French Patisserie Tea Party Fun & Favors

"It is a happy talent to know how to play." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

When we welcomed Emma's classes from school and church for her recent French Patisserie Tea Party, I knew we would need some activities to keep us occupied during the afternoon. The birthday girl wanted to do a craft, but the size of our guest list made that prospect a little difficult. Ultimately, we decided to have a movie time and hoped the weather would cooperate for a few outdoor games.

About an hour before party time, I tasked Mary Ashley with popping popcorn and Emma with setting up our movie, American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success. (Find our choice of gourmet popping corn here.)

This is the cutest film! I must admit, when Emma and I watched Grace Stirs Up Success for the first time together, she fell asleep and I kept watching to the end. The story follows an American girl who visits relatives in Paris and has the opportunity to work in her uncle's pastry shop. The budding baker discovers recipes for success in cooking, business and relationships. The theme was perfect for our party!

Paper bowls from Hobby Lobby offered a just-right size for snacking during the movie, and little bottles of soda kept thirst at bay.

Many of the girls piled in to watch the movie.

We watched for a while, then moved on to our teatime when the girls started to get restless.

The girls used their best manners to fill their plates with an array of confections.

Visit Monday's post for more details of our menu ... and many drool-worthy photos of macarons.

Here is our "tenager" taking her turn choosing some sweet treats.

After tea, Emma opened a mountain of gifts from all her sweet girlfriends.

Our weather turned stormy on the day of Emma's party, leaving our yard a bit muddy, so we did not go outside for games. Among the activities I had planned, we were going to play Escargot on the driveway. Read the details of this classic children's game above.

Finding cute but economical favors was a challenge, considering the size of our group. I was delighted to find little notebooks at Michaels, along with bundles of colored pencils.

I bought as many as I could find that read "Let's go to Paris," then gathered coordinating styles to amass the number I needed. The colored pencils were found in Michaels' Easter section, and I loved their rustic look. A variety of ribbons from my stash finished off our favors nicely.

As the party drew to a close, I placed a basket of favors on the front porch so all the girls could choose their favorite styles. Many started writing in their travel journals immediately, and I hope they will use them in the days to come for recording happy memories.

I hope you enjoyed visiting Emma's Patisserie! Don't forget to leave a comment on this French Inspiration Post for your opportunity to win a bundle of inspiring magazines. I will announce the winner in Friday's party wrap-up.

Emma's French Patisserie Tea Party Menu

"Once in a young lifetime, one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold." ~ Judith Olney

Emma's recent 10th-birthday celebration -- a French Patisserie Tea Party -- allowed us to sample a variety of delectable sweets. Today I am sharing our menu, along with recipes and sources for the delicious fare that had us dreaming of Paris.

In lieu of birthday cake, we served a variety of petit fours prepared by local bakeries.

These strawberry and vanilla dainties are from Edgar's Bakery, one of my favorite Birmingham eateries. Roses, daisies and monograms highlight these petit fours. 

Pastry Art's decadent Baby Bites offered a heavenly taste of chocolate. Created by pastry chef Carol Gregg, these tasty morsels are offered in a variety of flavors.

Here is a view of our buffet, ready for the party! Offering a variety of desserts ensured that all of our guests would find a tempting treat.

A display of macarons served as the centerpiece of our offerings. The acrylic tower was the first purchase I made for the party, and I am hoping my friends who enjoy entertaining will also be able to use it for upcoming birthday parties, showers and weddings.

A simple platter of fruit complemented the heavier offerings on the menu.

The day before the party, Emma and I made 32 of these yummy tarts by filling baked pastry shells with Quick and Easy Homemade Lemon Curd and handfuls of fresh berries.

A little intimidated to tackle making macarons in my short time frame, I looked for options for purchasing these locally. A frozen brand from Walmart turned out to be the most economical choice and coordinated with our pastel palette.

Boxes of bonbons, also from Walmart, allowed each girl to indulge in a bit of candy.

Available in the frozen section, Looka macarons are sold by the dozen. Each box offers three cookies of each flavor: chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and pistachio.

Balancing the sweets were cheese and crackers. Emma was quick to suggest a cheese ball from Edgar's -- one of her favorite holiday appetizers!

Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries provided a healthy snack. For our beverages, we served bottles of sparkling French lemonade from Trader Joe's -- another fruity treat in our favorite shades of pink!

Days after the party, Mary Ashley discovered three more boxes of macarons in our freezer. I was disappointed that we could have added another tier to our tower, but I am excited that we already have sweets for another teatime! (And, as you can guess, I don't think this post can have too many photos of macarons!) 

A magazine stylist who often works with us at Victoria suggested I add chocolate eclairs to our menu. According to Marie-Paule, eclairs and cream puffs are all the rage in Paris. A frozen option from Walmart brought the trend to our buffet. Baking palmiers filled our home with the enticing aromas of cinnamon and citrus. I will definitely make these again!

Easy Palmiers

Enjoy these lightly sweet pastries any time of day with a cup of tea.

1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
Zest of 2 oranges
2 sheets puff pastry 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2, In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and orange zest.

