8 of the Best Tea Party Ideas for Adults

Have you decided to throw a tea party? Congratulations! Now, it’s time for you to pick a theme so your afternoon tea event feels cohesive and looks spectacular. 

From the food to the decor, a theme can organize your planning process and bring your tea party to life! Here are eight classic tea party ideas for adults that your guests will continue to talk about long after the final sips of tea are finished.

Victorian Tea Party

A Victorian theme is a classic tea party idea for adults that everyone will appreciate. It was during this era that afternoon tea was born, after all.

It was Anna the Duchess of Bedford — a very close and long-time friend of Queen Victoria — who accidentally invented afternoon tea. What started as a private afternoon pick-me-up in her bedroom became an intimate gathering of girlfriends complete with finger sandwiches, cakes, and scones. 

If you host a Victorian tea party, three-tiered stands and all of the traditional tea details are necessary. Decorate your venue with flowers and lace and encourage your friends to dress the part in lace gloves, loose-fitting bonnets, or comfortable robes and dresses. 

Back in the day, afternoon Victorian tea was not a formal event. Women wore loose-fitting clothes and lace bonnets — afternoon tea was taken in private ladies' quarters where they could relax and unwind. Jewelry, bustles, and corsets were reserved for evening festivities. If you want to stay in line with tradition, invite a small group of your closest friends to share in your gossip-filled Victorian tea party.

A Very Merry Unbirthday Tea Party

As Alice in Wonderland points out, any time is the perfect time for tea. A Mad Hatter tea party or a Very Merry Unbirthday tea is a beloved storybook theme that’s a perfect tea party idea for adults and children, too. This mysterious children’s book is cherished by all — and only seems to become more and more peculiar as you get older. 

The Queen’s white and red roses are a must for this theme. Mini cakes with the words “eat me”, and various treats with bright colors and exquisite flavors are a delight. Fun games and a goodie bag filled with thoughtful teas and trinkets are an excellent finishing touch for an afternoon of fun as everyone floats down the rabbit hole together.

Royal English Tea Party

Keep it prim and fancy with an afternoon tea party idea for adults that embodies all of the class and elegance of English Royalty. Dress codes are required for this upscale social gathering, and fascinators, pearls, and ties are highly encouraged. 

Start off the festivities with a champagne toast to friendship and the finer things in life. Decorate your tablescape with beautiful linens, flickering candles, fresh flowers, and exquisite teaware. Send your guests home with their very own classic teacup and a sample of a few organic teas.

Jazz Art Deco Tea Party

Pull out all the glitter and gold decor when you host a 1920s Art Deco-inspired tea party — it’s a classic tea party idea for adults. Your guests will have a blast and won’t be able to stop talking about it! 

Bedazzle your roaring 20s afternoon tea party with gold scatters of glittery baubles on the table, or gold and metallic balloons and streamers. The more sparkle and shine, the better.

Dressing up in costume is always fun and sleek suits and flapper-inspired dresses are made complete with bejeweled headbands and cufflinks. Offer a prize to the best dressed at the event, and remember to play a little old-school jazz in the background to really set the mood. Modern and sleek teaware is essential for this theme — think clean lines and glass teaware that adds a finishing touch to the sparkling decor.

Outdoor Garden Tea Party

An outdoor garden tea party idea for adults is a spectacular and traditional way to enjoy tea with loved ones. History claims that soon after Anne of Bedford and Queen Victoria started having afternoon tea together, the men wanted to participate too — garden teas became a regular event. Casual afternoon tea was taken out of women’s quarters and brought outside to the gardens — where both men and women dressed in their afternoon best. 

To emulate this theme, decorate your tables with white lace and linens and freshly picked wildflowers. Classic tea cups and teapots complete this traditional and elegant look. Unlike Victorian tea, a garden tea is quite formal, so ask your guests to dress in their best — preferably in white or linen. Lacy parasols and a string quartet are beautiful additions that really set the elegant tone of a true upscale garden tea party.

Book Club Tea Party

Do you and your friends love chatting about your favorite new reads? Here’s an excellent tea party idea for adults: Host a book club tea party and get lost in conversation as you pick at finger tea sandwiches and sip on a cup of Earl Grey tea. 

Do you find that sticking to reading deadlines can get a little tricky among your friends? — You may not even enjoy the same kinds of books, but you can still create a successful bookish tea event. 

Instead, you can invite your friends to exchange their favorite books with each other, or simply talk about your upcoming reading list or your all-time favorite book you’ve read this year. No matter what you decide it will be a joyous time filled with robust conversations and delicious tea and scones.

Floral Tea Party

Flowers and tea go hand in hand so why not go all in with a flower tea party? Set up fresh flowers and silk flowers so they cascade around the table, over the backs of chairs, and around the venue. In this case, more is always more — you can never have too many flowers. 

This elegant tea party idea for adults can include a dress code for floral dresses, button-up shirts, and ties.
Blooming flower tea sets are a memorable and unique way to liven up your event — you can even send your friends home with their very own tea mugs and blooming teas. If you enjoy a more traditional take, steep floral-infused options like Floral Rooibos tea or Green Cherry Blossom tea. You can even gift earth-friendly — and flower-friendly — compostable tea bags that are filled with delightful whole-leaf teas.

Fairytale Tea Party

There is nothing quite as romantic and whimsical as a fairytale tea party — while it might seem a little childish on the surface, it makes a lovely tea party idea for adults that rings with nostalgia. Cinderella, Rapunzel, and all of your favorite princesses and characters from your childhood stories serve as a perfect inspiration for magical desserts, fun flavors, and delicious teas. 

Combine all of your favorite tales together, or select one specific fairytale theme and decorate accordingly. Consider adorning the venue with quotes from books or movies, or trinkets from details in each fairytale. 

Everyone loves to feel like a fairytale prince or princess. A tea party filled with magical elements from your favorite stories makes your tea party one that will be remembered as a happily ever after moment.

The Essentials You Need For Every Single Tea Party

Have you decided on your tea party theme? Perfect! Now, you need to put together your tea party essentials, and that begins with your teaware.

The best teaware you can get is something sustainable, beautiful, and neutral in design. Vintage and porcelain tea cups are fun to look at but beware of the lead and toxic chemicals found in most of them. Instead, choose a material that is long-lasting and won’t leach chemicals into your tea — like borosilicate glass. 

Borosilicate glass teaware is good for the environment and your health and is beautifully handcrafted and incredibly strong. The neutral coloring of the glass is a perfect canvas for every single tea party theme. Do yourself a big favor and invest in quality teaware that is versatile and easy to care for. Teaware that you’ll use time and time again. 

Have you decided on all your ideas for your adult tea party theme? Perfect! Now, it’s time to put together your tea party essentials, and that begins with your teaware.

The best teaware you can get is something sustainable, beautiful, and neutral in design. Vintage and porcelain tea cups are fun to look at but beware of the lead and toxic chemicals found in most of them. Instead, choose a material that is long-lasting and won’t leach chemicals into your tea — like borosilicate glass. 

Borosilicate glass teaware is good for the environment and your health and is beautifully handcrafted and incredibly strong. The neutral coloring of the glass is a perfect canvas for every single tea party theme. Do yourself a big favor and invest in quality teaware that is versatile and easy to care for. Teaware that you’ll use time and time again. 

You can also find a wide variety of healthy teas that are certified organic and made with only natural ingredients. Look no further than Teabloom for all of your borosilicate glass teacups, teapots, and flavorful teas. Shop Teabloom today for all of your tea party essentials. 

Happy planning and have a delightful tea party!

www.Teabloom.com