Tea party ideas for kids

There's nothing children love more than hosting a tea party with their teddies and dolls. So why not host a tea party for your little one and their friends too? Or celebrate their birthday with a tea party? Here you'll find everything you need to know in order to throw a kids' tea party, from decorations to party food and activities.

Kids' tea party venues

Kids just love a tea party, whether it's at home in the living room with their siblings and stuffed toys, or at a big birthday party in the garden. If you're throwing your child a tea party for the first time, you'll no doubt be searching for ideas on where best to do it, amongst other considerations.

Unless you plan on hiring a venue, or booking a specialist company that throws tea parties, the best place for a tea party is in your child's home, either indoors, or outside in the garden if the weather's good.

At home indoors

Why not set up your living room, dining room, or if you've got one, kid's playroom into a little tea party space?

Either grab some comfy cushions and beanbags and place them on the floor for an informal picnic-style tea party, or decorate a table with a fun tablecloth, plates and cutlery and lay on a spread of sandwiches and cakes. Or even better - use a kid-friendly tea set.

Younger children especially will feel more comfortable and relaxed at home, and it's perfect if it's just for the family or a small gathering of kids.

Garden tea party

In the spring and summer months when the sun is shining, there's nothing better than a tea party in the natural setting of your garden. You can decorate your outdoor space with balloons, colourful bunting, fairy lights and other decorations, or even make it into an Alice in Wonderland style tea party.

We like this fabric bunting that spells happy birthday, which can be used year after year. See more details here at Amazon.

What's more, once the kids are stuffed full of party food, they can burn off their energy running around outside in the fresh air, or by playing party games.

If it's hot, why not get the paddling pool out too, so little ones can cool off and have fun splashing around after the tea party? Just be sure to supervise of course.

Party invitations

Before you throw your tea party, if it's for a birthday or you're inviting children from outside of the family, you'll want to send invites. These should be sent out around three weeks before your tea party, and include info such as:

• Your child's full name and which birthday they are celebrating (if it is for a birthday)
• Your address and phone number
• The date, start and finish times of the party
• If you're having a themed tea party, your invitation should make it clear if the guest needs to dress up.
• Whether parents should just drop their kids off, or stick around themselves

It’s also a good idea to ask on the invitation for parents to make it clear if their child has any allergies or special dietary requirements too.

Personalised invitations made on your computer at home are great fun. That way, if you are having a themed tea party, you can set the scene right from the start with the party invitation. Or, why not make your tea party invites in the shape of a teacup or slice of cake? Getting the kids to help you adds a really nice personal touch, too.

Tea party decorations

No matter whether you're throwing your tea party in the garden, or inside at home, you'll want to decorate the space accordingly.

If your tea party is going down the more traditional route, opt for cute vintage looking cups, saucers and teaspoons as well as pretty pastel-coloured cake stands, tablecloths and napkins.

Floral prints always work well for tea parties, as do polka dots. You can pick up great crockery at car boot sales and charity shops fairly cheaply too - ideal for kids' tea parties.

Or, why not try making some of your own decorations? Homemade decorations always add a homely touch to a party, and friends and family will be impressed with the effort you've gone to. Why not make decorations in the shape of teacups and cake? You can even get the kids to help design it beforehand!

If your party is being held in the garden, cute bunting and paper hanging lanterns always look fab tied to the house or shed, as well as bushes and trees or wherever you see fit. If it's a birthday, don't forget plenty of balloons and any banners you want for your little one.

Kids' tea party themes

If you're opting for a theme for your child's tea party, matching food, drink, decorations and costumes can look really impressive. We've rounded up some of the most common tea party themes below:

Alice in Wonderland tea parties

When you think 'tea party' perhaps one of the first things that comes to mind is the Mad Hatter's tea party in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. This makes for a wonderfully quirky theme too, as anything goes!

Mismatched teacups, saucers, and decorations are all part of the fun of this theme. Why not get the kids to dress up as some of the characters too?

Princess & knights tea parties

Princess tea parties are all the rage for both boys and girls these days - whether it be in the style of the Frozen princesses Elsa and Anna, other Disney princesses, or make believe princesses.

Luckily, it's a pretty easy theme to work with; go for decorations and food related to unicorns, tiaras, and anything sparkly and it will pretty much come together. Don't forget to tell all your guests to come in costume, too!

If anyone doesn't fancy being a princess, they can always dress up as knights with toy swords and shields.

Fairy tea parties

There's nothing more magical than a fairy tea party with all the trimmings. Little ones can dress up in fairy wings and tiaras, with magic wands and sparkly dresses and tops.

Meanwhile, your decorations can include little toadstools, lots of flowers and leaves, butterflies and so on and so forth. Sprinkle some glitter, AKA 'fairy dust' on the table too, for the perfect finishing touch (but bear in mind you may be finding glitter around the house for months afterwards).

Teddy bear's picnic tea party

For younger kids and toddlers, a teddy bear's picnic is always a great choice for their first tea party, and they'll have probably done this at nursery or school before so will understand the concept.

Just round up their favourite stuffed animals, and ask any guests to bring theirs, and with all the food, drink and games, you've a party fit for all.

Kids' tea party food and drink

Savoury snacks

It doesn't matter what age your kids are, every child loves finger food, and for a tea party, there's nothing better.

