If you’re looking for a great St. Patrick’s Day activity for kids, there is nothing more fun than having a St. Patrick’s Day Tea Party with green food!
I love playing pretend with our kids, whether it is during a tea party or while we are just playing outside, because it does wonders for their imagination.
Let’s have a green tea party where everything is green!
Let’s host a green tea party for kids!
Hosting a green tea party is fun for preschoolers, kindergartners, grade schoolers and beyond! In fact, please invite me.
Having a tea party is easy, and it is so much fun!
History of Tea Party Food
Let’s start with the original green tea party food – cucumber sandwiches and how it all got started…
Back in the 1870’s, a group of British Army Officers took refuge in a tea house. In order to cool themselves down, they indulged in a meal that would quench their thirst: dainty, crustless, light sandwiches with paper-thin slices of cucumber and a cup of hot tea.
They brought that little meal idea back to their home, and it quickly became a pre-dinner snack for the upper class (it was too expensive of a snack for the lower class, because it contained little nutritional value, and was not worth the money) according to Telegraph.
Don’t forget to bring out any green dishes you might have!
Green Tea Party Food
Before you begin, be sure to let your kids really get into character. Let them dress up with their Sunday Best and their hats, ‘party shoes’, and white gloves, if they have them!
Or you can choose to wear all green clothing to the tea party. Whichever is best for your family. It might be a combination!
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How To Make a Cucumber Tea Sandwich
Ingredients for Green Tea Sandwich:
- Soft white bread (the softer, the better)
- 1 thinly sliced cucumber (peeling is optional)
- Softened unsalted butter or softened herbed butter
- A very small pinch of salt for the cucumbers
- 1/2 cup vinegar (to soak the cucumbers)
Let’s make cucumber sandwiches!
Steps to Make Cucumber Tea Sandwiches:
- Place the cucumber slices in the vinegar for 30 minutes, to soak.
- Drain the cucumbers. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Sprinkle cucumbers very lightly with salt.
- Spread butter evenly, and very thinly, on every other slice of bread.
- Place the sliced cucumber in one or two layers on on slice of buttered bread. Top with an un-buttered slice of bread. Cover one side of the sandwich with sliced cucumber in one to two layers.
- Cut off the crusts and slice into rectangles. Each sandwich will yield three mini sandwiches.
Pair with tea and sugar cubes.
Let’s find some more green food for the green tea party!
More Green Food Ideas Fit For a St. Patrick’s Day Tea Party
Yes, the delicate cucumber tea sandwiches are delicious, but we all know that dessert is the hit of any party!
We have a huge list of green food ideas you might want to check out. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Green cinnamon rolls – you could make these in a mini version perfect for a tea party
- How about a “cold green soup”? You could adapt this really yummy berry green smoothie bowl idea for your green tea party.
- I know you will be serving tea, but pair it with a shamrock shake recipe for kids and you will have a big hit!
- Healthy rainbow snack is a great addition to the tea party.
- What about some leprechaun cookie bark? Yum!
- You can make it a little more festive and make these rainbow cupcakes!
These sandwiches go great with your favorite cupcakes. Vanilla cupcakes with white icing and edible green dots, or green frosting, to keep to the simplicity of the tea.
With just a few changes, you can have an allergy-free green tea party!
Making a Green Tea Party Allergy-Friendly
The best part of hosting your own tea party, is knowing exactly what will be in the food. As an allergy mom, this is priceless!
Even if you don’t have allergies in the house, if you would like to make the green food with natural food coloring and skip the chemical food dyes, check out our natural food coloring ideas.
You can easily make the cucumber tea sandwiches gluten free, by using gluten free bread. Udi’s is one of my favorite gluten free brands! Aldi also has yummy gluten free bread.
Double check that the vinegar you are using is gluten free vinegar, as well.
To accommodate a dairy sensitivity or dairy allergy, use your favorite dairy free bread, as well as dairy free cream cheese and dairy free butter.
For desserts, make dairy free and gluten free cupcakes with this yummy cupcake mix, frosting, and sprinkles!
There are so many delicious allergy-friendly substitutes to make your St. Patrick’s Day tea party one they will remember!
More St. Patrick’s Day Fun from Kids Activities Blog
Follow up your St. Patrick’s Day tea party with some amazing St. Patrick’s Day crafts and recipes!
- 20 Yummy St. Patrick’s Day Desserts
- Over 100 St. Patrick’s Day Crafts and Activities
- St. Patrick’s Day breakfast ideas
- Oh so many shamrock crafts for kids!
- Let’s make a cute leprechaun craft for kids.
Did you have fun hosting a green tea party for St. Patricks Day? What green food did you include?
