Food for a Children's Tea Party

Take those teeny tiny sandwiches and turn them up a notch with imaginative menu ideas for your child's tea party. While you can certainly serve traditional favorites such as cucumber sandwich bites with the crusts cut off, you can also add in unexpected foods such as flavored butters or faux sushi made with candy and fruit.

  1. Tea Time Selection

    • Even though tasty treats are a must, the central piece of a tea party menu is the tea itself. That said, not every tea is appropriate for children. Avoid anything with caffeine. Herbal varieties are free of caffeine, making them ideal for kids, according to tea expert Tracy Stern on Parenting.com. Give the kids a selection to choose from, including fruity flavors such as peach, apple, berry and citrus-infused lemon and orange teas. You can also pick a more offbeat flavor of caffeine-free tea such as vanilla, cinnamon or chocolate.

    Creative Condiments

    • If you have tiny pieces of toasts, rolls or other bread items that could use a condiment, consider a flavored butter. Slather an English scone with a homemade lavender butter, suggests Parenting.com. You can crush a tablespoon of dried lavender into a stick of butter or add another flavoring such as fruit puree or honey. For kids who don't want to try a fancy butter, consider another spread or child-friendly dip. Caramel dips come prepackaged or you can make your own by melting the sweet treat. Jazz up a plain peanut butter spread by opting for a chocolate-infused mix or a hazelnut version.

    Sweet Treats

    • Even though your child and her friends will gobble up almost any selection of cookies that you serve, try a more creative treat. Top rice cereal dessert treats with gummy fish or wrap them with fruit leather to make mock sushi. Note, however, that the mock sushi treat is chewy and may pose a choking hazard for preschool-aged children and younger. If you're looking for a healthier alternative that is still sweet, set up a yogurt buffet. Give each child a teacup filled with fruit-flavored yogurt. Provide healthy toppings such as berries, melon or sliced grapes.

    Creative Cucumbers

    • A staple of the tea party, the cute little cucumber sandwich may not always appeal to young children. Add a mint leaf and cream cheese to a thinly sliced cucumber-bread combo for a different taste. Another option is to make festive sandwich shapes. Use cookie cutters to slice the bread into stars, hearts or animal shapes. Put the cucumber in between the fancy bread and slather on a topping such as your creative condiment butter spread.

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