Creating A Vintage Tea Party

I have to admit that over the last year I have got really into the vintage style. There's something so warm and homely about it and I have to restrain myself in a bit or, much to my husbands dismay, the house would be covered in bunting, rose prints and collections of vintage china!

Anyway my lovely Grandma will be 87 this year and I a planning to throw her a vintage style tea party in the garden so I have been doing some research and scouring my beloved Pinterest for some ideas to make the perfect vintage tea party for her.

Obviously if you are having a tea party it's important to get the tea itself right. As my husband is a Yorkshireman he insisted on Yorkshire Tea for years. However now he has lived "down south" for a while he has changed his allegiance to Twinning's. He favours the extra strong tea but I think that for a tea party you need something a bit lighter and more feminine. I have recently discovered this lovely Earl Grey with a touch of lavender which smells delicious and conjures up images of warm summer afternoons. It is so delicate and would be the perfect touch for a vintage party.

Of course the crockery is really important too. You can source some beautiful second hand pieces from local charity shops or ebay but if you don't have time to scour the shops then Cath Kidston is a great solution. She does some beautiful mugs which sell for around £6 although you can now get them discounted at http://www.cousinsfurniture.co.uk/. If you really want to treat your guests you can give them their own mug which they can then take home with them as a party favour.

The decoration is important too. Nothing looks prettier than bunting fluttering in the summer breeze and although you can buy it in the shops  it is actually really easy to make and you hardly need to sew at all. All you need is a length of ribbon and some pretty material like the one below from John Lewis. Then taking some pinking shears cut out triangular shapes. The pinking shears mean that the edges don't fray so you don't need to sew around them. Then just sew each triangle on to the ribbon - easy!

Finally and probably most essential is the cakes! Here's a recipe for mini chocolate chip cupcakes that are so sweet and ideal for a children's party too. Serve them in pretty vintage cake cases on your best cake stand!

Ingredients
100g sugar
100g self raising flour
100g unsalted butter
40g cocoa
a handful of white chocolate chips

spoon the mixture into miniature cupcake cases and bake for around 10 mins.