I started collecting bone china about a few years ago. I stored them in the cupboard for a while, not sure when I would use them as I have young kids. Then one summer, the girls saw them and wanted to play tea party. I always look for ways to spend time with the kids so I happily obliged ! Beautiful cups and tea pots are meant to be used ! It's a waste of their beauty to be stored away.
Since that fateful day, we now have tea party at least once a month. In the spring or summer time, it's 2-3 times a week. If there's a guide for food for tea party, then we failed in that department :-) We would use anything we can find in our kitchen for a tea party ! macarons, cupcakes, chips, pastries, croissants, cookies, pumpkin seeds, pancakes, bread, pudding, fruits, cereals, to name a few : -) As for tea, only I get to have real tea while the kids usually have milk or the occasional dragon fruit tea (herbal) or pink lemonade in the summer.
Tea party is our favorite time together. We talk, we share secrets, we play games, we dress up, we stare at clouds floating by, we cuddles and sometimes we cry. I love every bit of it.
If you want to start something like this with your kid, you can pretty much set it up with any tea set ! It doesn't have to be bone china. I just happened to caught the bug and started to collect them ! You can get tea cups from craigslist, 2nd hand stores, or flea market, but I've found a lot of inexpensive and nice ones at antique malls. I like to go to the one in Fort Langley and the ones in Washington, States, as they have quite an extensive collections of tea cups. Vancouver flea market has 1 stall there (near the back) owned by a lovely lady who sells them for a good price. Depending on design and brand, cost goes from $5-$20 per set of cup and saucer. I heard estate garage sale is the best but I never been to one.
Since that fateful day, we now have tea party at least once a month. In the spring or summer time, it's 2-3 times a week. If there's a guide for food for tea party, then we failed in that department :-) We would use anything we can find in our kitchen for a tea party ! macarons, cupcakes, chips, pastries, croissants, cookies, pumpkin seeds, pancakes, bread, pudding, fruits, cereals, to name a few : -) As for tea, only I get to have real tea while the kids usually have milk or the occasional dragon fruit tea (herbal) or pink lemonade in the summer.
Tea party is our favorite time together. We talk, we share secrets, we play games, we dress up, we stare at clouds floating by, we cuddles and sometimes we cry. I love every bit of it.
If you want to start something like this with your kid, you can pretty much set it up with any tea set ! It doesn't have to be bone china. I just happened to caught the bug and started to collect them ! You can get tea cups from craigslist, 2nd hand stores, or flea market, but I've found a lot of inexpensive and nice ones at antique malls. I like to go to the one in Fort Langley and the ones in Washington, States, as they have quite an extensive collections of tea cups. Vancouver flea market has 1 stall there (near the back) owned by a lovely lady who sells them for a good price. Depending on design and brand, cost goes from $5-$20 per set of cup and saucer. I heard estate garage sale is the best but I never been to one.
The teapot is the most expensive piece but you can get away with the standard teapot. I've gotten many cute milk and creamer and teapots from Homesense ! The whole idea is to have fun so don't overthink it !
***If you do have bone china, here are some tips I learned. Bone china is very delicate ! Easy to crack, easy to break and have to be hand washed. When using, it's important to pre-heat it up first. For teapot, warm it up by slowly pouring a bit of warm hot water inside but not boiling hot water, swish it around then pour it out. Now you can add the tea bag or leaves and slowly add the boiling water. When the tea is ready, pour milk in the tea cup first so when tea is being poured in, the milk will cool it down. IF NOT using milk, put a tea spoon into the tea cup and then pour the tea onto the spoon (not directly onto the cup). By pre-heating the pot and cups, you will help prevent them from cracking.
Here are some pictures of our tea times over the year:
