluffy-chocolate-chip-scones/

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-tea-sandwiches

https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-host-an-afternoon-tea-party-1196762