Little sandwiches cut into triangles are a safe bet - with ham and cheese, tuna and cucumber, plain cheese, and chicken and mayonnaise being firm favourites. Then you can have mini savoury scones, cucumber and carrot batons, cocktail sausages, and cheese and crackers.

Bite-sized foods the children can dip in and out of are great for parties, since they're likely to be having too much fun to sit still for long, and can always come back to it later.

Sweet treats

Sweet treats are half the fun at a tea party, and for the most part, it's all about the cake! Little cupcakes with chocolate, vanilla or strawberry frosting will go down a storm, along with chocolate chip cookies, muffins, scones, and macarons.

Be sure to sneak some healthy treats in there too, like strawberries, pineapple, banana and slices of melon - whichever fruits your little one likes best. This watermelon pizza is a real show-stopper!

Birthday cake

If you're celebrating a birthday, you'll be needing a birthday cake. For themed cakes, the supermarket is your best bet, where you can usually find kids cakes featuring all their favourite characters and games, from Pokemon to LOL Surprise.

If you just want a fun and tasty chocolate cake, you'll also find plenty of options in the shops.

Keen to bake your own birthday cake for the occasion? Check out some of our easy yet impressive birthday cake recipe suggestions and get creative in the kitchen.

Drinks

The NHS advises that the healthiest option is for kids to stick to water or milk ideally, and especially during the tea party so they don't fill themselves up on sugar, which can be found in fizzy drinks and squashes.

If you do want to give them a sweet drink as a treat, stick to sugar-free or no added sugar squash, or perhaps make a homemade smoothie - so you can control what goes into the drink and that there's no added nasties.

The NHS also recommends avoiding real tea for under-fives, including decaffeinated tea. This is because it contains tannins that make it harder for kids to absorb all the iron they need from their food.

If older kids want to get into the spirit of things, it should be fine for them to have a little bit of real tea. But it's best to make it weak and serve with plenty of milk and no sugar.

Check out some of our afternoon tea recipes for some more ideas, and why not get the kids to get involved in the cooking too?

Tea party activities and games

When hosting a tea party for kids, it's important to have some fun games up your sleeve for excitable children. You might well be asking yourself - what do you do at a kid's tea party?

Old school games like musical chairs and musical statues will get them burning up some energy in no time, while what's the time, Mr Wolf is another favourite.

Pass the parcel is a great one for birthday parties, especially if you stick a sweet to every layer of the wrapping paper, so everyone gets a little something.

Considering it's a tea party, why not try some related games? You could do a treasure hunt, hiding tea bags around the house or garden with clues, and the child that finds the last one wins a small prize.

If you want to have some time for structured, quieter games and activities, why not get a load of felt tip pens and crayons out and have the children design a teapot or cake of their own. Or, you could get really fancy and buy some cheap mugs for the kids to paint - which also serves as a lovely keepsake from the tea party as well.

Check out more of our party game ideas and inspiration here.

Kids' party bags

What you put in the party bags for the children to take home after the tea party will largely depend on the ages of the kids attending.

For toddlers and little ones, simple party favours like bubbles, jelly beans, small stuffed toys and crayons are ideal. Just be sure to steer clear of anything that could be a choking hazard.

For older kids, you can't go wrong with things like soft putty, bouncy balls, lego, and stickers.

If you're working to a theme like princesses, fairies, teddy bear's picnic or Alice in Wonderland, include cute related party bag gifts, such as magic wands or sparkly dust for fairies.

And no matter who's attending, don't forget to pop in a slice of yummy cake!

Want more inspo? Check out these party bag ideas

Top tips for a great kids' tea party

Just like any party, the more organised you are in advance, the more smoothly things will run on the day, so try to get all of your prep done beforehand. Here are some more tips to help ensure everything goes to plan at your child's tea party:

• Let your guests know in advance (preferably on the invitation) if they need to dress up if there is a theme - there's nothing worse than a child turning up and being the only one in normal clothes while everyone else is dressed up!
• Be sure to put an end time on your party invitations, that way any attending children's parents know when to pick them up and you can plan the day better.
• Make sure you've enough treats, drinks, and little prizes for everyone so you don't run short on the day.
• If it's your little one's birthday and they receive presents, it's wise to make a note of who bought them what - a life saver when it comes to writing thank you cards!
• Avoid tantrums or over-tiredness by making sure your kids are in bed early the night before and well rested. If any tantrums do arise during the tea party, the best thing to do is take the child for a short time out in a quiet room, giving them chance to calm down before joining the rest of the party again.
• Make a party playlist of their favourite kids' music to play in the background when they're enjoying their tea party.
• If you have a few children attending, make sure you have at least two-to-three adults there to help you, whether this be your partner, family members, or another child's parents.

Looking for more party ideas and inspiration? Check out our articles below, or swap tips with other parents in our forum:

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For more tips and ideas, check out our birthday planning guides by age:

1-year-old birthday • 2-year-old birthday • 3-year-old birthday • 4-year-old birthday • 5-year-old birthday • 6-year-old birthday • 7-year-old birthday • 8-year-old birthday • 9-year-old birthday • 10-year-old birthday • 11-year-old birthday • 12-year-old birthday • 13-year-old birthday • 14-year-old birthday