a Gentleman's "tea"

This sweet social came upon us on the heels of
                                                a "tea party " that I had for our little girls.

We had so much fun that our youngest son, Ford, asked me if he could have a "tea party" too.

His request took me a little by surprise.

And took his daddy ~ alot ~ by surprise.

It didn't take long for me to say "Yes!" (after all, I live for this kind of stuff!) . . .

. . . and after I did, Ford excitedly shared his "sweet" requests!  It was obvious that he had been thinking about it, alot (smile!).

 . . . "I want everything to be blue and green. If you have something
                     that's pink or purple, then we have to give it to Charley and Lauren."

                      . . . " I want chocolate too, mama!" . . .

   . . . "and 'those things' that taste so good, with the sprinkles."

"BUBBLE GUM!  Blue & green! We have to have those! They're great!" . . . 

With those simple &"sweet" requests, I began planning Ford's "tea party."

First, I had to come up a name for our little social . . . 

How about . . . "a Gentleman's tea!" 

Ford is loving, caring, and gentle . . . a little man, so it was perfect.

Now on to the fun stuff!

We ventured to a place that we love to picnic at for our "Gentleman's Tea."

We dressed up . . . Ford wore a bow tie . . . so handsome (smile).

                        We played . . . climbed trees . . . and laughed! 

And we sipped on THE BEST EVER home-made Blackberry Lemonade and enjoyed sweet treats!

~ our menu ~

THE BEST EVER

home-made Blackberry Lemonade

with fresh lemon & mint

Cake Batter Cookie Crumbles

with sprinkles

Chocolate Cupcakes

with chocolate sprinkles

and 

8-Layer Chocolate Cake
decorated with Sixlets and Gumballs!  

I always have fun with desserts, and this "tea party" was no exception!

Since it was a "tea party," I wanted to dress up Ford's favorite desserts a bit. 

So, I added old-fashioned pocket watch toppers (made from 3D stickers)

                            and chocolate sprinkles to the cupcakes . . . 
  

. . . and instead of a traditional 2 or 4-layer cake, I thought it would be fun to make a TALL 8-layer chocolate cake . . . and then decorate it with some of his favorite candies . . . sixlets and gumballs! He LOVED it!

Our decorations were simple . . . 

A pale blue and cream chevron tablecloth set our backdrop.

And since I knew that we were going to picnic under a tree, I thought a simple pennant garland would be perfect. I sewed one from scrapbook paper and ribbon that I had in my cupboard. It was a simple 15 minute project that added a touch of whimsy. 

Do you recognize the framed chalkboard!?! I thought it would be a fun way to showcase our menu. I had so much fun playing with the design! The kids loved the pictures of the blackberries, lemon, and tall cake!

I didn't want to transport "fine china" to the park, so I served our sweet treats on small chalkboards.

 

They were perfect plates!

I wrote "gentleman" on Ford's . . .

 . . . and when he asked me what it read, I found it was the perfect opportunity to talk about what it means to be a true gentleman. Even the girls participated in the discussion. 

I truly treasure teaching moments like these. 

I've even heard Ford and Charley make references to acting like a "gentleman" and a "lady" since having our "tea parties." 

I must tell you . . . I am one happy Mama!

After a long afternoon of play and pretend, we went home and everyone napped, including me . . . 

                      

                      . . . but not without counting my blessings first. 

follow Simply Suzannes at Home

on Facebook!