- well more ridiculous rather than unreasonable - to really want a girly tea set?

[JoshandJamie]

I have secret yearnings for a girly tea set. Something pretty, dainty, probably floral but possibly not. Along with the tea set I want a tiered cake stand - probably white/cream. I also want pretty floral bunting. And I want to combine all three and have a lovely, girly tea party with lots of little cakes or tiered cream-filled big cakes and dainty sandwiches. All of this will take place on a sunny morning or afternoon, with no husbands or children in sight.

The tea might possibly give way to champagne at some point...

But in reality a) I don't really think any of my friends would go for this type of thing (they'd all just want to move swiftly onto the champagne) and b) it's only likely to happen about once a year - if that, so doesn't justify the cost of getting a lovely girly tea set, does it?

Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by boys, but my inner girly-girl is dying to get out. My husband thinks I'm barking. Am I?

Lazyline, that set is sooooooooo gorgeous. I want one.

Sadly i got outbig on my silver teapot. Need to try again. sob.

Marmaduke, yes I am in PR in real life. Well done to your husband. I have this week's PR week so will go have a nosy now! I run my own business too but it's nowhere close to being in any league tables. But I am ex tech pr!

Bran your tea sounds fab.

Potoroo, you're welcome to come!

What a lovely thread! It has made me want to have a summer tea party too!

I have bits of a beautiful tea set inherited from my great grandmother and I bought a cakestand earlier in the year (havent' used it yet - just needed one!). Probably wouldn't be enough but could ask invitees to bring their sets, I think.

My friend and I are planning to have a midsummer's evening (Friday 20th June) on the beach with our families - with a fire, barbeque and cricket - so maybe in the afternoon we could kick off with this in the garden. Ooh I feel a plan coming together!

I do think it could be a fabulous charity money raiser. Regents Park sounds lovely - but the place that jumps to mind for me is a a stately home with beautiful gardens.

My dh doesn't get this sort of girlie stuff - think it is definitely a female thing! We must all EMBRACE OUR GIRLY SIDE!!

Yes, stately home far more suitable. Or Kew Gardens or similar. I have a great Art Deco cake stand my folks found at an antiques market and we used at my wedding (to hold hundreds of tiny beautifully decorated cupcakes in the wedding colours-swoon!) Will definately get my cupcake making friend involved. She's V. girly girly. I'm picturing a really ornate antique silver tea urn; don't own one yet but will be on the look out. Have a friend who does beautiful hand printed napkins on antique linen; gonna get her input!!! Best not mention it to DH; he;ll only roll his eyes skyward.

think this is a secret thing loads of women would love to do, although back fired on me as mentioned to a few family members last year when it was my 30th and ended up getting afew really nasty cheap looking teasets and the ugliest cake stand i have ever seen!!!
So now cant buy a nice one as would look ungratefull

As part of my friends 40th, five of us organised a surprise afternoon tea at South Lodge Hotel - Lower Beeding (W Sussex).

It was lovely, we planned it with her husband, and we just arrived and picked her up at 3pm. Then spent the whole afternoon eating cakes and drinking tea.

Can't wait for another chance to go again!

P.S DH so didn't get it, he said £15 for tea and cakes - how ridiculous. Silly man!

ELR, I'd be tempted to pick it up with damp hands if I were you...OOPS

Bran, that sounds just the ticket how fab.

we're probably all bidding against each other on ebay!!!!

I'm with envy here. I want to have a tea party, I love afternoon tea and my DH just doesn't get it . Have got a DD though and am working on her

i won a silver plated teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug today!! I now have everything I need but there's one more teaset I still WANT.

Suggested a tea party to a few friends this weekend. Initial reaction was: you're barking. Then they slowly came round to it.

Dh is mad about me buying the teasets. Feels we have other more urgent things that need buying. But quite frankly, tough.

Well done on the bidding - I'm an ebay virgin, although to admit it!

Once he's had a few fairy cakes he'll come round!

All this tea set talk, I may have to increase my collection!

Ooh how lovely - I am off trawling the charity shops for mine today - Will you take a photo and put it on your profile of your tea party when its all set up? There were some lovely ideas on one of the links here for place settings

yes I will post pics. I just need to sort out a date for my party. Have mentioned it to some friends who initially thought I was barking but have warmed to the idea.

Have even posted on this subject on
my blog. The more I talk about it, the more it will come true.

Along the same lines - if you want to make Nigella fairy cakes (like the one on the front of 'How to be a domestic goddess' ie Waitrose perfection) you can get fondant icing sugar now - its fabulous - makes the fairy cakes look vvv professional esp if you colour them pale pink, white and ice green...I even copied the carrotcake recipe off Big Cook Little Cook this weekend in prepn for our party - who is this woman i am becoming? Fantastic!!

Ontheup, please tell me how you make the fondant icing because I have a bag of it but am not 100% sure I know how to do it. What do you add to it? Just water?

incidentally, I've now sent out the invitations to the party.

I have now put pictures in my profile of my newly purchased tea things. The tea set is ok, but there's another nicer one I want to still get.

for Nigella cakes, the roses she uses are from here:

www.janeasher.com/sugarlist.php?cat=Edibles%20-%20Ready%20Made%20Decorations&subcat=Wafer%20Roses

I used them for DD's christening tea and was very proud!

JandJ very pretty teaset, I love the cake stand and the tea pot and creamer are fab too.

Sent invitations, goodness you are galloping along!

I just made cupcakes for DD's birthday and placed them on an old fashioned tiered cake stand. Was v proud, although they looked far more home-made than Nigella's! Love your cake stand JoshandJamie.

I too am at your cake stand. Surely you didn't get that on e-bay? Mine not half as nice! (gosh, jealousy an ugly thing )

Yip - all three things were eBay purchases.

And I confess that the invitations were only eInvites, but I wanted to get a date in the diary. Have had 4 yes replies so far!!

I am absolutely definitely going to be buying some of those little flowers for my fairy cakes. Thanks for the link missblythe

What a great thread. I have all the things you want, including floral bunting, and coincidentally laid on a surprise afternoon tea for me and dds on Friday when dh was working late and I had a day off.

I made some oven scones, whipped up some double cream that had reached its use-by date (with sugar) and added the strawberries we'd bought in the market.

Then got out the bone china cups, saucers, milk jug and sugar bowl inherited from a great aunt, teapot (had to wash the dust off it, tea is usually a bag in a cup), and of course my lovely M&S two-tiered cake stand. The bunting was the only thing that didn't make it - that usually goes outside, but it was raining. Dh thinks I'm barking about the bunting - it always comes camping with us.

The challenge was to consume afternoon tea in a manner which would be approved by the ladette to lady hags...dds thought it was hilarious.

Well tomorrow is the big day. Tea party day. On the menu we have:

Tea (obviously although I'm being rather plebish in not using tea leaves but whatever)
Scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream
A lemon and yogurt triple layer cake with a blueberry and marscapone filling, dusted with icing sugar
Girly fairy cakes
Fondant fancies
Egg/cress and cucumber sandwiches

Champagne later.

Bunting at the ready. Will let you know how it goes...

That sounds really lovely, and I hope it all goes well, I shall keep everything xd for sunshine to top it off
I have got some beautiful teasets from my parents, and gorgeous cake-stands, why have I never had a girly tea-party before now??? But I'm inspired and my best friends will love it! So I'm going to do one. Or two. Or loads!!!

I have a lovely floral 3 tier cake stand...I would love to use it but I suspect my family would pee themselves laughing at me...I also worry it is veering into Hyacinth Bouquet territory

Enjoy your tea party!