Making time for friends

Flowers supple and languid as ballerinas posed in a pretty vase. China, tea cups, napkins, and personalized note cards shone like presents at each place setting. Soon the ladies would arrive, each wearing their tea-party best and bearing thoughtful hostess gifts and the brightest smiles.

That was how last Friday afternoon unveiled itself. Out of the blue, a week or so before, I decided to host an afternoon tea party, complete with invitations, good china, dainty tea sandwiches, petit fours and sweet offerings, party favours, and tea, of course. Judging from everyone’s reaction and comments, it was a grand idea. I called it Warming Up Winter with Friendship and Tea.

As many of you know, I love the simple things in life. But perhaps I should re-state that to understand it also includes an old-school way of life. Getting together with friends, having conversations and laughter in person, paying attention to someone else’s emotions, experiences, and ideas. No smart phones, no Internet, no social media.

It’s fair to say that afternoon tea or high tea is not considered simple. But I had so much fun deciding who to invite, making the invitations, preparing the goodies, setting a pretty table, creating simple but charming little favour bags, and even doing some research on the differences between afternoon tea and high tea. Oh, but the best part of all, was how wonderful the entire afternoon was for all of us. No phones, no Internet, no social media. Just enjoying hot tea and delicious delights over an entire afternoon of fun, conversations, laughter, and support. It was such a grand way to spend the afternoon. I will most definitely be hosting another of these again and I recommend hosting a tea party to everyone. To make things easier on your time, simply decide on your teas, make a couple simple sandwiches, and pick up a small assortment of baked items from your local bakery. The part that really matters is simply gathering together with friends. They’ll be delighted you asked them over and when they leave, they’ll talk about it for days!

Brian Gardner said, “A simple life is all about being intentional—with the things you do, with the things you own, and with the people you spend time with.”

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony of afternoon tea.” –– Henry James

I bet you’re wondering why there aren’t any photos of my glorious afternoon event, other than this mini preview of the prep and part of the table setting. Well, I put my camera in the kitchen so I wouldn’t forget to take lots of photos. Trouble is, from the moment the first guest arrived until the very last ones left (at dinner time), I was so wonderfully involved, and interested, and having so very much fun that taking photos didn’t even occur to me. That truly demonstrates how significant gathering with friends can be. I already have plans for hosting another fun event with friends and, as mentioned, will likely make this afternoon tea an annual event.

The invitation: Ladies Winter warm up xyz

Ladies Winter Tea MENU

“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” — Bill Watterson

Don’t worry if you feel your house is a mess, you have a heavy workload, or that you couldn’t host something like that. Sure you can. And do it as simple as you like. What matters is having friends over and spending important time together. The mess and the schedule will wait but time spent with friends and family will make you and them feel so warm and fulfilled that nothing else matters.

The metric for gathering or hosting is never for perfection. The metric is purely to gather in friendship allowing the conversations to evolve and the time will pass smoothly and gloriously. Memories to cherish in the making.

May your week ahead hold The Simplicity of Old School Living