Christmas is a season of giving. Instead of spending a lot of money on gifts this year, why not focus on the true meaning of the season with a Christmas Tea or Punch Party for your friends! You could make it a themed "costume party" Dickens style and ask your guests to come dressed appropriately... bonnets and caps, gingham dresses, fancy dresses for women and long scarves, top hats and round spectacles for men... or just a simple afternoon of merriment with your closest gal friends wearing the fascinators you made following yesterday's blog post.
Over the years, I have held numerous Christmas teas for my friends! What fun they are... planning and participating in. Sometimes they were before Christmas but most often I scheduled them between Christmas and New Year's. Remember, you can have an "afternoon tea" held during the day or "high tea" (which is at supper or dinnertime) so it could be an "after work" party.
Most of my teas had a "theme" of some sort and were held at home. Some years, they were "potluck" (I supplied a list of things they could choose from to bring) and other years I supplied most of the "goodies" and my friends brought the wine, made the punch or brought Christmas cookies.
One year, we read passages aloud from our favourite girl books like Jane Austen's Emma. At another tea, we took turns reading each other's tea leaves (NOW that was a laughter filled afternoon). One year, we decorated a Gingerbread House and gave it to a local after school program. Another year, we read (or told) our favourite Christmas stories.
Of course, every party needs invitations so once you have your "theme", take a few moments to write out the particulars on a piece of paper... i.e. time, date, place, how to RSVP and, if need be, get the link to yahoo maps or map quest.
Here are some places you can go to create and send invitations to your friends online. Some of the online "party planning" sites will require you to sign up for an account with them in order to use their service.
http://www.punchbowl.com/
http://new.evite.com/
http://anyvite.com/
Drop by over the next few days for some menu ideas and easy recipes for your tea party.
Cheers,
Sharon