Midsummers Night Tea Party

On Midsummer’s Night, weird and wonderful things can happen. An ordinary garden can open doors into nature’s mysteries at night. Invite your guests to wear at least one piece of clothing they don’t usually wear—something too fancy or unusual for everyday life. Send out invitations with a hint of strangeness: an iridescent ribbon or a few bits of glitter inside the card. The party will start at sundown or later.

Decorations are essential to set the stage for Midsummer’s Night magic. You’ll need tiny lights—Christmas lights strung around the garden, citronella candles to discourage mosquitoes and scent the air, and little tea candles floating in glass bowls filled with water. Place smooth stones in the bottom of the bowls so they can’t tip over.

Hang small shiny things around the garden to reflect the candlelight, another chance to use your Christmas decorations in July. Scatter them widely—a strand of tinsel here, a crystal icicle six feet away in a hedge. The effect should be like fireflies suddenly appearing as the candle flames shift. If you need to mark paths to and from the house, or to a fragrant patch of night-blooming flowers, tie tinsel or reflective streamers to stakes lining the paths.

Plant a CD player underneath a tree, loaded with an exotic soundtrack: a recording of natural sounds from a rainforest or bird sanctuary, or New Age music on Indonesian gamelan, Tibetan bowls, or Japanese flutes. If you have wind chimes, hang them a little distance from your guests, adding random bells to the night.

Use a lightweight sheet as a tablecloth, weighted down at the edges with flat stones. Sheer scarves make elegant runners, especially with long fringe hanging over the edge of the table to catch the breeze. Use any tableware that has a trace of a shine: silver, brass, glass, or glazed porcelain. Tie metallic gauze ribbons around rolled napkins, and finish the table setting with a light sprinkling of silver glitter.

Inexpensive paper fans can keep guests cool on a hot night, and they make attractive party favors. Tie gauze ribbon bows around them to match the napkin rolls. Decorate the table with the sweetest-smelling herbs and flowers you can find: scents have a stronger impact in the dark.

For a centerpiece, mix a spicy tea punch, adding wine or vodka if you choose. Float thin slices of orange, kiwi, and lemon in the punch bowl. Include an element of surprise in a few of the dishes on the menu: curried chicken spread for an innocent finger sandwich, mini muffins with a dab of sweet preserves deep inside, or an assortment of chocolates with mystery fillings.

Make sure that everything on the menu is easy to eat in the dark:
Teas: jasmine, mint, hibiscus, and berry with sugar, honey, and lemon as desired
Curried chicken finger sandwiches
Wheat toast points with herbed mustard butter

Mini muffins with preserved fillings
Melon slices in a bed of shaved ice
Frozen green grapes
Filled chocolates

 

Famous Quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream

William Shakespeare quotes / quotations from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Select your favorite quote…

 

“The course of true love never did run smooth”. Quote (Act I, Scene I).

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind”. Quote (Act I, Scene I)

“That would hang us, every mother’s son.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream Quote. Act i. Scene.2

“I ’ll put a girdle round about the earth In forty minutes.” Quote Act ii. Scene. 1

“My heart Is true as steel.”  A Midsummer Night’s Dream Quote. Act ii. Scene. 1.

“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine. ”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Quote. Act ii. Scene.1

“The true beginning of our end. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream Quote. Act v. Scene.1 .