It was a bit crazy on Bryarton Farm this weekend! Our little Camdyn turned three years old and we threw a good old fashioned tea party in her honor. This theme seemed to combine all of Camdyn’s favorite things— playing house, creating art, playing tea party, and eating dessert!
Starting with hand making the vintage-teapot-inspired invitations, we had fun creating a unique piece for each guest.
July in Kansas is miserably hot so we were excited to learn that a local library rented out its air conditioned community room for a small fee. The only problem was the room had a long list of rules as to how one could decorate for an event. To create the homey vintage tea party feel without damaging the walls, I painted a Victorian interior on the back of a water heater box. We were then able to prop it against the wall using Cami’s play furniture.
Having an indoor play house as the backdrop for the tea party also kept the kids busy during the lulls between activities.
As soon as all the little guests had arrived we corralled them into a storage room off the main room for a craft. Each child received a ceramic teacup and saucer to decorate with their own original designs. These sweet planters gave a nod to our theme and doubled as party favors.
We were tickled at the amount of serious concentration and ornate detail that each little artist devoted to their project. We actually had a hard time convincing Cami Grace and a few others that it was time to move on to tea and cupcakes.
Using Cami’s plastic tea set for the kid’s table and my mother’s vintage tea cup collection for the adults, we were able to lavishly serve a variety of sweets. We substituted apple juice for the little guests while the adults enjoyed the finer variety of (iced) teas. No one was in the mood for hot tea in July.
We were about to sing happy birthday when we realized we had lost the lighter for Camdyn’s candle. She didn’t seem to mind.
Everyone used their very best tea party manners.
Cami Grace is so thankful to everyone for all her wonderful gifts and cards! We are quite overwhelmed by the love we have received in Kansas in the short year we have lived here. We have made some truly precious friendships with some amazing people.
But the crazy amazing people that worked very hard behind the scenes to make this tea party happen were my family. They arrived hours earlier to painstakingly set up the decorations, served all the food, and then stayed late to clean up the aftermath. All this in 100° weather and not one of them complained or thought of themselves.
This little girls dream tea party would not have been such a success without their love for our Cami Grace.
THANK YOU
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