A high tea is a great opportunity for ladies to spend time together, chatter away and nibble on some delicious snacks. These are generally high-octane gatherings and it can be a lot of fun planning an evening that turns out to be memorable for all.
Ideally, host a high tea during those lazy summer days when most people are not caught up in a crazy whirl of social activity.
Here are some tips to help make your high tea a success.
- Start out by making a list of invitees and send out invitations at least ten days in advance. You can either choose to email an invite or WhatsApp the invitation mentioning the theme if you have decided on one.
- Plan the menu – which is undoubtedly the most important aspect of the evening. There are no hard and fast rules on how many dishes there have to be on the table. This is entirely up to you. It is advisable to have more savory dishes on the menu than sweet as most ladies are weight conscious. One cake or dessert set on an attractive cake stand could be a highlight. Here is a list of snacks which you could serve at your high tea:
- Chutney sandwiches
- Mushroom and spring onion quiche
- Chicken sandwiches
- Alu tikkis served with a green chutney
- Bhel puri
- Dahi batata puri
- Dahi wada served with tamarind chutney
- Hummus dip served with chips or toasted pita bread
- Quinoa salad, served with a peanut butter dressing
- Fish cakes served with an apricot sauce
- Fruit tart
- Brownies
- Lemon tarts
- Cupcakes
- Pineapple upside down cake
- Carrot cake with a cream cheese topping
- Lemon cake
- Once the menu is decided, shop for all the ingredients at least three days in advance – this gives you enough time to start the preparation.
- Do all your spring cleaning.
- Decide on what crockery is going to be used to go along with the theme of your party.
- Ensure that your table linen is laundered. Buy some pretty paper napkins.
- Order flowers for the day of your party.
- Make sure that you do a lot of the preparation a day in advance. In case you wish to source some of the food, make arrangements in advance.
- Set the table and crockery out a few hours before the guests are to arrive. Embellish the table décor with some crystal candle stands and some pretty flower arrangements.
- Light a few fragrant candles around the house so that it is enveloped in a welcoming aroma.
- Beverages: Apart from tea and coffee, green tea, chilled lemon juice or watermelon juice would be welcomed by the weight watchers. Arrange enough pretty cups and saucers to serve the tea in. The milk and sugar to be set out can be added according to each guest’s individual taste. Similarly, keep out some attractive glasses to serve the juice.
- It is advisable to be showered and ready well in advance so that you will be refreshed and calm when your guests start arriving.