3. Sprinkle one-fourth of sugar mixture over a clean work surface. Top with first puff-pastry sheet, and sprinkle one-fourth of sugar mixture over puff pastry. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into an even 1/8-inch-thick rectangle, pressing sugar into the dough. Using your hands, roll each long side of dough toward center, jelly-roll style. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, repeat process for remaining sugar mixture and remaining sheet of puff pastry.

4. Unwrap puff-pastry rolls. Using a serrated knife, slice rolls into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Re-roll spirals, if needed, and place slices on prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, turn over slices, and return to oven until cookies are golden brown, 4-7 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

The girls seemed to enjoy trying our bounty of desserts, and I believe they all found some treats they appreciated. One enthusiastic guest proclaimed, "I loved everything, and I have decided I want to be a baker when I grow up now!" Others -- upon seeing their mothers arrive at the end of the party -- left by way of the dining room, where they couldn't resist picking up one final macaron on their way out. I couldn't help but smile seeing their delight over our menu of delights and hope you will try some of these classic sweets for an upcoming event!

Still to come, our party fun and favors! For more French inspiration, visit this post for a chance to win a bundle of magazines.

Photos by Nathan Prichard. Used with permission.

More of Emma's French Patisserie Tea Party

Emma's recent birthday celebration gave us an opportunity to serve tea to dozens of little girls. Our dining room table seats eight, and our kitchen table seats six. With more than thirty attendees, though, we needed to create several more seating groups.

We have been working on our sitting room for the last couple of weeks. I put up a chair rail recently, while Joe painted (Wheat above the chair rail and Fresh Cotton below) and hung new drapes. I still want to add picture-frame moulding in here and may decide to highlight a single color on the walls. We were able to accommodate eight more guests in our fresh new space by positioning an extra dining table in front of the sofa.

My late grandmother's Homer Laughlin Eggshell Nautilus looked lovely and delicate amidst all the pastels in this space.

Using the sofa and pulling a variety of chairs to this table maximized our seating -- even allowing us to squeeze in a few more guests, as needed.

A handful of pink roses draws the eye to this silver platter laden with teapots.

Here are some of the sweeties who dined in the sitting room.

A palette of pink and white kept the look simple in our kitchen with Bordallo Pinheiro dinner plates and Pier1 dessert plates.

Fresh tulips made a lovely centerpiece against the creamy white table.

Amid all the different table settings, Caspari Tulip Dance Cocktail Napkins offered continuity.

Pulled out from the staircase, our entryway table offered seating for Mary Ashley and three other girls her age.

Pier1 Lacy dinner plates, clear glass salad plates, and a bouquet of roses kept the look soft.

Still to come, our menu, activity ideas, and favors. Don't forget to visit this post for your chance to win a bundle of magazines full of French inspiration. Have a lovely weekend!

"But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Photos by Nathan Prichard. Used with permission.

Emma's Patisserie Tea Party

"A daughter is a gift of love." ~ Unknown

In our family, turning 10 has become a rite of passage that we have celebrated in a big way. When the boys hit double digits, we surprised them with parties brimming with friends and extended family. (See Carson's rockin' surprise party here. We bowled Christian over here and here.) I have always told the girls they could get their ears pierced when they turned 10, so we celebrated that milestone for Mary Ashley with a Tiffany-themed brunch. Emma is not interested in getting her ears pierced yet, so we thought about a number of other themes. Initially, she wanted to do a Parisian fashion show, but as her guest list kept growing, I couldn't envision carrying out this theme at home. Ultimately, we settled on hosting a French Patisserie Tea Party.

With more than 30 little girls in attendance, I was in heaven decorating tables for this celebration. We were able to seat all the guests inside, so I will be sharing more photos of our tablescapes in an upcoming post. But for now, welcome to our dining room.

Fresh tulips brought glimpses of springtime to this happy setting.

Instead of hot tea, I served sparkling French lemonade for the girls. Punch cups we inherited from Joe's grandmother were perfect for this event. (I think Nanelle would have relished this party!) Instead of place cards, Emma wrote the girls' names on tags that we tied to the handles.

One of my favorite aspects of entertaining is filling the house with flowers. Tulips and other spring blooms from Trader Joe's and Fresh Market brought beauty to the dining room tablescape.

We invited all the girls from Emma's classes at school and church, so I opted for the ease of these pretty Caspari Tulip Dance Cocktail Napkins instead of linen napkins. The artwork and coloring brought loveliness to our table.

Springy shades of pink and yellow always make me smile!

Softening the mirror is a Martha Stewart Crafts Pom-Pom Garland in white.

For these petite arrangements, I wrapped a tulip leaf around the inside of the glass jar then placed three to five stems inside.

Rather than having one large arrangement, I clustered smaller posies along the length of the table. This allowed for conversation and gave each guest something pretty to look at.

Paper doilies from Dollar Tree and Michaels added detail beneath the dessert plates and the dinner plates I treated as chargers.

We enjoyed these blooms for more than a week!

Here is our precious birthday girl enjoying a strawberry during the party.

And here are a few of the friends who joined us for the festivities.

Thank you for stopping by today! There is much more beauty to come at Emma's Patisserie, so please visit again soon. And don't forget to enter for your chance to win a bundle of French-themed magazines here.

"A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future." ~ Author Unknown

Photos by Nathan Prichard. Used with permission.