Afternoon Tea for Special Occasions

Sonnet Counterpoint

Sometimes a circle is a fairy ring,
Sometimes a yin and yang, sometimes a dome

Of healing, sometimes a cyclone of pain.
The seasons cycle with pine wind and chill;

Then manzanita bells ring in the rain
And blossoms blow in the sun’s golden will
As spring surges up with green once again.

Then geese fly above and our spirits soar
Till mud and shame sink our souls at the core,

So we trudge on or skip or run, swallow
Our pride or glory in the sun. Up, down,
And all around, so dizzy as we go
Some dropping a trail of breadcrumbs behind

Some casting their kite in the western wind.

As the seasons turn and the years roll by, each life is filled with hundreds of special moments that call out for celebration. Here we share with you events from our own lives that called us to share Afternoon Tea with those we love. We hope you will join us and that you will find your own unique moments for celebration. Click on the image below to see the corresponding menu.

Afternoon Tea for Special Occasions: Guidelines:

Keeping in mind that creativity is one of the fundamental elements of Afternoon Tea, we encourage you to nurture your creative energies through this multi-artistic endeavor. You might start with a single motif as Kathleen did in planning the Honeybee and Rose Teas. Perhaps a setting or activity will inspire you, as in our Urban Tea on the Go. You might want to honor a favorite mentor or historic person. A Victorian Tea in honor of Queen Victoria or Queen Liliuokalani could be charming, or perhaps a Jane Austin Tea at which guests are invited to share a favorite passage from one of Miss Austin’s novels. A Haiku Tea in honor of the great haiku poet, Matsuo Basho, could be delightful. Guests could be encouraged, but certainly not pressured, to compose a few haiku poems while sharing tea.

Whether your inspiration comes from a natural object, an event or a person, we ask you to keep the four foundational principles of Afternoon Tea—Respect, Harmony, Creativity and Humility in mind. This will help to keep you from going down an unfortunate path. If you should come up with the idea of an Elvis Look-Alike Afternoon Tea, with guests dressed in sequins, cheeseburgers all around and “You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog” blaring in every room, the principle of Respect should lead you in another direction. Why not honor instead another southern gentlemen from the last century, Dr. Matin Luther King, Jr., with a Memorial Tea?

The principle of Harmony should remind us that Afternoon Tea celebrates the real world of nature, interpersonal relationships, good food and our own creative efforts. Afternoon Tea is not about the artificial world of Hollywood, Sports, Advertising, Politics, Social

Media or Television. A Super Bowl Afternoon Tea or an Oscar Night Tea in front of the Television Set would be misguided choices that would direct our attention away from the beauty and harmony of the tea party itself. Another important principle, Humility, should guide us away from activities that are competitive, arrogant, self-congratulatory or in any way involve bragging. Parents might be tempted to host an Afternoon Tea to celebrate their daughter’s Olympic medal or the fact that their son has just been accepted at Harvard. Please resist these temptations and focus instead on celebrating the simple beauties of life itself.

Motifs for an Afternoon Tea can indeed come from the most elemental places—the first snowfall, the full moon, cherries, daffodils, May Day, Mozart, the autumn leaves, and endless other possibilities. But no unicorns, Cinderellas, or Hello Kitties, please, as these have become commercial inventions. And we beg you to trust your own creative gifts rather than running down to the card store at the mall to purchase printed napkins, paper tablecloths, streamers, balloons, banners, glitter and paper hats. Choose the colors you want to use, select flowers or plants that reflect your theme, and let your imagination take over. Your guests will love your tea party, because it will come from your own hands and your heart.

Like a Low Sweet Flute

Like a low sweet flute
The dove calls from the warm oak at midday;
The geraniums gather sunlight,
Their red petals reminding us
Of the lava, fire colored,
In secret volcano crevices.

In each of us, there are reeds
Waiting for the summer wind
To make music.
There is a flower,
Powered by fire,
Waiting to bloom.