/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>>8094897
Where will you be sitting?

I figure I'd let my guests situate themselves first. I don't predict I'll be doing too much sitting between serving hot water and other things.

>>8094897

I just found out that Sam's sells macarons and you can find cute cardboard cake stands at Party City.

>>8094994
/mu/'s currently having a classical music thread.
>>>/mu/53287419

piano versions of Joe Hisaishi's works are a bit weeby, but a personal favorite.

btw, have you checked with local antique/thrift shops for tea sets? And what kind of teas and snacks will you plan on serving?

You could probably find a tiered cake stand at a HomeGoods or Pier Imports.

I don't know if this would be too weeb but Kyoto Cafe is a pretty comfy album
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcuRcXK8HF4
https://mega.co.nz/#!yBUDHTyY!WRwPJDswzayln64j2fqhoCCLAItVrRPoFQ4psabV3ks..

>>8094994
/ck/ actually has a thread about macaron making right now, if OP or one of their friends would be interested in trying to make some.

>>8094897
I would get 2 or 3 teapots because I like having different types of tea - I'd do an afternoon tea blend, Earl Grey (although I hate it myself) and a fruit or flavoured blend (usually strawberries and cream flavour goes down really well, especially once people add milk and sugar)

>>8094897
what tea are you serving?

>>8094994
>cardboard cake stands
YES, anon I am learning the magic of these. I just found pic related on Etsy, and here I was about to drop $50 on a regular one.

>>8094998
Thanks for the link!
And I haven't checked my local antique shops, but I don't hold much hope. They tend to be scalpers (isolated college town) so they take advantage of people not really knowing what is priced as what. I work at a TJ Maxx which gets discounted tea cups, pots, and plates but unfortunately a lot of the set pieces are missing or ugly--that said, I don't mind buying new.

I've planned to serve cookies and finger sandwiches (egg salad and cucumber dill on white bread). My guests are bringing dishes to share as well.

>>8095005
Hnghh thanks.
>macaron making
Oh boy...I could try but I predict I'd massively fail. I'd buy those macarons from Sam's club if it wasn't an hour away and if I had a membership.

>>8095026
>>8095027
Here's what I have for tea options:

Loose leaf
>Blueberry pie green tea (green tea leaves, calendula sunflower & cornflower petals, dried apples, blueberry infusion)
>Angel's dream black tea (black & green tea leaves, cornflower petals, mallow blossoms)
>Formosa (oolong tea leaves)
>Basic green tea
>Basic English breakfast

Bagged tea
>Blackberry green
>Camomille
>Earl Grey
>English tea

And I think that's about it. I'm asking one of my friends to borrow her kettle so I won't be struggling to provide the water.
But I think I will need extra teapots. I'd like to get some quirky white or mint ones.

I've hosted a couple home tea parties, OP. Have you considered small gift bags? They don't have to cost an arm and a leg, but some nice paper tied with a ribbon and some tea bags and maybe shortbread cookies or something will leave a lasting impression.

>>8095523
Same person.

Also I found all my most interesting and complimented teapots at thrift stores/Goodwill/Savers.

>>8095044
I would definitely think about getting a couple of discounted tea pots, they don't have to match the rest of the crockery and there can be something particularly charming about each guest having a different cup/saucer/plate set.

>>8095061
I personally don't like oolong and regular green tea with afternoon tea. I'd go with your basic English Breakfast, Earl Grey or the english bag tea, and consider the blueberry pie one.

>>8095061
why can't you ask your guest to bring a extra pot if they have one and a cup. It'll be cute and eclectic that way.

>>8095548
keep the ooling and green. Allow people to try something different and some people don't like that fruity fake tea.

>>8095523
I haven't thought of gift bags! I'll see if my budget allows for it.

Also I think you guys have a point about thrifted cups and teapots. I've had some time to think about it and buying a brand new tea set for $300 is a bit overkill for this event. Besides I already have two sets of four cups and saucers. Who knows, maybe they'll find the mismatched china sets charming.

I'm taking a trip to a good thrift store today, I'll see what I can find.
>tfw I found pic related on etsy but the seller ships from Israel and even if I pay out the ass for express there's a good chance it won't get here on time
I'm suffering.

Also, still taking music suggestions.

I think mismatched china is really charming for a smaller scale event. Seconding what other anons have said about going to thrift stores and looking for cute teapots and such if you don't have any. As for cakestands, two three-tiered ones should be enough. They're not that expensive if you can find them in thriftstores.
As for music, I think soft classical music is the best for tea parties since it doesn't take too much attention and doesn't disrupt conversation.
Good luck with your party anon!

