By Stephanie Hanson

It’s been Christmas since August in the department stores, but now it’s getting to the point where normal people start thinking about holiday parties. We’re only a few weeks away from that crazy holiday month and constant holiday music everywhere you go. So, it’s also time to start thinking about having a holiday tea party.

First, let’s talk menu. What would any tea party be without tea sandwiches? You can always go with the traditional cucumber sandwich, of course, but try doing something a little different for the holidays. Think about traditional holiday foods: ham, turkey, cranberries, apples. These might work well for sandwiches. Try turkey, shaved very thin, on thin slices of wheat bread spread with a very thin layer of cranberry sauce. Cut into quarters. While not the traditional tea sandwich, ham biscuits would make a nice addition to a tea table, especially if the tea takes place at lunch time, or in the very late afternoon. Take white bread and add apples sliced as thin as possible, and sprinkle with crumbled stilton or use slices of white cheddar. Feta also works well.

But what would a tea party be without desserts? Pumpkin scones are nice and festive. Just follow your favorite scone recipe and add a generous dash of pumpkin spice to the dry ingredients. Or make apple scones, by adding chopped up apples to the wet ingredients and cinnamon to the dry ingredients.

The most important party of any tea party is, of course, the tea. Darjeeling is a lovely stand-by for absolutely any afternoon tea, but for Christmas, add in some nice spiced Chai or look for the Holiday Blend from your favorite vendor. Any orange spice tea will do nicely. For the herbal tea folks, peppermint of course.

Evergreens make lovely centerpieces, but don’t let yourself be limited by the traditional colors of red and green for the season. Green and gold or blue and silver also make lovely combinations.

Have a lovely holiday season, and enjoy the warmth of company, the best part of the season.

Get the scoop on all things tea from Stephanie’s blog!