Brew Up Some Anticipation With The Right Tea Party Invitation
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios


Defined Tag: Tea Party Invitation.

We have all heard the overused cliché: first impressions count. Now, if you are throwing a tea party, you might think the first impression is how you present yourself to your guests when they enter your door for the actual party. This is not the case.

So what is the first impression? The first impression is the tea party invitation you send to them. Getting this right is vitally important because it is the first thing they will associate with your party. So what does your invitation look like? Is it neat and professional? Does it clearly communicate pertinent information? Does it clearly represent the atmosphere of the event (i.e. formal semiformal, casual)?

Depending on your time, budget, skills and the amount of invitations you need, you will have to decide whether you will hand craft them, create them on your computer or use a commercial printing service. Bear in mind you’ll need to send these out to your guests at least two weeks before the event.

Put your imagination to work and think up some ideas for the design of your invitations. If you are making your own you can cut them into whimsical shapes, such as a tea pot. You can embellish them with cut pieces from a paper doily, real teabags, tea packets and anything else that you think would look good – scrapbook supplies are very useful. For a child’s event, you can really go to town with different shapes, colors and materials, and your child can help make them too.

Remember to include all the important facts about the event, such as:

- What the event is.
- The date of the event.
- The time of the event.
- The location.
- Theme and dress code (if appropriate).
- RSVP.
Your contact information.

In addition to this, you may want to plainly describe what it is they will experience at your tea party. For instance, will you serve refreshments? Will allergies be a potential issue? Will there be any entertainment at the event? These are all important factors to include. Of course, do not overdue it with useless information.

You can also incorporate the design of your invitations into the décor for your party. You may want to choose a certain color, or color scheme, and have your flowers, table linen and china all matching. Or there may be a special feature such as a particular flower on the invitation and you can use those flowers for your centerpiece.

After all is said and done, it is up to you to determine how simple or complex, how elegant or how cumbersome, your invitation turns out to be. Do not blow it. Follow the bare minimum rules; the rest is up to you, but remember to create something that fits the atmosphere of your party.