Kitchen Tea Party Ideas

Bridal shower, kitchen tea, hen’s night and bachelorette party? What’s the difference? And who’s meant to be invited to what? Undeservedly, kitchen teas have been on the decline for the past decade, giving way to the roudier bridal shower.

Where the kitchen tea differs from the other events above is that traditionally, the maid of honour and bridesmaids organise the kitchen tea and invite the bride-to be’s close female family members and friends, including the older family members, for an afternoon of old-school fun. But it doesn't have to be a stuffy, dowdy affair. Far from it.

Here’s a few kitchen tea party ideas that will create a classy affair that everybody will enjoy:

Starting with the venue, the name says it all – you need a kitchen, but it doesn’t have to be yours. Convincing family and friends that have a beautiful kitchen to host a kitchen tea is a lot easier than larger events. Nobody hears the words “kitchen tea” and imagines broken windows and the police banging on the door.

For the guests, it is customary to bring a gift to a kitchen tea specifically for the kitchen such as a small electrical appliance, a modern cooking gadget, perhaps even kitchen cleaning utensils. But traditional times have passed, and more often than not, the bride to be and her partner already have acquired the necessary items for their kitchen. In this instance, the focus is more about celebrating with loved ones.

Instead, a nice touch is to ask the guests to bring along their favourite recipe, these are then all collated into a personal cookbook and gifted to the bride.

Décor wise you can go for a theme such as, Alice in Wonderland’s Madhatter Tea Party or High Tea At The Plaza or Breakfast At Tiffany’s or something a little less formal with an old-fashioned Bake-Off! Think old school pastels like turquoise and pink or lemon and a mixture of patterns like polka dots, gingham or candy stripes.

A kitchen tea doesn’t need a lot of decorating and we find one of Chocablock’s gorgeous pastel DIY balloon garlands are just the trick. They only take about 45 minutes to create and can hang from temporary plastic hooks attached to the wall. Add some personalised bunting or a full blown personalised banner to hung under the garland that matches your theme for only a few dollars more.

Create a dessert and drinks table with champagne flutes, and fashioned drink dispenser filled with home made lemonade and some pre-prepared goodies for those who arrive hungry including some decorated cookies and your own matching personalised kitchen tea chocolate bars. A cluster of ivory lollipops also looks great. Create your own centrepiece with a tall ceramic vase filled with cooking utensils.

The games at a kitchen tea tend to be less raunchy than at a hen’s night, but some of them can still be quite fun. Quiz the guests to see how well they know the bride, with questions about her childhood, her likes and dislikes, and even her future spouse. Another popular game involves asking each guest to write some words of wisdom/marriage advice.

Another great idea is to all work together to create the most incredible kitchen tea cake or batch of cupcakes ever made. Having flour and laughter float through the air as the champagne flows will be a great memory to savour. Once their cooked, all the guests can tuck in and marvel at how great they all are.