A little birthday tea

So, our daughters spent their actual birthday with just their dad and I. This weekend they want to celebrate with our son and daughter-in-law, too. And they want a tea! This is wonderful for me, as I love teas. The three of us used to volunteer at our church once per month at fund-raising teas. We did everything from make sandwiches and salads, to serve guests, to wash dishes. Those were fun times.

So once again, I get to participate in throwing a tea. Only this time, I'm the one planning and shopping for everything. 

The tea will be more substantial than just a couple of finger sandwiches, some cookies, and a pot of tea, as we all need real food at meal times. This tea will sort of take the place of an early dinner.

Here's the menu:

• small shrimp salads served in ice cream sundae dishes
• chicken salad on baby croissants
• egg salad on thin sliced bread
• roast beef and horseradish on small rolls
• fruit compote
• marinated vegetable medley
• cookies
• mini cupcakes
• tea, cocoa, sparkling water, fruit juice

I can prep most of this on Saturday, then assemble sandwiches and put together salads on Sunday.

We'll do more than just have a tea. But the tea is what I'm most excited about. We'll also do something either active or game-like. One daughter is more into arcades and active entertainment, while the other is more into girly stuff, like teas and classy European cafés. I ask them to choose something that each of them really enjoys. Some years they agree on something, like a specific movie or a picnic in the park. Other years we do one thing for one daughter and another thing for the other.

I'll use my new-to-me small glasses (for the fruit juice and sparkling water) that I bought at Goodwill yesterday. I found the exact same glass pattern and size on ebay and etsy for $6 to $15 each. I paid 99 cents each. I love a deal. And now we actually have matching juice glasses.

Between one daughter and myself, we have 2 pedestal cake plates. We'll get those out for the sandwiches and desserts. I have a collection of mismatched tea cups thrifted and bought at garage sales over the years. We'll use those as well.

I don't keep many of the ingredients needed for our menu on hand, so I will have to do some shopping. However, I'm certain that I will be spending far less on the needed ingredients than we would if we opted for a restaurant meal for the 6 of us.

Okay, so those are the plans for a bigger birthday celebration. In our family, when your birthday falls on a weekday (workday), you get a small celebration with just us 4 on the day, then a bigger celebration that includes all 6 of us on the weekend following or before. Some years the smaller celebration is just choosing what's for dinner. Some years it's going some place low-key plus dinner at home.

Thank you to all of you who wished my daughters a happy birthday. They were touched when I conveyed your good wishes for them.

If you were to put on a tea, what would be on your menu?