5th Annual Valentine's Day Ladies Tea: Re-cap

Ahhhhhhh.... the satisfaction of accomplishment! Yesterday's tea party went over very well. That's not to say we didn't experience a couple of blips along the way, though.

There was one mix-up with the first activity, which was the flower meanings match game. I inadvertently copied and distributed the game with the meanings right beside the flower names. Duh! I can't believe I didn't catch that error before it was too late. But my guests are pretty easy going and indulged me by reading through the many meanings and talking about how interesting some of them were. Thank goodness I still had two other activities planned!

I also had a last minute cancellation due to illness, so we ended up with an odd number, making the Complete the Lyrics game have uneven teams. The teams were pretty evenly matched, as it turned out, and the difference in correct answers was only one, so the margin of victory was very slim. When it was time to select prizes for this game, everyone kept what they originally opened - no prize swiping occurred!

The consequences of the heart game went over very well, with lots of laughs. Originally, the prize for this game was going to be taking home the centerpiece. However, when my friend brought it over to me, I fell in love with it, and I couldn't part with it. That meant the consequences game was just going to be a filler activity - no prize. But since the flower meaning match game didn't work out, I moved that game's prize to the consequences game. So, it all worked out in the end.


We enjoyed tea and scones as the first course and nibbled on a seed & dried fruit snack mixture that was on the table upon arrival of the guests. I decided to lay a snippet of lavender on the saucer aside the tea cup, which I thought looked very pretty. I put the lavender snippets in the seed mixture bowls, too, as garnish.


Everyone seemed to like having the menu at the table so they knew what was in store. It helps to judge how much to eat along the way if you know to save room for something at the end! The primroses looked so pretty in the salad, I regret not taking a picture. Also, I didn't stop and take the time to photograph the panna cotta when that was served. Drat! They were quite lovely plated with raspberries and quartered lychees. And the taste combination was beautiful. It is a very creamy dessert, with cream and mascarpone cheese being the main ingredients. The rose water added a touch of delicacy. As I needed to remove the fresh flowers before cutting the layer cake, I did pause to take some pictures at that point.


Before the guests left, I gave them their favor box and sent most of them off with a goody bag filled with homemade heart-shaped peppermint patties and lemon poppy seed cookies. (OK, I let a few guests leave before I remembered to have them fill their goody bag - whoops!)

I dare say that everyone had a good time, and I was satisfied overall. As always, a few things were learned along the way, which help make the next event even better.

I suppose the next shindig I'll be planning is a dinner centered around curry ketchup. A coworker of my husband brought him some curry ketchup from a specialty shop, as my husband had been telling him about having it with sausages in Germany. So we're hoping to have the coworker and his wife over to give it a sample. A much smaller affair than my tea party, but I do so love the German theme...

Valentine's Day Tea Party: Final Details

The tea party is set for the day after tomorrow. I'm excited to see that things are all coming together nicely. I've really done a good job of budgeting my time, which has not always been the case in the past. I still have two days packed full of things to do, but I'm not overly stressed or exhausted - yet. :)

I found a pretty swirly-like scroll frame, which will display the menu and double as a table decoration. I also have two small flower pots with pale pink silk roses and greens to dress up the table. My friend is working magic with fresh flowers and the tea cup and saucer I picked up recently. I don't make place cards, because everyone already has their usual seats that they migrate to upon arrival. If I can think of something fun next year, though, I might implement them just for the fun of it. So, those things, along with the burgundy table linens and my china pattern, should make for a pretty table setting. I realized that if I tried to do much more, there wouldn't be room for the food or table space for the games I have planned.

The prizes are all ready, as are the party favors. I used Valentine's decor take-out boxes to hold the trinkets I picked up. I ended up with six items in the boxes. They are: an empty treat bag (rolled up and tied with a twisty) which the guests will be invited to fill with the cookies/candy I will offer at the end of the party, a 'Cupid's Dart' flower seed packet, a few pieces of tea flavored candy, a small decorative hanging heart, a whimsical flower-themed magnet that I made, and a love-themed note pad. A CD will also be given to each guest that contains the love songs used during the Complete the Lyrics Game (see below).

I have my menu finalized and have already begun some of the prep work on a few of the items. Here is the menu:

First Course

Cherry & Almond Scones

Blueberry Scones

Second Course

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Radish Poppy Seed Sandwiches

Strawberry & Cream Cheese Sandwiches

Salad with Edible Flowers

Deviled Eggs

Third Course

Rose Water Panna Cotta with Raspberries and Lychees

Vanilla Raspberry Layer Cake

Tea Selections

Lavender Herbal Tea

American Classic Black Tea 

I am going this afternoon to pick up the edible flowers. I am planning on crystallizing a few today in hopes that they'll turn out well enough to go on top of the cake. I am also using the flowers for the cold drinks. I am going to freeze them in ice cubes so they'll look pretty floating in the water glasses.