>>8095758
Good luck! May your thrifting endeavors be successful! I hope you can find more useful things, too. Do you already have some nice table cloths?

I'm not sure if the classical thread is still active, but look into the mu classical essentials or even take a composer like Chopin or Boccherini and look up related artists on Spotify or Last fm. Classical music is surprisingly broad, but I think minimalism, Baroque, and Romanticism are probably want to you want to aim for (and keep it low enough to not disrupt conversation, like anon suggested).

>>8095061
I just remembered a friend hosted a tea party at her place and she got a cute box to place the optional tea bags in -- it might have been a jewelry box or an old cigar box. I think it's a good idea to have these easily displayed somehow for people to choose what they want.

For music I would recommend some salon music by Eric Satie, like Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes.
Chopin piano waltzes might work to!

Pic related is what I found antiquing today.
The middle cups are the antiques, the outer modern looking ones are the cups I had already.

I'd say I didn't do too badly for only spending $50. I also bought a new tablecloth. I was looking for cute table runners and doilies at the antique shop but they were kind of ratty.

I didn't find any salvageable tea pots though. I'll have to figure out a system for that. I might just serve everyone individually.

>>8096471
>pic
Image name brings up the recipe.

Have you considered making it a pot luck for the baked goods? More variety, yay!

>>8096487
The woman at the antique store was telling me to make these! How ironic.

And yep, my friends have mentioned that they're bringing some treats.

>>8096493
>how ironic
>there's no irony anywhere in there
I think you need a new dictionary, anon. Hipsters aren't reliable sources.

>>8096499
Sorry, I meant coincidence.

>>8096499
>Hipsters aren't reliable sources.
What does this mean? Do you think hipsters are the only people who confuse the use of irony?

>>8096530
Hipsters are the group most known for using it improperly

>>8096556
Nah. Everyone can be caught using it improperly.

>>8095585
With cake though? I guess I must associate them too much with good yum cha and banquets, but unless I'm having Asian bakery food I tend to go for the English teas.

I love hosting tea parties, I throw two extravagant tea parties each year, with themes, invitations, and gift boxes all designed by me. Anyways, I am quite a fan of mis-matched tea-sets. I know it doesn't really help you with such short time between the now and the party, but thrift shops, garage sales, and flea markets are the best places to find cups in my opinion. I never worry if it has a saucer or not, because I'm always on the look out for nice white porcelain saucers that have lost their cups. As for music, I would absolutely stick to classical or at the very least instrumental. If you have a sort of theme or anything that your working with I'd try to pull from that. For my garden parties I play romantic era pieces--chopin, Debussy, lots of soft piano, etc. I've had a rococo tea party with a soundtrack of baroque orchestral, and even a space themed tea party with songs from movie sountracks playing. You can really do whatever you want, just as long as it serves as a background noise and not something that is going to distract from everything else that is going on.

>>8096633
Thanks for the tips anon, they're appreciated.

>>8096625
I personally love oolong and green teas with sweets. I would go by what afternoon tea places serve, though. I've not seen oolong served but I have seen green, jasmine and white. Lapsang souchong is also a classic choice next to English tea blends, which I didn't see. There's plenty of choice already, though.

I would also go with lesser known classical pieces as some pieces can almost seem as bad as elevator music if they're heard too often. I wouldn't say they have to be obscure, though, Arabesque #1/2 is a pretty good choice - it's not Claire de lune. You don't have to play Chopin's Raindrop - maybe do one of his waltzes instead, etc.

This is a very fat chance, but would any of you happen to know the name of the set the pink teacup in pic is?

It wasn't listed in the back of the magazine, which means it was owned privately, but I want to know the name of the set so I can avidly search high and low for it.
I'm having difficulty contacting the maker of the magazine.

>>8096917
dropped pic

this is the best thread ever

>>8096471
These are so cute! Great finds! I miss the kind of things my local antique shop used to stock. They've downsized it and have a bunch of "guy" things now, and it's less shabby chic friendly. I used to really want a matching tea set complete with pot and saucers, but I might just go with hunting for mismatched pieces.

>>8096633
You are living the dream.

I can't wait to afford my own place - and not an apartment I have to share with non-lolitas.

By the way, do you plan on providing savories in addition to your guests' potluck contributions>

>>8096873
It must just be my associations then. The times I've been out for afternoon tea they generally have half a dozen English teas and usually two green teas (usually just a general 'green tea' and sometimes jasmine) plus a couple of whites (often with florals); to be fair, they were all around Hyde Park so they probably tend to offer more English teas. I still find greens a bit bleh with scones and macarons.