High tea at home: High tea is a superb way to enjoy the company of friends and loved ones. It can be a casual get-together or a special occasion that you want to celebrate.
Hosting a high tea at home can be a delightful experience. You can keep things according to your budget and host a lovely tea party that the guests will remember. However, you have to keep track of different things to throw a successful party.
We have put together a guide that will help you plan a high tea at home. It covers all details including snacks, decor, and other requirements.
So, let’s get started
Decide a Budget for a High tea Party
Thinking of hosting a high tea at home? First, decide what budget you would like to keep for the plan.
This way you can plan whether you would love a fancy tea set along with expensive decor. If you are on a budget, you could get creative with the DIY decor. For the food, plan for homemade stuff and choose practical ideas.
Plan out the Invitations
Sending a personalized invitation makes the guests feel special. Choose a pretty invitation that gives details of the party theme, timing, and location. You can choose to deliver them yourself or by post.
If you plan for eco-friendly alternatives, the online invitation apps offer customizable templates. Choose an elegant design and send it to the guests.
Choose Kitchenware for the High Tea Party
Don’t want to miss a chance to impress the guests? Choosing kitchenware might come as a no-brainer, but these little details can spruce up the experience. Remember, the kitchenware selection can make or break the experience!
These are some basic kitchenware items that you should decide on for a hassle-free event.
Choose a Tea Set
Is it even a high tea if you aren’t planning to serve tea out of a teapot and use the best tea set? Go for the fancy tea set if it is a fancy party. Depending on the guest list, you might need more than one kettle.
Mix and match the tea sets if you have more guests. For example, if you have a plain tea set and one floral print, you can use them both. Make sure they complement each other.
If your guests are weight-watchers, you could even go for one of these Detox Tea Brands.
What to Serve Food Items on High Tea?
This is a tricky question. But, we are here to help you out!
A three-tier cake stand is an ideal serving option for high-tea items. For example, you can place the dessert options on it
Other than that, use serving platters to serve savories. Don’t forget to decorate the platter as it looks pleasant.
Three tier cake stand Buy on Walmart at $16
3-Tier Food Serving Stand Buy on Amazon at $32
High Tea Menu Ideas
One of the most struggling parts is deciding on the menu. Here we have some practical suggestions to host a high tea at home:
- Welcome Drinks for Guests
Greet your guests and serve them a welcome drink. You can choose a refreshing lemonade. Add a twist with a hint of color like pink or electric blue lemonade.
You could even choose a glass of champagne.
Extra tip: If you are hosting a high tea for a baby shower, the idea of the colored drink is a fun way to celebrate the baby’s gender.
- High Tea is All About Tea
People have different preferences for tea. So, play safe and offer two varieties of High Tea at home. A caffeinated version and the other should be non-caffeinated.
If you choose a classic tea, the other one should be a lighter alternative such as chamomile or lemon tea.
- Tea Extras To Serve
Don’t forget to complete the tea experience with these extras! Keep milk, sugar, artificial sweetener, honey, and lemon slices. The guests can use them as per their liking.
Once you have the tea sorted, move on to decide the food you want to serve.
- Amp up the Savory Items
We agree that traditional cucumber sandwiches are delicious, but why not serve something fancy?
Remember, the more variety you serve, the merrier!
Some impressive ideas are to choose mini bagels, mini pizzas, croissants, avocado toast, and sausage rolls. The best practice for high tea savories is to cut them into bite-size portions.
- Try a Butter Board
Talking about savory items, I can just not resist talking about the latest TikTok trend – the butter boards. They’re fairly simple to make, look amazing and will definitely leave your guests impressed. Other similar options include the cheeseboard trend (where you replace the butter with creamcheese) and the traditional charcuterie board in which you use different types of crackers, cheese and meats to make the most amazing platters. All of these can be used as appetisers for your high tea party.
- Offer Fancy Dessert Options
Show off your cooking skills by offering a wide range of mini desserts. Try to incorporate colors by putting sprinkles. Some ideas for mini treats are macaroons, tarts, and munchkins.
People also love cupcakes, mini cheesecake bites, lamingtons, and scones. Make single serving sizes so the guests can have different things without their guilt kicking in.
Moreover, use glassware to serve mini portions. It looks sophisticated and ensures fuss-free eating.
