Here is my special selection of original tea party games for little boys and girls!
And if you're looking for a special way to celebrate with your little kids at home, a tea party could be the perfect solution.
Tea parties add an extra dimension to a kid's party, in that they concentrate a little more on the style of a social occasion.
And tea party games provide the ideal opportunity for kids to enjoy celebrating together whilst learning something new!
Inspired by the Victorian era, I'm starting my collection with some games for a modern kids' version of a Victorian tea party.
I suspect Victorian children were no different to modern kids! They were curious and imaginative, and loved
pretend play
guessing games
stories and toys
- all of which we know our kids love!
The Victorian age stressed the role of educational games for young children, and many of the games that were played at that time originated from parlor games - activities developed to amuse and entertain in an age when televisions and computers were unimaginable.
Tea party games with alphabet bricks
It's best to have bricks that only have one letter of the alphabet on each brick.
If you have plain bricks at home, write out each letter of the alphabet onto sticky address labels and pop them on each brick. Put the bricks in a bag.
Think of an animal that begins with... Let the children take turns to pick a brick out of the bag. Ask each child if they can think of an animal (or a name, or a flower, or something to eat) that begins with that letter.
If they can't think of an answer, get the other kids to help out. Keep your brick until the end of the animal round, then begin again with a different subject.
Find something that begins with... For a more boisterous game, all the children take a brick out of the bag. Now they must look around the room, or maybe the downstairs rooms or garden, and find something that begins with that letter!
You may or may not want them to actually bring the item back to the group - if you are feeling really brave you can style it as a race!
How many bricks? For younger children, sit them in a circle, and throw some bricks into the middle. Count the bricks together.
Do they know the letters on the bricks? Do they know what color the bricks are? Once you have done this as a group a few times, you could choose some of the children to answer themselves.
A-B-C Tip all of the bricks out onto the floor or onto a table. Now the children have to put all the bricks in a line, in alphabetical order.
With smaller kids, talk or sing it through with them as you do it. Older kids could do this as a group, or you could split them into pairs and time each pair to see who does it the fastest.
Children who can spell their names or other words could then be asked to pick out the correct bricks and "write" these words by putting the bricks in the correct order.
Tea party games with "chalk 'n slate"!
If you can pick up a set of slates and chalks, so much the better. Mini wipe boards and pens are another alternative, or magic slates with plastic straws for pens would work - or simply a small pad and pencil for each child.
Have a named gift bag ready for the end of these tea party games and let the kids take home their "slates" as one of their goodies.
Draw and guess It's best if you do this one first as an example. Draw a flower, keep the picture hidden and tell the kids that "it's something you find in the garden".
Each child guesses what you have drawn. Let everyone guess, then show them the picture. Now each child takes a turn. They could either draw their picture one by one, or everyone can spend a few minutes drawing and then the guessing can begin.
Younger children will need some help to decide what to draw, to keep the picture hidden (place slate face down when finished) and to remember what they drew! Don't forget to give a clue before everyone starts guessing.
Draw what I say. This is a simple game - ask the children to draw
a snake
a ladder
the sun
something you eat
something in the garden
Then each child shows what they drew, and you judge the best picture each time.
Alphabet tea party games add a bit more competition. What letter does "flower" begin with? Everybody writes it down. Then say "if you know it, show it!" and they can all proudly show their letters.
Do this a few times. If they have started writing, you could ask them to spell some simple words, like cat, dog, mummy, party and so on.
Number games involve writing the number that you say for the little ones, or mental arithmetic for those able to add up. Two plus two, what's the answer? If you know it, show it! Make sure they don't shout out the answers!
You could also use your slates to have a noughts and crosses/tic tac toe competition in pairs - use a helper to pair up if necessary.
Busy tea party games
Keep an eye on the clock when playing these tea party games!
Victorian play stations Set up three or four activities around the room.
One "station" could be a fairly simple jigsaw puzzle, another a matching game of a set of words and pictures, the third a shape/color sorting activity, or a set of toy instruments such as drums, bells or a xylophone to sing a song to.
Use five minute activities that you already have in the toy cupboard. The idea is that the children are divided into three or four groups or pairs, and have five minutes to complete the activity before moving on to the next station.
Each activity should have an adult to help out and get things ready for the next group to arrive.
Decoupage for kids To add a creative element to your tea party games, why not try a craft activity?
The Victorians loved decoupage, which involved selecting pictures or paper from cards or magazines and then using these to decorate anything from jewelry boxes to plant pots.
If you want to avoid lots of children using scissors, cut out a selection of pictures and patterns of various sizes, colors and textures from a couple of home and garden or wildlife magazines as well as children's publications.
This way you can have both girl and boy motifs combined with pictures of plants, animals and favorite kid characters!
Sort your snippets into some small boxes, and don't forget the child-friendly glue. Then decide what you would like your guests to decorate.
Make a photo frame If you are taking a photo of each guest at the party, why not decorate a card photo frame, with space left for the photo to be attached once the glue is dry?
Make a place mat You could prepare a piece of card for a place mat for the party, with each child's name written nicely in the center. The kids can decorate around the name.
Decorate a letter And by this I mean the initial letter of each child's name. Cut out letters for the first letter of the name of each of your guests, as well as the birthday boy or girl of course, and let them decorate them to their hearts' desire!
Use "penny toys" for your lucky dip prizes
Penny toys were the cheapest toys for Victorian children, often small reproductions of larger, more expensive toys. For all of the winners or eager participants of your tea party games, you might like to provide a lucky dip of prizes, which could contain small whistles, flags, pencils, windmills or bonbons. If you have already provided a party bag for the "chalk 'n slate" games above, then the children can pop their penny toys into that.
