Tea With Mother: How To Have a Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea With Style

While Britain has already seen Mother's Day - or Mothering Sunday as it's also known as over there - come and go, many other countries around the world will be celebrating Mother's Day soon. It's a day to be celebrating motherhood and honouring the very special women in our lives: mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, stepmothers, mothers-in-law, godmothers and even aunties. So what could be a more special way to spoil the extraordinary women in our lives then by treating them to a decadent afternoon tea – which if you ask us, is an occasion made for mums and mother figures! In Britain, Mother's Day always falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent and and three weeks before Easter Sunday. Whereas in the United States and certain other countries, it is the second Sunday in May.

We really love the idea of a themed afternoon tea (come to think of it, we love the idea of a themed anything!) and when it comes to a Mother’s Day afternoon tea party, vintage is the only way to go - well we think so anyway - with mismatched, floral, china teacups, an elaborate cake stand, bird cages, and decorations in the form of pearls and lace. Mothers are obviously all different, so you’ll cater your tea party to your mum’s tastes but inspiration for our ideas have come Angel's own mother who’s pretty big on tradition. Chocolate and flowers also feature quite heavily as they tend to be gifts we traditionally give our mothers on their special day. Colours for this event could be in the traditional pink and lilac, or any pastel hue, or maybe even cream and gold for a classic vintage feel. With the weather getting warmer, there’s a good chance that you could hold your tea party outdoors.

With thanks to JulieMcAuliffe at Pixabay (edited by Angel Noire)

When thinking about the menu, we mainly went for old-school English classics, real ‘like mother used to make’ stuff, with an added touch of elegance and luxury. After all you can’t get more English than afternoon tea, so English classics it is! The list below gives food ideas of what you can include as part of your afternoon tea party menu:

SANDWICHES

With thanks to Bernadette Wurzinger at Pixabay (edited by Angel Noire)

• Egg and cress

• Cucumber and cream cheese

• Crab

• Ham and English mustard

• Smoked salmon and cream cheese

• Rare roast beef and horseradish

• Rose petals with honey

• Prawn mayonnaise

SAVOURIES

• Smoked salmon soufflés

• Mini sausage rolls

• Blinis with smoked salmon

• Mini Cornish pasties

• Parmesan thins

• Roast beef-filled mini Yorkshire puddings

• Welsh rarebit

• Spinach and parmesan muffins

• Cheese straws

• Potted shrimp/trout pate on melba toast

• Mini chicken and asparagus pie

SWEET SCONES/TOASTED BREADS

With thanks to eventsfb at Pixabay (edited by Angel Noire)

• Crumpets

• Tea loaf

• Tea cakes

• Brioche

• English muffins

• Scones with clotted cream and rose petal jam

CAKES, TARTS AND OTHER SWEET TREATS

With thanks to katjasv at Pixabay (edited by Angel Noire)

• Victoria sponge cake

• Apple pie with cinnamon cream

• Chocolate fudge cake

• Lemon drizzle cake

• Cherry Cake

• Jam tartlets

• Battenburg cake

• Rose and raspberry or chocolate macaroons

• Fruit cake

• Mini Bakewell tarts

• Chocolate mousse with sugared violets in shot glasses

• Mini English trifles

• Pink and lilac iced buns

• Lavender shortbread

• Chocolate éclairs

• Strawberry shortcake

• Custard slices

• Florentines

DRINKS:

With thanks to PactoVisual at Pixabay (edited by Angel Noire)

• Tea!

• Frozen strawberry daiquiris

• Mixed berry tea

• White chocolate mocha

• Jasmine tea

• Pink lemonade

• Chilled Chrysanthemum tea

• Raspberry bellini

• Cava with nasturtiums

• Pomegranate Martini

• Chamomile tea

• Champagne with hibiscus

• Chocolate flavoured cocktails

Don’t forget the extras you need to serve such as butter, clotted cream, honey and a selection of jams to go with the toasted breads and scones. And for the savouries, you may need to provide a variety of chutneys, sauces and pickles.

Photos: Pixabay

Blog graphics: Angel Noire