Impressive Decoration for High Tea at Home
While planning to set up a high tea at home, you must be considering decoration. So, you have to be careful in this regard.
Here are a few high tea decor tips that you can utilize
- Bling it up
Get extra with the decor! If it is a bridal shower, you can get into the theme with a fancy setting. For example, we adore these golden vases and candles being the highlight pieces.
Golden Vase Decoration Centerpiece Buy on Amazon at $23
- High Tea Setup in the Garden
If the weather is in your favor, the garden can be an excellent choice to host a high tea. Moreover, you can showcase some brilliant decorations there.
For example, go with the all-floral theme. Hang flower and leaf garlands on the walls. You can also add an elegant touch with a fabric backdrop in a contrasting color.
Elevate the decor by placing some battery-operated fairy lights on the trees or the backdrop.
For the table, go for flower vases as nothing can beat the elegance of fresh flowers.
I personally love the idea of Aesthetic Backyard Tea Parties, especially on good weather days.
- Vintage theme High tea Decor
Good time with old friends make everything better! Having a high tea gathering with friends is always a nice idea and a vintage theme decor rocks for such a meetup.
If it’s a vintage party you can style the area up with luggage trunks. A collection of vintage showpieces would look lovely on the table. If you like this idea, you can go through our detailed guide on planning a Vintage tea party.
- Bridal Shower High Tea Decor
Transform the space into a beautiful bash for the special bride. A garland with the bride’s initial foil balloons looks best in the backdrop. You can light up the environment with fairy lights.
Other than this, appreciate artificial vines and hang them on the walls. Some paper honeycomb decorations will look great as a table centerpiece. If it’s a garden you can hang the honeycomb decoration on the trees.
Tissue paper flowers serve as epic wall decor while leaving a soft touch to the ambience.
LED fairy lights Buy on Amazon at $16
- Decoration for Birthday Event High Tea
What makes birthday decorations more special? Balloons and lots of them!
A super cute idea is to make a balloon arch and use it as a backdrop. Moreover, you can see some balloons on the ceiling. Play with different shapes and colors as it gives a cool vibe.
Other than this, bring in some paper parasols. They look elegant and are a cute addition to the birthday decor. Don’t forget to add some colorful bunting.
Birthday Balloons Arch Buy on Walmart at $13
- Girls High Tea Party
Planning to meet your girl gang? High tea is a suitable plan to enjoy all the gossip.
You can decorate your home in pastel colors like pink, peach, and purple to welcome your friends. Go for a lace theme for a different decor.
Choose lace umbrellas, lace decor, and buntings that exhibit a feminine touch. You can also choose disposable lace plates and glasses available if you want to be easy on the dishes.
Artificial Flowers Table Decor Buy on Walmart at $6
Set up the Entertainment Scene
Hosting a high tea at home would be boring without some entertainment. Have some conversation busters in mind. Plan a few games like blind tea testing, cards, tea cups or sugar cube stacking.
Don’t forget the songs. No party is complete without some good music! Choose some soft music in the background that would offer party vibes.
Set up portable speakers and you are good to go.
High Tea Favor Ideas
Do you know what makes gatherings special? Favors!
Make this a memorable event by planning some favors for the guests. This makes them feel special.
A cute idea is to fill vintage cups with sweets and marshmallows. Wrap them up in cellophane and tie them with a ribbon. Make them theme-specific with blue or pink color if it’s a baby shower.
Another impressive high tea favors idea is to give assorted tins of flavored teas to the guests.
Cherry Blossom, Green Tea with Cherry Flavor Buy on Walmart at $5.49
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What do you serve at a high tea?
A high tea menu includes savory items like sandwiches, sausage rolls, croissants, and casseroles. It also includes sweet treats like cake, cupcakes, creamy desserts, and tarts. Also, you serve tea.
Some kind of juice can also be served as a welcome drink.
Q. What foods were traditionally served at high tea?
Traditionally, the high tea menu was very selective. They used to serve small sandwiches, quiches, and pastries such as scones. Other than that, the sweet items included lemon curd pies, fruit tarts, or chocolate cake. Tea, ofcourse!
Q. How do you plan a high tea at home?
High tea snacks are very simple and one can easily make them at home. Just plan the menu and get all the ingredients. Moreover, you can prepare things like sandwiches or deserts a day in advance and reheat them the next day.
