A Valentine's Themed Tea Party!

This is the 10th year that the ladies on my Dad's side of the family have gathered for a tea party.  The first two years we met at a local tea room.  They closed, so we have been gathering in my home since then. (A recap of prior years' tea can be found by clicking on  2014 or 2013). 

We used to meet right after Thanksgiving.  My granddaughters have been involved in the local production of the Nutcracker ballet the last few years.  Between rehearsals and performances the time to meet was becoming a problem.  The last two years we have gathered in January. As we are almost to February I thought it fitting that we do a Valentine's theme this year.

As we've done all along, I provide the setting, scones, lemon curd, strawberry jam and the tea.  Each guest brings either a savory, such as little sandwiches or salad, or a sweet treat.  We never lack for food and share the leftovers.

I bought flowers at our local flower mart and made small arrangements, mostly using my favorite vessel, mason jars. My husband helped me hang lights, which I decorated with pink heart-shaped doilies.

Using a tutorial found on Pinterest, the napkins were folded to look like roses.  I tucked in a rose leaf for an extra design element. A few rose petals sprinkled on the tables carried out the theme.

I added pink sanding sugar and rainbow sprinkles to the sugar bowl, giving the sugar a little extra sparkle.

We had 21 in attendance this year, ranging in age from 4 to 91. I had music softly playing in the background but it got so loud the music couldn't be heard. A lot of chatter going on!

My sister, who is an awesome photographer, and I both lament the fact that we got so busy visiting that we have very little pictures of the attendees.  We have plans to have a family friend be the official photographer next year.

I feel very blessed to be able to host this party.  What a wonderful tradition we have established!

I am linking to Inspire Me Tuesday.