Spring is a time to celebrate the gifts of new life like babies, brides, mothers, and graduations. But even if you and yours are not celebrating a milestone this spring, warmer sunshine makes the flowers and our souls begin to explode with color. And when we experience warmth and color in our souls, we often want to share with others. Are you planning a spring tea-related event? Here are some ideas for you.

I compiled this list with some help from the following books:

1. Bless This Food:Four Seasons of Menus, Recipes, and Table Graces
2. Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions:Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations of Comfort and Joy
3. Tea Party: 20 Themed Tea Parties with Recipes for Every Occasion, from Fabulous Showers to Intimate Gatherings

• Fairy Tales–These classic stories awaken children’s imaginations. The Flower Fairies have made a strong comeback in recent years; they’re my hope for children whose imaginations are fed with webkins these days. For ideas how to incorporate fairies into a children’s (or adults’) party, I refer you to the article “Tea and Faeries”
• The Secret Garden–If classic literature is more your style than fairies, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett would provide an enchanting tea party theme. Consider inviting a local Master Gardener to answer your guests’ questions about their gardens and your local area. Favors can include seed packets or small potted plants. Spring bulb flowers like daffodils and tulips provide simple and beautiful decorations. Allow your guests time to plan their own summer gardens through catalogs, scissors, paste, and paper. Hold a contest for the best designed garden. Encourage guests to dream about the joy the beauty of working outdoors can bring.
• Spring Celebration–What represents new life and fresh beginnings to you? Some of the traditional decor include colored eggs and young farm animals. This might be the best time for a Beatrix Potter-themed tea. Beautiful egg ornaments can be made (using blown eggs) or purchased and hung from the light fixture above your table or on a flowered branch for a centerpiece (don’t forget to keep it low). You can also use wheat or rye grass tucked in baskets as part of your decor. And if your group is particularly crafty (or young and uninhibited) a spring party can be a fun time to decorate hats to be worn during the following tea party, of course!
• Arbor Day—Gardeners among us, consider how much it would mean to reach out to a single parent, shut-in, or someone else who could really use your green thumbs and plan a party to bring the garden to them. It can be as simple as everyone bringing a spring flower picked up at the local garden center. Assemble a pot together and leave it on an unsuspecting doorstep. (Just don’t make it too heavy!). Or, with permission, plant a tree in their yard. Even better, help clean up the yard and trees they already have! Be sure to award your guests hard work with a simple picnic you can quickly pull out when the work is done and cool drinks, like iced tea. And present them with some new, colorful garden gloves as a party favor.
• May Day–If you are planning a party for children in the spring, this theme lends itself to bouquets or garlands of wild flowers and erecting a simple Maypole as the grand marshal of outdoor field games. But be sure to hold a parade with the Maypole held high first! For an adult party, the Maypole could be assembled tabletop height for the centerpieces. The book, Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions: Reviving Victorian Family Celebrations Of Comfort & Joy provides all the instructions you need including miniature maypoles, may day baskets, and daisy crowns.
  

What spring event will you plan or attend? Do these themes inspire you? Which one?