Holiday Tea

Our ladies annual Holiday Tea was the third weekend in December. Myself and one of the Flea Market friends take turns hosting the tea and this year it was my turn. For the Holiday Tea we invite our daughters too. This year we had twenty one attending. We usually have the ladies sign up for a food item to bring, and they are asked to bring a tea cup as well. We also do a small gift exchange.
This year we decided to change the rules of the Holiday Tea. Three of us, myself as the host, one Flea Market Friend and the Invitation Maker, provided the food. I made the main dish, individual chicken pot pies, the Flea Market Friend, provided the desserts, and the Invitation Maker provided the salad. We also decided that this year the Ladies would participate in the Toys for Tots program by bringing a toy to donate.

We decided to change the rules of the Holiday Tea for one main reason.... Ease. We thought it would be easier for us to have the chicken pot pies and salads served rather than having twenty one people trying to work their way through a buffet line. This worked well, especially because of the layout of my main floor.
This year we did three tables. I had one in the kitchen/dining area, and two in the livingroom. We always do one with our Christmas Spode, one with my mom's china, a Bavarian china with a blue flower and silver trim, and this year we added a new, well new for us, set I found at the Goodwill. For this table I used the red glassware I found at a garage sale a few months ago. Flea Market Friend and I hunt all year long for dishes, glassware, and linens to add to our collection. We have enough to serve an army, but we still hunt. I store mine on shelves in the garage. Not too long ago, I had a repairman working in the garage.. as he looked around at my collection with a puzzled look on his face he asked if I ran a catering business!! Does that mean I have too much?

We have a fairly good size eating area in our kitchen, but our kitchen lacks counter space.

The closest thing to a picture of the pot pies. The Invitation Maker found individual ramekins in Christmas red at the dollar store.

The view from the kitchen/dining area into the livingroom.

Daughter number 3 on the left and her BFF of twenty years.

The Invitation Maker,(she's on the left) and I working in the kitchen. The Invitation Maker is a midwife and an hour before the tea started, she got a phone call... fortunately my house is only ten minutes from the hospital. She was back in two hours just in time to put her salad together!!
The desserts were bit size, finger desserts, so no need for forks. I set up a table in my hallway to put the desserts on. I think it's important to have separate serving areas to help with the people flow at a party.

I hope you've enjoyed a small snapshot of our Holiday Tea. Tomorrow the Gift Exchange and Toys for Tots

Chris