By Krayl Funch
Mother’s Day and Sunday Brunch go together like Orange Juice and Champagne. This year skip the crowded restaurants and spend quality time with mom by hosting a Mother’s Day Tea in your own home.
Since almost 50 percent of American’s claim to drink tea at least once a day, it is not surprising that the variety of teas, and tea accessories, is more vast than ever. But that doesn’t mean that hosting a Mother’s Day Tea needs to be complicated or take anymore effort than usual, in fact most hostesses likely already have everything they need to set a fabulous table tucked away in their own cabinets.
1. Add Height For Impact. Serve your homemade sandwiches, scones and mini desserts on a 3-tiered server. Readily available in most home or kitchen stores, three tier servers are a must for entertaining. This is the classic tea party service style, not only functional for smaller tables or buffets, but also the prettiest way to serve all your tasty treats.
2. Get Fancy. This is the time to bring out your fanciest china. If you don’t have any of your own borrow moms. Believe me, she will appreciate your interest and that her plates are finally being used by the family.
3. Filler Up. Instead of a standard floral centerpiece, decorate the table with teapots, creamers or even extra tea cups, filled with flowers. This keeps the theme consistent, not to mention it looks super cute.
4. Stay Neutral. Cover the table or buffet with a solid white or slightly off-white tablecloth; this helps the table feel a bit more fancy plus the colors of the tea sandwiches, flowers and your china will pop against a neutral backdrop.
5. Let Them Choose. Offer Mom and your guests an assortment of loose teas to choose from. Consider one from each category such as white, green or black. Or get more creative and offer varieties that include notes of Mom’s favorite flowers such as lavender, or her favorite spices such as cinnamon or cloves. Be sure to label each selection.
6. Be Sweet. Local honey and cubed raw sugar add an extra special touch to the tea and table. Be sure to place a small plate under the honey to catch drips. Sugar tongs are part of many silver services but if yours have been misplaced, use a small spoon for the sugar cubes.
7. Mix + Match. Don’t worry too much about all your tea cups or plates matching. These days the rules go out the window when it comes to mixing and matching styles, patterns and even metals (although be sure not to mix metals in the dishwasher).
You will need at least one cup and one plate for each guest, but I always put out a few extra to save from searching around during the party, when someone is unsure where they have mistakenly put theirs down.
Lifestyle Contributor Krayl Funch, www.kraylfunch.com
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