Why head out for high tea when you can stay in, put on your best clothes, invite your close friends and have an intimate upscale tea party from the comfort of your own home?

While this may sound like a tedious affair, we’ve got just the right tips and advice to help you plan a tea party that everyone will be sure to enjoy.

Read on as we spill the tea on how to host your friends and family at home.

• Start planning! As with any good event, the first aspect is to figure out the number of guests as other factors such as catering requirements, décor, furniture etc. will be based on the number of pax that will be attending.
• Once you have listed down your guest list, decide on your budget and try your best to stick to it.
• Now you get to the fun part: The theme! Here’s where the internet comes to your rescue! Go online and get inspired. Some of our favorite high tea themes include The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, A Garden Tea Party, A Victorian Tea Party etc.
• Try to send out your invitations at least two weeks before the event. This will give your guests enough time to RSVP. While a simple text or call may suffice, if possible, try to create an elegant invitation that matches your theme.
• Curate a menu. Give it some thought and try to include some high tea favorites in your menu. Scones with clotted cream and jam, biscuits, pastries, cakes, sandwiches crostinis, eclairs, tarts, choux buns etc. are some of the must-haves at a high tea! If you are preparing the food at home, make a list of ingredients you need and go on a grocery haul at least two days before the event.
• If you are catering the food, be sure to place your order at least a week prior so you have time to accommodate any last-minute changes.
• Decide on the beverages. What’s a high tea without tea! Try to present your guests with a variety of tea. Green Tea, Black Tea, Mint Tea or even Jones Special Blend Tea are some great options you could go with.
• Have one or two alternate beverages apart from tea. While it may seem like blasphemy to not enjoy a good cuppa at a  high tea, there could be guests who would prefer some different options.  Iced Coffee, Flavored Iced Tea, Juice, Mocktails, Cocktails etc. are some general crowd favorites that could be included in your menu.
• Decide on the decorations. If you prefer to make everything at home, there are plenty of online resources that can help you with DIY decor. Try your best to stick to the theme. Alternatively, you can order your decor online or browse through some local party stores.
• If you want to go that extra mile, try to rent your cutlery and crockery to match your theme. Having beautiful teacups, doilies, platters and teapots will add some pizzazz to your event!
• Certain food items can be prepared or prepped the day before. Try to get as much done so that you can save time on the day of your event.
• On the day of the high tea, start early so you have enough time to set up and then get ready for the arrival of your guests.
• Once you are done with the food, get started with the decorations as this will take the most amount of time.
• Now that the place looks beautiful, start setting up your table. Arrange your dishes, plates, cutlery, teacups, pots, platters etc. then carefully place all your food.
• Serve the beverages into their allocated jugs, filters or pots and you are good to go!