I’m not one of those people who likes to take their holiday decorations right when the holiday ends and set up for the next one. I also celebrate Valentine’s Day until February, but last year I threw a Valentea party in two weeks and wanted to share it with you all. However, I know people need more time than that and wanted to share it with you all.
Christmas 2021 my friend was given a book that had ideas to hold a tea party every month. She held the first party on January 29th and no one wanted to do the next one, the Valentine’s Day party. I agreed and of course had to change the direction to Valentea and Jane Austen.
Invitations:
So the first thing you need for a party is invitations. I like to make my own cards and sent everyone a Valentine. I used romantic and love quotes from my favorite books.
Decorations:
After planning that came decorations. I’m lucky that I still have the ones from my bridal shower. I have reused those so many times! Yep, I used my pink floral table runners, framed Jane Austen quotes (which can be purchased from this shop); along with pink and white flowers.
Menu:
I was able to figure out my menu pretty quickly as I have a Tea Time magazine subscription, a Betty Crocker holiday cookbook, a Nancy Drew Cookbook, etc. I had a lot of recipes to choose from.
Tea Choices:
I wanted everything to be pink and red as it was a Valentea party so I had MadsenCreations make a Red Chai and Pink Moon Tea. I also picked Tiesta Tea Nutty Almond Cream Tea (which turns the water pink).
Food Menu:
We made Teatime Magazine Orange Cream Scones, Tea Time Magazine Lavender White Chocolate & Cranberry-Raspberry Scones, Tea Time Magazine’s Triple Stack Red Bell Pepper and Cream Cheese Sandwiches, Tea Time Magazine’s Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Eating Well’s Radish Tea Sandwiches, French Onion Soup, Tomato Soup, a tart, and Heart Shaped Rice Krispy Treats.
Tea Time Magazine Orange Cream Scones
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold heavy whipping cream, divided
- 2 large eggs, divided
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until combined. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, cut in cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup cold cream, 1 egg, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture, stirring until a dough begins to form. Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to a 1-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch fluted round cutter dipped in flour, cut 13 scones from dough, rerolling scraps as needed. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 tablespoon cold cream and remaining egg until combined. Brush egg mixture over tops of scones.
- Bake until edges of scones are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean, 18 to 21 minutes. Serve warm.
- Optional: Add a glaze.
Tea Time Magazine Lavender White Chocolate & Cranberry-Raspberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon dried culinary lavender
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup chopped dried Cranberries and Raspberries
- 1 (4-ounce) bar white baking chocolate, such as Ghirardelli, chopped
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, ⅓ cup sugar, baking powder, lavender, and salt, whisking well.
- Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries, strawberries, and chocolate; stirring until combined.
- In a liquid-measuring cup, combine cream and vanilla extract, stirring to blend. Add to flour mixture, stirring until mixture is evenly moist. (If dough seems dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Working gently, bring mixture together with hands until a dough forms.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 4 to 5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll dough to a ½-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut 12 scones from dough. Place scones 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle tops with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
- Bake scones until edges are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
Games:
Game 1: Who Said It?
For this game I took all the romance quotes I had used on the Valentines and people had to match up the quote with who said it.
Game 2: Who Can Name the Most Romance Movies?
For this game I had everyone turn their sheet of paper over and write down as many romance films they could think of in a minute. This was a ton of fun as afterwards we all talked about which ones we liked and what films were our favorites to watch.
I had a lot of fun with our tea parties, and I hope this helps if you want to plan a Valentea party.
For more party posts, go to Jane Austen Birthday Party Music & Party Review
For more Valentine’s Day posts go to, Jane in Love
For more tea posts, go to Spill the Tea: Alley Cat Cafe
For more recipes, go to Dragon Cheddar and Tomato Scones
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