As far as games, I have the following three planned: Consequences of the Heart, Flower Meanings Match, and Love Songs Complete the Lyrics. Here is how we'll go about playing each one:

Consequences of the Heart - Give each person a sheet of paper numbered 1-10 (all have a small heart shaped hole punched in the bottom corner except for one) and a pen. Instruct everyone to write at the top (1) “one or more adjective”. Instruct everyone to fold the paper down over that word so that what has been written cannot be seen. Instruct everyone to pass their paper on to the right, but they cannot look at what was previously written. Instruct everyone to write at the ‘new’ top (2) “the name of a gentleman”. Fold and pass as before. Write (3) “one or more adjective”. Fold and pass as before. Write (4) “a lady’s name”. Fold and pass as before. Write (5) “a place to meet”. Fold and pass as before. Write (6) “something you could give”. Fold and pass as before. Write (7) “an expression”. Fold and pass as before. Write (8) “another expression”. Fold and pass as before. Write (9) “a consequence”. Fold and pass as before. Write (10) “an expression”. Read a sample Consequences of the Heart story that you prepare ahead of time (I played it myself just to see how it would work). Provide the “script” to the first volunteer reader who is to read the poem they were left holding. Everyone takes a turn. When all have been read, ask guests who has the paper without the special marking on it. That person wins the centerpiece.
Here is the "script": The [#1] [#2] met the [#3] [#4] at/in [#5] . He gave her [#6] and said to her, “ [#7] ”. She said to him, “ [#8] .” The consequence of the heart was [#9] . And the world said, “ [#10] .”

Flower Meaning Match - Provide guests with a list of flowers, set across from a list of meanings of flowers. Also rose color meanings. Guests must match the meaning to the appropriate flower/rose color. The person with the most correct wins. In order to make up this game, I researched online the meanings of flowers and picked the ones that I thought had some logic to them. Some of them will be tough, but is a game after all, and I don't want everyone to get them all right! I also have a couple of tie breaker trivia questions set aside just in case.

Love Songs Identification – Divide table into two teams. Each team is given a piece of paper and a pen. Snippets of 20 songs are played as cues. After each snippet is played, the team must decide what lyrics come next. The team with the most points at the end wins. The losing team gets to choose among the wrapped prizes and open them, but then the winners get to select from what has been opened, or they can open a new gift.

I have some more prep work to do in the kitchen today and tomorrow. That should leave me with only a few things to do on Sunday. The tea party is set for 1:30, so I shouldn't be too rushed.

If you're reading this and are planning your own Valentine's Day Tea Party, I encourage you to comment about the fun things you're doing. I truly love to hear the details!

Complete the Lyrics Game

**Update 6/03/09: If you're looking for samples of the lyric snippets or the games I've pulled together, send me an email or leave a comment here. I'll be glad to help!**

The very first year I hosted a Ladies' Tea, we played a complete the lyrics type of game. It was so much fun singing together and being silly. The next year, I didn't put the game together, but firmly decided to bring it back the following year as I discovered everyone missed it!

In a nutshell, I make up a list of 20 love songs (this is for a Valentine's Day party, after all) and select a passage with lines that are somewhat memorable. For the first couple of years, this was very easy as I just picked songs that I've always liked. Over the years, I've found that it has gotten harder to come up with songs that have lines that easily lend themselves to this type of game. My guests number around 8-9, and their ages range from early thirties to mid-eighties, so it has been a challenge to select songs that span generations, as well. When choosing the passage, you have to find a good breaking point, which is where the cue ends and your guests have to write down the lyrics that come next. For example, when given "When I get older losing my hair, Many years from now. Will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings bottle of wine. If I'd been out till quarter to three, would you lock the door..." you would need to answer "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm sixty-four." I've been pretty relaxed in the past on how many words they have to write down to get credit. If it seems that they are having a particularly tough time, I've offered bonus points if they can at least name the artist.

Now, I am not a great singer. But do I let that stop me from singing the lead-ins? No way!! I find it rather freeing, as a matter of fact. I figure that my inability to sing on key just adds another layer of challenge to the game. A few of my guests are quite good singers, though, and so they help me out if they recognize the song and sing it properly to the benefit of the others playing the game. Once we have gone through all the songs, we score them together, and everyone sings out the lyrics with great abandon. It's funny, but we just have so much fun doing this. I always award a prize to the person who got the most correct. However, last year, I awarded a prize for second place, as well.

This year, I decided to change things up just a bit. In order to level the playing field between those who know songs across broad spectrums and those whose scope is more limited, I am going to divide the guests into 2 teams - one end of the table versus the other end. Each team will get one sheet of paper and will have to confer amongst themselves to come up with the right lyrics. In addition, I've decided to try using the laptop and actually play the song snippets instead of singing them myself. I know, I know... I hate to give up that post, but it so happens that I have chosen a couple of songs this time that I just would not be able to sing, not even badly. I mean... Whitney Houston. Need I say more? I am slightly afraid that the game might end up being too easy, as a result. BUT... I'm changing one other thing this year, too. Everyone is going to get a prize instead of just one winner. I'm thinking that I'll have the 'losing' team pick one item from a selection of wrapped gifts. Then I'll allow them to open the gifts, but then the 'winners' can choose to swipe one of the unwrapped gifts or choose from the remaining wrapped gifts. We'll see how it goes over! The final touch to making this game memorable, is at the end, I give each guest a CD which has all of the songs on it that were used in the game.

I have two other activities planned, but will go into more detail on those in the next update. I have a few things I need to get ironed out over the weekend, because it's full steam ahead with several things planned to get accomplished each day next week. And I still haven't gone shopping for those exotic ingredients yet!