More on our American Girl Tea club

I've had a few people ask me about our American Girl Teas...so I will explain more about what we do. As I mentioned in a previous post, we have 6 girls and 5 moms (that includes us) in our home once a month. Sweet-Pea and I have so much fun setting up our table with fine china and teacups. The first month we met, we asked that each mother/daughter bring their own unique set of tea cups and saucers. We keep them here and use them once a month for our teas. The variety of cups/saucers on the table along with our own china plates makes for a wonderful setting! It's formal yet casual.

The girls usually dress up...sometimes in very elegant dresses, and even a couple times some have dressed in attire specific for the time period we're learning about. I have to admit we Moms have gotten a little bit more casual as time has gone by, but the girls still do love to dress up! They are taught how to act like proper young ladies during our teas. We teach them basic table manners as well as what it's like to be a gracious host.

What do we do during our teas? We meet from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. The first 10 minutes or so are pretty much for socializing and getting settled. We then sit down and the mother/daughter team who is leading that particular month totally takes over and runs the show. We usually have our snack time first. During our snacks (which are usually foods specific to the time period for that doll), we talk about the story and sometimes are quizzed on how much we know. Lots of laughter go on during this time!!

After we eat, usually Sweet-Pea helps me to clear off the table while the devotional is given by the mom of the mother/daughter team. Scripture that pertains to our story is used and the girls are taught how it can be applied in their own lives. After the devotional (usually only 5-10 min.) we do our craft. Sometimes that takes up the rest of the time, but sometimes we can squeeze in a game - again, something that pertains to the time period.

That's it in a nutshell. Here are a few photos of our teas (so far) and what was done for each. I don't remember ALL the details, but I'll do my best to type what I know.

DOLL #1 - Kaya
Food: corn bread, pumpkin pudding, nuts, Indian tea, coffee, lemonade
Craft: t-shirts (the pink one Sweet-Pea is wearing), bracelets
Game: the stick game



DOLL #2 - Felicity (Even Lionel got into this one by wearing his 3 pointed hat while answering the door for us - then he split into another room to 'escape'!)
Food: apple butter, homemade rolls, sweet pudding, tea, coffee, lemonade
Craft: fruit topiary
Game: table top bowling



DOLL #3 - Elizabeth
Food: muffins (not sure what else), coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: potpourri sachets
Game: blind mans bluff



DOLL #4 - Josefina
Food: sweet breads, cookies, Mexican corn things (?), coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: corn husk dolls
Game: beans game



DOLL #5 - Kirsten
Food: sliced apples, ham, raisin buns, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: yarn rag dolls
Game: no time!



DOLL #6 - Addy
Food: hard boiled eggs, homemade breads, jelly, corn dish, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: paper drawings
Game: no time...but after we were done the girls got into Sweet-Pea's princess dress up bin!!



DOLL #7 & #8 - Samantha/Nellie
Food: omelettes, muffins, gingerbread, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: gingerbread house
Game: pass the paper people drawings (hilarious!)



DOLL #9 - Kit
Food: waffles, ambrosia, breads, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: paper lanterns, tissue paper flowers
Game: alphabet game



We still have to do Emily, Molly and Julie to complete the series. Once we're done with the American Girl dolls, we will do the Life of Faith dolls, then we'll start all over again with the American Girl dolls!! Sweet-Pea can't get enough of these dolls, so we'll be doing this for quite some time I imagine.

One of the highlights thus far was definitely our trip into NYC to have lunch at the American Girl Place. We had a blast and I'm sure the memories made will last a lifetime!!

Here they are enjoying their delicious meals...


Here's Sweet-Pea with her 'Just like me' doll...she even dressed like her for the day!


Now...to brainstorm a club for Lionel and his friends...hmmm. Any ideas? I was thinking of "The Lego Lads" and having 3 friends over each month specifically to build a Lego creation that pertains to a particular topic for the month. Share your thoughts if you have any. I need input! Thanks!!