A Holiday Christmas Tea and Table Settings
The Christmas season is one of the busiest times of the year. For some, it is a deeply religious holiday. For others, it is an opportunity to celebrate the meaning of giving to others and the sharing of friendship.
An afternoon tea can be as simple as a teacup or mug filled with a favorite blend, a light repast with a few savories and sweets to a full-blown elaborate affair. Your theme can be traditional or whimsical. Be creative in the shapes and fillings. Cookie cutters are my go-to favorites for both savories and sweets. Explore craft stores for décor.
A holiday tea party can be to trim the tree, have a cookie swap or gift exchange, a fundraiser to help a cause, or to gather with colleagues, family and friends.
Santa knows who has been naughty or nice, so remember an act of kindness will go a long, long way! Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy, safe New Year.
Holiday Tea Menu
Sandwiches and Savory Fillings
Cucumber and Mint, Smoked Salmon and Lemon Chive Paste
Egg and Diced Black Olive Spread, Mini Shepard Pie,
Cinnamon- Date Cream Cheese, Turkey with Cranberry Mayonnaise, Ham and Watercress, Roast-beef with Horseradish
Cranberry Corn Muffins, Currant and Butterscotch ~ Ginger Scones
Lemon and Lime Curd, Cranberry and Strawberry Preserves
Sweets
Pecan Crème Crepe Roll Bite
Gingerbread Cake and Cookies
Jordan Sugar Almonds, Almond Trifle
Assorted Mini Pies- Apple, Pumpkin, Minced
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffle, Ribbon Candy
Eggnog, Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows
Assorted Traditional Teas and Chai,
Dessert Teas and Infusions ~ Caramel Apple,
Almond Coconut Macaroon or Gingerbread Red Rooibos,
Christmas Sugar Cubes, Candied Ginger, Milk, Sliced Lemon
Holiday Shapes for Tea Sandwiches~ Star, Snowflake, Holly Leaf, Gingerbread Man
Mini Shepard Pi
Afternoon Tea Sandwiches Wreath
Scones, Devon Cream, Lemon and Lime Curd
Lemon Curd and Cranberry Preserves
Cranberry Corn Muffins
Marshmallows, Cookies, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles, Candied Ginger, Jordan Sugar Almonds
Basket of Gingerbread Tea Cakes
Reva Paul Christmas Tree Sugar Cubes
Holiday Table Settings
A quick cheat sheet on the seven-course service order:
1) Hors d’oeuvre 2) soup 3) fish or salad course 4) palate cleanser 5) main course 6) cheese 7) dessert and coffee/ tea
Small Centerpieces
The Republic of Tea Dessert Teas
Christmas Tree Pan
Star Cookie Cutters
Quick Links:
Table Manners and Table Settings
©Ellen Easton ~ All Rights Reserved
Ellen Easton, author of Afternoon Tea~Tips, Terms and Traditions(RED WAGON PRESS), an afternoon tea authority, lifestyle and etiquette industry leader, keynote speaker and product spokesperson, is a hospitality, design, and retail consultant whose clients have included the Waldorf=Astoria, the Plaza and Bergdorf Goodman. Easton’s family traces their tea roots to the early 1800s, when ancestors first introduced tea plants from India and China to the Colony of Ceylon, thus building one of the largest and best cultivated teas estates on the island.
Love the candy cane idea! The Cookie Tree is another fabulous idea, thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah ❤️
Ellen gives it all from table setting to decorated trees with tea sandwhiches.
As always she has outdone herself with Christmas ideas and delicious things. Magic and Grace 🌟🌟🌟🌹❤️
It’s all so stunning! This puts me right in the holiday spirit 🙂
Thank you, Sue. Coming from you I consider your remark a real compliment.
Mercedes and Melissa, I appreciate your kind comments and wish you a happy , safe New Year.