Christmas tea, oh Christmas tea...

[osprey_archer]

These many moons ago - well, one moon ago, really - I dreamily conceived a list of themed teas that I could inflict celebrate with my friends, and lo! one has come to pass: today we had a Christmas tea.

We rather cut back on the projected menu: four people can't eat gingerbread and a roast goose and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. But we did have gingerbread and sugar cookies!







I enlisted my friends to help decorate the cookies. They're not as beautiful as asakiyume's painted cookies (I intend to make painted cookies someday. Does the food coloring just come in a container with a little spout so you can direct the flow?), but they nonetheless have a toothsome charm.

Comments

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

Your Christmas tea looks so charming!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[athenais.livejournal.com]

It may be the fault of my browser, but I swear those look like Halloween cookies. I love the tea service.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

They do look a bit Halloween-y. I think the exposure makes the red look a bit orange, and also my friends and I add a touch of creepiness to all cookies we decorate.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Merry Christmas-tea!

I can see that the goose might be a Goose Too Far. :-D

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I have never actually eaten a goose. Someday I must rectify this!

[poeticknowledge.livejournal.com]

I think I spot the other tea pot I sent you in the second picture (*big smile*)! Yay! :D What an awesome Christmas tea! :) Who did you invite over?

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Yes! The other teapot got out for the party!

I had Micky and Emma over for the tea, and also Monika, who I don't believe I've talked to you about. She's one of my high school friends, who I like seeing when we're in the same place - she's one of those people who is simply very nice and up for anything - but we don't exchange letters or anything when we're at opposite ends of the country.

[poeticknowledge.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D I'm thrilled you got to use the other one for the tea party! <3

I don't believe I've heard of Monika before, but that's wonderful that you got to throw a tea party with friends! How neat! <3 :)

[bogwitch64.livejournal.com]

How wonderful! I love it.

Years ago, we did "painted cookies" with these special markers my mom got from a baker friend. Probably not as elegant as painting, but...
http://www.amazon.com/Gourmet-Writer-Edible-Markers-AmeriColor/dp/B0020ZURDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356712468&sr=8-1&keywords=cookie+markers

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

If the marker tips are narrow enough, I think the cookies could look pretty elegant at the end.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

In answer to your question about the painted cookies--we use very, very fine painbrushes!

Your tea looks like it was *wonderful* (not to mention mouthwateringly delicious).

--If you come again to the Amherst-Northampton area, there's a place to buy tea I can take you. The people who run it travel all over the world buying tea... you know what? It occurs to me I can buy some and send it to you! (But it may be a while as I'm a lazy sort of person and Northampton is three towns away. But next time I'm over that way...)

But anyway--if you are ever out this way, I will take you there and you can choose from their tantalizing choices. Tea from Sikkim, Darjeeling, Nepal, Japan--all over!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

So you put the food coloring in little cups and paint from them? This begins to sound doable. Time to find cheap tiny paintbrushes!

I don't know if I'll be in the Northampton area soon, because I kind of had a falling out with the friend I was visiting there, but I expect my research will take me east-coastwards eventually. And then there will be TEA.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly: put the food coloring in teacups or eggcups or whatever, and use tiny tiny paintbrushes. Expensive ones are actually better because their fine tips don't splay out, but you can also get cheap ones and then trim them with scissors to make them just a few fibers thick.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

(And I'm sorry to hear about your falling out, though those things happen, but I do expect one day, someday, you'll be in this neck of the woods--and in the meantime, I will SEND you some.)

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Yay tea!