Teacher Appreciation Afternoon Tea Party

Posted by Michelle Leising on Mar 18, 2020

Teacher Appreciation Week Tea

I appreciate our teachers! I always have. However, given the fact that I have become an impromptu homeschool teacher for my daughters for the last two days, I REALLY appreciate teachers!

Teacher Appreciation Week is always held the first week in May. This year it will be May 4th-8th. The last couple of years, I have enjoyed digging out my collection of teacups and pretty dishes to treat our school’s teachers to an afternoon tea. If you are looking for unique ideas to show your gratitude to your child's teacher, why not treat them to afternoon tea.

I've provided a resource list at the end of this post for some of the items I used for our tea party. I hope you find it helpful!

teacher-appreciation-week-tea

Here are the details of the “drop in” afternoon tea I hosted for our dear teachers. At first, I wasn't sure how the male teachers would respond, but was pleasantly surprised to see how much they enjoyed it, as well. It was so nice to see real men who were not afraid to sip tea from dainty cups and saucers. Afternoon tea is not just for ladies!

Since my children go to a small school, I was fortunate to have enough teacups and saucers for all the teachers. If your children go to a larger school, and you don't have enough real teacups, then reach out to tea friends to see if you can borrow theirs. Another option is to buy pretty paper cups. Check out these darling paper "teacups" I found online listed in the Resource below. A bonus with using these, is that you won't be stuck doing dishes! :)

I love to brew loose tea and use silver tea strainers for tea parties at home, however, since it was a drop-in afternoon tea and the tea had to be hot for a longer period of time, I chose to use several flavors of Twinings tea bags and have hot water pots prepared. (Now that I am reviewing my pictures, I should have used fancy labels for the hot water pots instead of using masking tape. Note to self: order these cute labels on Amazon for next time - https://amzn.to/2JegCRz )

teacher appreciation tea party

The teachers liked the selection of teas and enjoyed trying new flavors. Several of them raved about the "100% Pure White Tea" from Twinings and asked if they could take one home for later. I said "yes", of course!

Any proper afternoon tea party requires thinly sliced lemons, sugar cubes and cream.

Since it was afternoon tea, and not a meal like high tea, I did not make finger sandwiches. Instead, I choose to serve scones, desserts and fresh fruit. I ordered some fresh baked blueberry scones from the local bakery along with these darling brownies, and the cutest little tea cakes adorned with sprinkles. As a special treat, I asked a friend, who is known for her pound cakes, to bake some for the teachers. I'm glad I got a "before" picture because hardly anything was left after the party!

daisy brownies for teacher tea party

I couldn't believe how perfectly these little brownies matched the table linens and serving accessories I bought for the occasion. (The table linens, plates, napkins and serving accessories are from the Martha Stewart Collection at Micheal's Crafts)

lemon curd for scones

Of course, fresh baked scones need lemon curd!

Even though I didn't use a teapot for serving tea, I HAD to include one for ambience. Teapots always warm the heart and create an inviting space to guests as they enter the room! Don't forget the fresh flowers! I gathered these beautiful roses from my backyard. This was the teacher break room, so I really wanted to create a beautiful focal point to "WOW" them as they entered the room. It was so rewarding to see their faces light up when they saw the afternoon tea presentation awaiting them.

teacher appreciation week tea party food

This is what they saw when they entered the room.

3 tier stand for tea party food

Three Tier Stands are a must for afternoon tea. They create height to draw the eye while helping maximize table space. I've learned that adding an abundant display of fresh fruit is always refreshing to the senses.

teacher tea table

Wondering what to do with the dirty dishes? I provided a plastic bin under the table for teachers to place their teacups and saucers when finished.

I hope this inspired you to create your own Teacher Appreciation Tea Party! It was so much fun planning it, plus so rewarding watching the teachers enjoyment and gratitude of being treated like royalty.

Thank you for letting me share it with you.

Until next tea time,

Michelle

RESOURCE LIST:

(Some of these items contain affiliate links which means if you click on the link and buy something, I may receive a very small commission. It does NOT cost you anything extra)

1. Shabby Rose Teapot - https://amzn.to/2TXKibR

2. Shabby Rose Sugar Bowl and Cream Pitcher - https://amzn.to/3a0KNYr

3. Blue Vintage Rose Teacups and Tea Set - https://amzn.to/2WiA4od

4. Twinings Tea Flavors:

"100% Pure White Tea" Bags - https://amzn.to/3b2SzkD

"English Afternoon" Tea - https://amzn.to/2vsd6jg

"Lady Grey" Tea - https://amzn.to/2Qq4yRm

"English Breakfast" Tea - https://amzn.to/2QrVUBN

"Ceylon Orange Pekoe" - https://amzn.to/33qBz52

5. Thermal Beverage Carafe for hot water - https://amzn.to/2x9Mt2Y

6. Dickinson's Lemon Curd - https://amzn.to/3b3Wn54

7. Sugar Cubes - https://amzn.to/3a2jqgn