Do you ever want to host more often but are afraid to break the bank? Or have you ever thought my house isn’t big enough, or pretty enough or whatever, to host? Me too. BUT this weekend I hosted a Mother’s Day tea party. Is my house all the way finished with the remodel? No. And you know what? No one said anything. So this is your sign to just start being hospitable and chill the heck out. If you read nothing else, I beg of you to scroll to the bottom of this page and look at the pictures of my sisters who played a fun little joke on me, a history nerd. I loved it!

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It was a beautiful day full of breezy sunshine, color flowers and delicious tea and food. I love coffee but there is just something elegant and feminine about a tea party. That feminine ambiance makes tea parties a wonderful choice for baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, especially for a tea lover, or in our case a Mother’s Day.  I love an enchanted garden aesthetic and tea parties are a perfect catalyst for that vibe. Give me all the blooming garden-flower soaked-pops of color-fairy light feels! We pulled it off and it was a very affordable and delightful day!

I’ve added some details about our party but will probably do a more in-depth post of the how of the party. For now, this is a list of some affordable tea party gifts or favors.

A Quick Note on Tea Fare.

I have been to quite a few tea rooms and often the styling goes one of two directions: Victorian era or shabby chic. Granted, I live in the mid-west, perhaps other places have tea rooms with a different vibe. I have been to one tea room in Syracuse, NY that was very modern feeling. It was cool, it was a bit more of a restaurant than typical tea-rooms in the mid-west. Additionally, I am rarely wowed by the food in a tea room. I know, I know, its about the tea. I generally feel underwhelmed by it. Which is disappointing especially because visiting  tea room is often not cheap! 

So we aimed to change that with our little tea here. I made some scones using this recipe. As I note, I made the regular recipe and I also made a batch with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour. Both turned out very nicely! I also made some chicken salad sandwiches. Typically, I make chicken salad, but to make things easier I bought some from Costco. One of my sisters bought a beautiful fruit tray, another a charcuterie board and my mom made some cucumber sandwiches, little cheesecake bites and some rose charcuterie kabobs. We probably broke some tea room rules here but I care not. It was pretty and delicious. 

We went heavy on the flowers and garden feel. I sent my sister a picture of the tables and place settings and she nailed the flowers in my opinion.  

When it comes to parties, I love to entertain but this is not a Martha Stuart dinner party. I’m a regular schmegular mid-west mom who likes to make other people feel loved and special without breaking the bank. I do not have a fancy house, I would have loved to host a true “garden tea” outside but its Ohio in May and that was just a gamble I was not willing to take the gamble.

All this to say you can throw a beautiful and fun party without breaking the bank. I had favors for my guests and they were all under $3 each.  You might be thinking there is no way you can give anyone anything nice without spending more. You can if you shop obscure clearance sections for weird little odds and ends. You can if you are not afraid of a little DIY. More on that later! Here are some great ideas for tea party favors. These could work for bridal shower favors, a birthday party or really any special occasion with a tea party theme. Some of these I bought my attendees, some were given to me as hostess gifts and some were just ideas I had later.

I should note here, tea parties can be very affordable however I have collected the tea pots, teacups and saucers over the years. If I were to have just decided suddenly, it could still be relatively affordable but there would be more cost on the front end. You can totally buy tea ware affordably. My favorite set of china I got 20 cups, 20 saucers, and cream and sugar containers for $25. For reference, I bought white plastic disposable plates at Costco for $13. I need to look for some larger plates and some serving tiers at estate sales this summer. Anyway…on to favors!

Tea Party Favor Ideas 

Starting off  Strong and Economical with Vintage Teacups

Options 1-4 would require buying tea cups. I’m a budget kind of gal and I love to shop Goodwill, thrift stores, estate sales and garage sales for tea ware and china. People are often getting rid of these for super cheap and some of my favorite pieces I’ve gotten for incredibly low prices. However, if you wanted to go full out and order a bunch of matching tea cups, that is also fine. 

1) Most obviously, just a cup and saucer. If you are not planning to keep all of the tea party decorations you could let the guests take home their cup and saucer. 

2)Vintage Tea Cups Made into Candles: I love to make candles and it is literally the easiest. Hot glue a wick to the bottom of the teacup and fill with melted bee’s wax. If I had thought of this in time I would have done it for sure, but  alas, I did not think of it until it was too late. Side note: If you buy beeswax, please do not buy it on Amazon. I have purchased there before I knew anything about beeswax and I think I only received actual beeswax one time. EBeeHoney is the best! Their customer service is top notch. I’m not an affiliate, just love their product!

3) Cups of Tea! You could fill teacups with different tea bags. They would be the perfect party favor for a tea party. I would recommend tea bags that come sealed in plastic or putting them in their own little press to seal baggies. You can get press and seal bags at Hobby Lobby or local cake decor shops as well. I love loose leaf tea, but not everyone has the equipment they need to use it. Tea bags are fine all of the time, but especially for favors. Maybe the tea purists will have another opinion but I guess duke it out in the comments. 😉 

4) Teacups filled with a little sweet treat would be cute. Think little Dove chocolates, Hershey kisses. Ect. 

5) Cute little notebooks. In tandem with my garden theme, I got these adorable little note books on sale for 99 cents each at our local Meijer. If you are not from the mid-west, you may not know what a Meijer is. Allow me to explain, if Wal-Mart and Target had a baby, its name would be Meijer. (pronounced Meyer)

6) DIY Room Spray- This is super easy. I have gotten these little glass bottles off Amazon, at Hobby Lobby and also random health food stores. When Hobby Lobby has sales on glass ware, these will be cheapest from there, at about 50 cents per bottle. Otherwise, Amazon is your best bet. I fill one of these with witch hazel and then put anywhere from 10-20 drops of essential oils. I find the brand Plant Therapy is of good quality and I buy it from Amazon but it ships directly from Plant Therapy. Some of my favorite blends are : Orange and Spearmint, Lavender and Lime, or Orange, Cinnamon and Clove. 

7) I got these glass cups at Costco on clearance. A set of 4 for $6. I bought like three sets.

**Finding great deals like that is a great way to keep gifts on hand. I have a little “Christmas closet” where I keep little things I find on clearance that might make great gifts. I buy little things like these especially to round out a Thank You gift, teacher gift or to make opening a gift card more fun. So I might tie a gift card to a cute notebook with some cutesy little ribbon and for a dollar more it feels just a little bit more special. Highly recommend the Christmas closet! **

8) My mom brought me a little teacup with a flower arrangement in it. How cute! I have no idea what this would cost so it might not be ideal for favors for a lot of people but it would make a super cute prize for a game.

9) A guest brought me a little hand-sewn sachet with potpourri in it and she brought me a sourdough starter! I am so excited! The sourdough started might not be feasible for a large group but it might just make the perfect gift for you hostess! I received these as hostess gifts but little sachets would make a fun favor! Side note, I’ve never received a hostess gift before so I was very thrilled. 

10) Cute little lip balms. I’ve never made lip balm but Lisa Bass from Farmhouse on Boone has a tutorial here. She also taught me, via the internet, to make candles! My process varies a bit now but I love that I found her through that because I also took her blogging course and alas here we are…bloggin!

My sister also planned a game and brought a beautiful hydrangea start for a prize. So fun!

Here you go! This is not an exhaustive list by any means but I hope this is a helpful list of beautiful and affordable tea party gifts. Obviously, these little gifts could be given as favors at a lot of different parties and functions.

Feel free to drop any more ideas in the comments! 

-Lauren

As promised: When they asked if they should dress up for the tea party, I said sure. I did not specify in what attire. I cackled laughing. They are the funniest people I know.