Sip, Sip, Hooray –  it’s time to parTEA!

We just celebrated Elle turning three with a Birthday Tea Party and, honestly, it was such a tea-rrific day. Really brew-tiful (I can’t even help myself when it comes to the Mum puns, guys).

Today I’m sharing all the inspo in case you’re thinking about hosting a birthday tea party of your own!

Birthday Tea Party Dessert Table

When it comes to birthday parties – or any celebration, really – I love to focus on the dessert table (probably because that’s where I spend the most time).

I’m starting to feel a bit like a broken record… but I was completely in awe of our desserts made by my friends at St. Albert’s Whisk Dessert Co. 

If you checked out Elle’s fiesta last year, her swan princess first birthday party, my Christmas dessert bar cart or Valentine’s Day table, you’ll know that Jenn, Jade and their team at Whisk Dessert Co. are essentially dessert magicians.

Like, I can’t even with the level of creativity shown in all these desserts.

The star of the show was this three-tier pastel teapot cake with the most intricate detail work. Just look at all these miniature flowers!

Plus, it tasted as good as it looks. The base was vanilla sponge cake, the middle was lemon cake and the teapot itself was rice krispie.

These cozy ’n cute tea bag sugar cookies were a major hit with the kids. They were the first item to disappear. And how darling – each tea bag was adorned with a custom message.

Elle was also completely enamoured by the ‘mini pots’ – which were stacked teapot macarons with a dusted silver milk chocolate spout and handle.

I can’t say enough good things about Whisk Dessert Co. It’s so much fun dreaming up a dessert, sharing the idea with Whisk and then seeing it come to life. Not only does the Whisk team have skills… but their ability to listen to your wishes and deliver a product that is enchantingly beautiful and delicious is second to none.

Birthday Tea Party Dessert Table Decor

So, I’ve always been a fan of sparkle but turns out I know someone who likes it wayyyyy more than I do: my daughter.

Last year I dolled up her dessert table with a rose gold sequinned tablecloth. I liked the look so much that this year, I went with a silver sequinned tablecloth and layered it with a blush pink linen runner, for added texture.

 

Not going to lie, the desserts were so pretty, I didn’t have much need for additional decor. I let them shine by using all-white serve ware.

I found a fun cake garland and used a DIY kit to create a “Let’s Partea!” banner. I also complemented the pastel tones of the desserts with four dozen light pink roses and a few white gladiolus for height. I often get asked about my flowers and in this case: guys, these roses cost me a total of $44 at Costco.

Aaron bought the roses a few days in advance so they had time to open up a bit and look larger. Then I arranged them in a selection of white vases and pitchers. And, to fit the theme, dressed up a few teapots and tea cups.

I also found the prettiest vintage-look plastic cutlery and plates. They’re ‘disposable’ – but I washed them and will continue to use them at parties for years to come.

Balloon Arch Backdrop

As a backdrop for the dessert table, I made this balloon arch (with the help of my husband at midnight the evening before) for a whole whopping….. $8. Yup, that’s all this cost!

I simply picked up a selection of pastel-tone balloons at Wal-Mart (Elle requested her favourite colour: Elsa Blue) and some thin, malleable wire.

At first I’d blow up the balloons and tie them onto the wire. Midway through, though, I just started piercing the wire through the tails of each balloon.

While I’m super pleased with how the arch turned out, next time I’d hit up Amazon a few weeks in advance. I noticed (after the fact) that they have prettier colours and metallic balloons that make for truly swoon-worthy balloon arrangements.

Birthday Tea Party Beverages and Food

Okay – I was having so much fun at the party that I didn’t exactly take many photos of the food and drink!

When it came to beverages, we kept things simple and offered water and iced tea. Plus – not gonna lie – I’m a fan of mixing in fun for the adults at kids’ parties, so we also had Twisted Teas on ice and the beer in our kegerator was flowin’!

Aaron and I also severely OVER-estimated the food situation. I picked up 15 loaves of breads from Cobbs that morning, which we then turned into far too many finger sandwiches (cucumber, turkey and swiss, and ham and cheddar).

My Mum made her famous devilled eggs and we offered basic crowd pleasers: veggies, fruit and chips ’n dip.

Birthday Tea Party Entertainment

I dreamed up so many fun birthday tea party activities for the kids – like bedazzling sun hats, painting tea cups and decorating sugar cookies.

However, our friends’ kids have a large age gap – in attendance were little ones from one through nine – so we decided to bring back two activities that were a hit last year: a bouncy castle (this is ours) and piñata.

The swan piñata was so cute, I actually used it as decor on the dessert table. But even cuter was watching Elle and her friends go savage.

That’s a Wrap!

Well guys, thanks for stopping by and checking out Elle’s Third Birthday Tea Party. It was SUCH a fun day… even if there were a few moments throughout the party when I couldn’t believe our little baby is already 3.

A big thank you to Whisk Dessert Co. for teaming up with me on desserts. And one last look at this cake because #obsessed

As always, I’m happy to answer any questions you have in the comments below or on Insta!

Xo Holly Hunka

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