Hey guys. See that photo up there? Weirdest thing ever keeps happening. Anyone who looks at it sees a heart in the background, which is odd because it’s clearly past Valentine’s Day and I would NEVER post content late, so, obviously, it’s a shamrock because I’m so highly organized I’m already posting for St. Patrick’s Day. Not sure what’s going on with the Internet, but since it’s so insistent this is a Valentine’s Day post, let’s just go with, shall we?

I wanted to do something special for the kids since an (unknown) holiday was coming up, but I was feeling cheap and time poor. So, as we were walking through the grocery store I decided to pick up a couple things to throw together a super-easy tea party.

I ended up buying: two boxes of candy hearts for party favors, a set of miniature SOLO cups because I thought it’d be more fun to have cups that needed refilling often, and then those individual brownies that come in a box in the bakery section, which we decorated the day before (I’ll post about it soon!).

I already had the napkins, tea, and flowers, and I made the hearts from wrapping paper I had on hand, which all made it fancier, but are all TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. I can’t underscore this enough. Kids don’t care what this kind of stuff looks like – they just like the novelty of the event. I could have served tea in the SOLO cups and called it a party and they would have been psyched so don’t make it harder than it needs to be, okay? (Getting off my soapbox now…)

See, it looks pretty cute, right? It all cost me less than $10 and I have leftover SOLO cups so it’s like the universe is paying me.

I set everything up and then let the kids pick out one of my dresses to wear because it was an Extra Fancy Occasion. Alice’s lasted until I asked her if I could take her coat, which she gave me as well as her dress. It was an unusual move, but you gotta appreciate a gal who knows what she wants.

I felt like it was important to introduce the kids to a few of the finer points of having tea.

1. Always put your pinkie finger up while drinking it, and say things like, “Oh, darling, but this is an absolutely splendid variety. I must have another drop immediately.” It’s best if you do it in a British accent that your husband will later correct (because he actually is British), even though you’re pretty sure you can hear Dick Van Dyke saying the exact same thing in your head so you’re positive it’s accurate.

2. Tea time requires a delicious treat. In this case, we went the extra mile and decorated our own version (blog post coming soon!), but any kind of decadence would work.

Your guest’s excitement will be worth it, I promise.

3. Tea time is always enhanced by hilarious jokes about Mickey Mouse’s underwear. But, then really, what situation isn’t?

4. It’s important to allow guests to do things “all by myself” so as not to cramp their style, which leads us to step 5…

5. It’s perhaps best to designate one guest as “in charge” just in case “all by myself” leads to spilled tea, an overuse of sugar, or guests need help getting back into their chair because their gown is a smidge too long.

6. We also highly recommend looking so ridiculously cute your mom can’t stand it and decides to throw you a tea party every day just so she can enjoy your lovely innocence.

All in all, an excellent time was had by all, everyone left incredibly hydrated, and there was hardly anything to clean up. That’s what I call a Gold Star Valentine’s Day  Any Day Party.

Photos by the remarkable Milou and Olin. 

Need more ideas for fun with your kids?
Download our guide 25 Ways to Have Fun with Your Kids This Instant.