Hosting a toddler tea party for your 30th birthday is cool, right? At least, in the Montessori fashion, I got the toddlers to do some of the work…

For tea we had:

• Mint tea with lemon slices and milk
• Mini PB&Js served with strawberries
• Mini cheese and mayo sandwiches served with oranges
• Mini banana honey sandwiches with a chocolate chip surprise in the center, served with dried figs

I pre-made the sandwiches and fruit, and then set them up in containers next to the plates, so that my nieces, ages two and four, could have the fun of arranging and serving the food. Next time I might just setup the ingredients and let the kids make the sandwiches too.

For the tea work, I made a tray with:

• A small tea pot
• A small jar, partially filled with loose leaf mint tea
• A tea spoon for scooping the tea
• A thermos with warm water
• (Ideally) A sand timer for measuring the steeping time

With that setup, my four-year-old niece made us tea almost entirely independently. And I was free to… hold back a too curious nine-month old. He was not entirely left out though, for soon came his work: sitting at the table, eating sandwiches, and drinking luke warm tea!