In this article, you'll learn how to host your very own teen tea party -- whether it’s for just those one or two teens in your life, or for a larger group! I hosted a tea party for a group of teens recently and they LOVED it.
Make Your Guests Comfortable
Many teens may have never experienced a tea party, and some may find themselves stressed about the right etiquette for this event. It’s a great idea to give them some guidelines about dress code to help them relax.
On the invite for the teen tea party I hosted, I told the guests to dress "a little bit fancy" so that they had the option of dressing up or staying more casual if they felt more comfortable that way. Often, teens want to blend in. Feeling underdressed or overdressed can be embarrassing and mean they enjoy your event less. Make it easy for them to have a good time by letting them know when you invite them what the expectations are.
You might choose to have a more casual tea party than is traditional, and that’s okay! Choose décor that reflects your style and enjoy creating a special environment for your guests. If your teens are crafty and enjoy design, get them to help you with decorating your table. I went with a subtle woodland theme for this party, which was lots of fun and fairly easy to source decorations for from materials I had at home.
Choosing the Right Teas
Teens typically aren’t big tea drinkers, so drinking tea might be something completely new for them. For our teen tea party, I made sure I had more than one type of tea on offer. Not everyone likes the same thing, teens or adults! I found the teens leaned toward the fruit or herbal teas over traditional black or green teas. We also chose to have an iced tea option available as most of the girls were familiar with this.
Sound like too much work? Plum Deluxe has done the work for you! Pick up a loose leaf tea sampler that includes three teas, a scoop, and a muslin bag. You can even request which teas you’d like if you want to share your favorite teas with your guests!
Creating Your Menu
As you create your tea party, it’s important to have snacks! Whereas many afternoon teas have finger sandwiches on offer (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), you might like to consider changing it up for the younger crowd you’ll be hosting. In my experience, lots of teens have a sweet tooth. But this is not be true of all teens, so ensure you have a variety of yummy treats on the table. Lots of small goodies to sample can be fun for your guests.
As with any event you’re hosting, ensure you’re aware of any dietary requirements that your guests may have. Catering for those with these needs ensures that everyone feels welcomed around your table.
Looking for inspiration? Check out our recipe archive, where there’s a whole host of cakes, cookies, and more! It’s enough to get anyone’s mouth watering. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Old Fashioned Strawberry Buckle Cake. This cake would look so pretty on your table! It can be made with any seasonal fruits, which is a bonus, too.
- These melt-in-your-mouth Earl Grey butter cookies sound delicious and are on theme for a tea party.
- What afternoon tea party is complete without scones? For a different take on the traditional scone, try these dark chocolate and cranberry scones.
If you have some teens in your life who love baking, why not get them involved? Ask your guests to bring a plate to share with everyone else. This could be a fun twist on the classic afternoon tea, as well as lighten the load on your own kitchen.
Make It Fun!
While your guests will be having a wonderful time sipping tea and nibbling treats, I would recommend breaking the ice with fun games and activities. After all, teens and adults alike want to have fun!
For our event, we kept it on-theme and played a variety of "tea games," including:
- Toss the tea bag: Standing at a distance, the guests relay to throw their team’s teabag into a teapot. The most teabags in the pot at the end of the set time wins.
- Tea Pictionary: Guests draw tea-themed prompts for their team to guess. The most correct guesses in the set time wins.
- Tea Trivia: A great opportunity to do some learning about the history of the high tea.
- Guess how many candies in the tea pot: The closest guess at the end of the event got to keep the tea pot and candy inside. We used a cute teapot that we sourced from our local thrift shop.
Because our event had several guests in attendance, we opted for team-based games. You could adapt these ideas or come up with some more to suit the size of your event.
I hope you feel inspired to host your own teen tea party. Maybe you’ve got a teen's birthday coming up and are looking for a unique way to celebrate. Perhaps you’re looking to spend some quality time with the teens in your life. Hosting a tea party for teens is a great experience for all!
I personally loved sharing this event for the teens I know. They really enjoyed themselves, and they felt special and celebrated for being who they were. It was great getting to show them that an afternoon tea doesn’t have to have the connotations of old ladies nibbling on stodgy sandwiches. These teens had the opportunity to participate in a unique event and spend time with their friends, making moments that matter. That’s what teatime is about after all, isn’t it?
