Tea Parties

[osprey_archer]

Somehow, most of my friends have in the last few years become tea aficionados. We have tea whenever we get together, which is splendid in itself, of course, but did not fulfill the secret yearning in my heart to live or at least entertain like a person in a lifestyle blog. Tea is lovely. Tea parties are better. But now that I've got a teapot, what I really are plans for tea parties with themes.

"A nursery rhyme tea!" quoth I. With four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie, and Peter Piper's pickled peppers, and curds and whey...

I shared my inspiration with Micky. "You realize that the parts that aren't impossible are unappetizing?" she pointed out. "We could use Cornish game hens and pretend they were blackbirds, maybe..."

Delicious, probably. Authentic nursery rhyme food, no. I decided to think about this a bit more.

"A Christmas tea!" I cried.

This is much more promising! Think of all the sources to be mined: Christmas carols, A Christmas Carol, Christmas poems through the ages! Chestnuts roasting on the open fire (or in the oven, as you will), plum pudding, gingerbread. Sugar plums, dancing in visions or otherwise. A roast goose!

Well, maybe not a goose for a tea. But we'd have quite enough food without it, anyway.

AND THEN, asakiyume mentioned that today is C. S. Lewis's birthday, and we agreed that tea would be an appropriate celebration, accompanied by Turkish delight, of course.

And I have been inspired! Think of the literary possibilities for tea. An Alice in Wonderland tea, of course, with treacle wells and Mock Turtle soup! That's almost too easy, perhaps.

And a fairytale tea, with a gingerbread house and candied apples, luscious red with snow white flesh.

And a Jane Austen tea, though that might be difficult. There's so little description of food in her books. A Redwall, tea, though: that would be easy! There are pages and pages of splendid things to eat in all the Redwall books. And Harry Potter, and...oh man, I could do American Girl teas! How cool would that be! FELICITY TEA.

Now I just need to convince my friends to unleash their inner child!

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

If only you lived closer (or I lived closer), we'd have *all* the literary tea parties.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Someday, we will be in the same place! At least briefly. I believe that this is so!

[ursula]

You forgot the Queen of Hearts and her tarts. That is an excellent basis for a tea party.

I have wanted to have a hobbit party for a long time.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Yes! Tarts and treacle wells (we may have to invent a treacle well recipe, as I don't believe they're real things), and cups of soup to start out with.

It's the right year for a hobbit party, I think. You could have a hobbit dinner, and then go so see the movie.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Hobbit tea, with several different kinds of cake? (including seed-cake, of course)

You could add a little red wine, raspberry jam, apple-tart, mince-pies, cheese, pork-pie and salad - and ale- and coffee, cold chicken and pickles, but that would only be necessary if you happened to have unexpected dwarves turn up with a wizard in tow.

40's wartime tea, with eggless cake and dried dates on toast?

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I think it would be easier to get people to come to a Hobbit tea than a wartime tea; somehow an endless list of food seems more inviting then "So let's pretend we're under rationing!"

Then again, many of my friends are history buffs. They might go for it. We could watch Casablanca and sing La Marseillaise.

Also, the first Hobbit movie's coming out this December. So clearly we could have a hobbit tea and then go see it! And then have another tea, so we can either celebrate or excoriate the film!

I approve of multiple teas. It's very hobbit-y.

[poeticknowledge.livejournal.com]

Sounds splendid and very exciting! :)

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I just have to get enough people in the same place long enough to make it happen!

[ladyherenya]

This makes me sad that none of my friends are tea drinkers. Literary themed tea parties would be amazing...

We used to do dress-up-as-a-fictional-character birthday parties but we never had themed food, just usual birthday party fare. Oh for the missed opportunities!

I think you could do a Jane Austen themed tea but the emphasis would be on the conversation, rather than the actual food.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

A Jane Austen tea would have the advantage of being easy to prepare, too: rather than putting together a whole gingerbread house or a four-and-twenty blackbird pie, all we'd need is tea, shortbread, and a propensity for conversation.