St. Nicholas Tea Party ~ Victorian Christmas Celebration

It is time for feast and féte here at Angel Wood Cottage. Inspiration for my annual St. Nicholas Tea came from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol this year.“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Ebenezer Scrooge’s final thoughts ring in my ears as I plan the hearty menu, tablescape and invitations, etc. I am thankful to KitchenAid for providing me with products to pull this gathering off with ease and style.

 

The House is all dolled up for the season. Christmas trees are decorated for each room with love. My beloved reindeer are scattered about. You are invited to grab a cup of your favorite tea and join in the festivities from your warm chair. Tea and bubbly are in order for this party.

 

Please forgive me…I came down with the flu today. Trying to post this is not easy. I am just going to show some of the images and I promise to follow with the planned full-color cookbook when I feel a little better.

These recipes and the Victorian tea can be held at any time of the year. It is especially calming during the hustle and noise of the holidays. My guests always love the quiet moment together to nibble, sip and share stories. The tablescape is joyful and formal. I use the silver and the good Christmas dishes I picked up on Jekyll Island Club in Georgia a few years ago.

The tea service is always on my living room ‘tea’ table. If you know me, you know my affinity for tea…especially Bigelow Tea. It is the only tea I serve.

Even the chairs are decorated with a festive reindeer and tasseled ornament for guests to take home.

Okay. It is apparent that I love reindeer. I collect them and they are displayed year round in my home.

Victorian-inspired Menu for High TeaThe center of attention and work horse for this event is my lovely azure blue tea pot. It whistled away throughout the party and kept our cups filled with healthy, flavorful tea.

This year I am doing my version of the traditional high tea with a Victorian vibe. My take on the gathering will be casual, relaxing, with the color scheme of silver, red and green. Food for my three special girlfriends was prepared with love.

Of course my KitchenAid mixer is always at work in my kitchen. I don’t hide her away. She anchors on my baking center proudly. For this party, she mixed batches of cookies, ground up kale and spinach for quiches, and helped with the pie dough for the bite-sized chicken pot pies.

I could not have pulled this off without my new toy – a convection oven. Oh how I love this countertop model from KitchenAid. It is beautiful and, after some experiments, I feel like I have mastered baking in it. Did I mention those baking sheets. They are heavy, bake evenly and clean easily. The Raspberry-White Chocolate scones are ready to bake.

And, I even did a craft project or two for this special occasion. I love Washi tape. It has so many uses. Here I covered my sunny yellow KitchenAid bakewear rims to fit into the formal setting. I will include that how to in the cookbook.

My KitchenAid Kitchen was abuzz with preparations. Since this is high tea, there are both savory and sweet treats. Each is prepared with one of these great KitchenAid products:

1. KitchenAid 2.0-Quart Kettle with Full Stainless Steel Handle and Trim Band
2. 12″ Convection Bake Countertop Oven
3. KitchenAid® Professional-Grade Nonstick Quarter Sheet and Half Sheet Pans
4. Nesting Ceramic 4-Piece Set
5. KitchenAid® Pro Line® Series 7-Qt Bowl Lift Stand Mixer

Just a little fun touch to end the féte. I love this reindeer cookie cutter I scored on a roadtrip to West Virginia at Thanksgiving.

 

Please share your tea party ideas with me any time. Look forward to my cookbook of tea party recipes coming before New Year. Meanwhile I want to thank KitchenAid for the appliances shown above. All except my mixer which has been with me for several years now. Someday soon I may just have to have one in that beachy azure blue to match my teapot. It could happen!!!

DISCLOSURE: Obviously I received products in exchange for my tablescape. Please share this post to show them how much they mean to you. I know how much they mean to me. I will be sharing a series of tablescapes for KitchenAid in the next few months. Please check back often to see what’s up. WIshing you a Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year!!! Say a little prayer I feel better please!!