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 ~
with sprinkles
Chocolate Cupcakes
with chocolate sprinkles
and
8-Layer Chocolate Cake
decorated with Sixlets and Gumballs!
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.
