The Best Easter Garden Tea Party for the Single Woman

Easter is often one of the "forgotten" holidays. Some people don't even celebrate it. They assume they're too old for egg hunts or chocolate bunnies, and others dread meeting with their relatives for another "drama-ridden" holiday. Once you read this "how to" guide for throwing the best Easter garden tea party for the ladies, you'll find a new appreciation for Easter!

Invite over a small group (preferably 3-5) of your favorite girlfriends. This party is ideal for those who can't make it home for Easter but don't want to spend the holiday alone, or in addition to your Easter celebration with the family.
For the decor, choose a classy English themed party. Think "Martha Stewart in London." Go for a pastel color theme, such as a mint green colored table cloth, light pink napkins, and an elegant tea set with plates and saucers. Shine the fancy silverware and set out the salad forks! If you have a patio or backyard or courtyard of some sort, you've got the perfect setting for your party, (although it will still be a great party even if you just have it indoors). Make sure to purchase a fresh bouquet with lots of baby pink tulips as a centerpiece for the table. Play some classical music in the background and keep it at a soft setting. If you want something slightly more modern, pop in the Marie Antoinette movie soundtrack. It has a great mix of 80's rock fused with classical undertones.

Have all the ladies dress in their Sunday best. We're talking pretty dresses with purses, heels, and manicured hands. Everyone should look lovely, as if they're meeting for tea with the queen. Gloves and garden hats are welcome! Be sure to send out professional invitations 2-4 weeks prior to the party, and have everyone RSVP. If you can, hire someone to photograph you ladies having tea, as well as a group photo. This will be an event to cherish in the later years!

As for the food, start out with small pretty bowls filled with finger foods and snacks, such as bridge mix, salted nuts, cream cheese stuffed figs and brie cheese with crackers. For the soup course, serve a garden tomato basil soup. Then for the main course, have something special such as roast lamb shank or duck, served with mint jelly or raspberry glaze. Be sure to have a fresh tossed green salad mixed with fresh olives, goat and feta cheese, candied walnuts, and sliced green apples, mixed in with a light vinaigrette. Have some warm rolls with non-salted garlic butter in a basket, and be sure to have several varieties of marmalade and jam available.

For drinks, be sure to have a pot of tea ready. There are many types of good tea on the market - a simple green tea goes with everything, or you can purchase sweetened tea in an assortment of fruit flavors. Also offer coffee, iced tea, fresh juice, and sparkling water. Now for the best part, dessert. Pile a multi-level tiered plate (what you see wedding cakes on) with an assortment of petit fours. These are a classic victorian dessert and can be found at specialty bakeries. Lady fingers are another great dessert choice, as well as miniature fruit tarts and cupcakes. Fruit sorbet is also another lovely dessert choice.

At the end of the meal, provide each friend with a small easter basket. You can purchase tiny baskets by the dozen at arts and craft stores such as Michael's, and fill each one with pink easter hay/straw. In each basket you should have a pretty sugar egg purchased from See's candies (the kind where you look into the egg and see a little novelty scene), a miniature perfume from a place such as Victoria's Secret, a Lancome juicy tube lip gloss, and a cute Easter card.

The perfect way to end the day is by having everyone gather in the television room and watch back to back episodes of Sex and the City, or if you're feeling super adventurous, the popular British comedy series "Absolutely Fabulous", which focuses on two powerful but clueless British women that take on the fashion and advertising world. Pass around a bottle of red wine among the ladies and you're in for a fabulous afternoon!