Mother's Day Tea Party

Tea parties are a classic way of celebrating Mothers Day so of course I had to put one together for the mothers in my life this weekend! But I decided to mix things up a little by hosting it outside by the pool instead of in the dining room where I typically set things up. 

To keep everyone cool I served homemade iced fruit tea! To make this I combined Earl Grey loose tea leaves with cold water in a pitcher and put it in the refrigerator over night to steep and stay cool. In the morning I strained out the tea leaves and then poured the liquid back into the pitcher. Next I mixed in some frozen lemonade, frozen orange juice, and granulated sugar to the mixture. Then I added some slices of fresh lemons and oranges. Just as it was time to serve, I put in some ice cubes and garnished the drink with a few sprigs of mint. Definitely keeping this refreshing idea in mind for my summer tea parties too! 

To eat we had chicken salad sandwiches. This is my favorite thing to have for lunch! All I do to make this is mix together some shredded baked chicken and mayonnaise. Then right before serving I fold in some dried cranberries, chopped celery, and almonds. Spoon onto croissants (or any kind of bread!) and enjoy! It was a perfect dish for our outdoor tea party!



It wouldn't be a tea party without some sweet treats! We had banana bread and brownies this time! Adding paper doilies to my plain glass plates makes them look a lot more decorative!



Below is a picture of the way I set each place setting. It makes me feel extra classy when drinking from these fancy kinds of glasses! (haha!) Check out how much color those paper napkins add to the table! Also, notice the tea strainers to the left above each plate. Even though I already strained the tea when preparing it, I put these at each place setting to use in case any tiny pieces might have gotten through the first time. Just place one over each glass before pouring!

Here is another interesting contraption... a little lemon juicer! You just place a lemon wedge inside and squeeze over your drink! I like to have this out for all of my tea parties, no matter what kind of tea I'm serving!

We all were having so much fun spending time together that we didn't want it to end! (That's what tea parties do, I'm telling you!)  So after cleaning up we broke out one of our favorite games to play together!




This outdoor Mother's Day tea party was definitely a success! Special 'thank you' to my wonderful mom, grandma, and sister for participating!