This American Girl Went To A Tea Party

I was excited about attending the annual La Grange Area Historical Society’s Tea with your American Girl on Saturday, but didn’t know what to expect being the mother of boys. As I was preparing to leave, it hit me I really shouldn’t wear jeans to a tea party. I put the one dress I own on and headed to the party.

When I walked through the doors of the Vial house, 444 S. LaGrange Road, where the is located, I was suddenly in sensory overload. The entire first floor of the house had been decorated from floor to ceiling Valentine’s décor from days gone by. There were original Valentine’s cards from the early to mid-1900s attached to red ribbons displayed over the doors inside the house.

Antique doll clothes were scattered on tables and displays. There were even hearts decorating the curtains to tie in the theme. This was a far cry from motorcycles on ice that I’ve had the pleasure of attending as a boy mom. The whole time I was thinking how much my grandmother would have loved this event and how the house was decorated like my grandmother’s house when I was growing up.

This event is one of their annual fundraisers and is completely run by volunteers. This year Kate Rymsza, a Cossitt family descendent, apprenticed under Ellie Carroll; they started planning for this event last year.

Felicity was chosen as the American Girl Doll to feature since she was from 1774 and was being retired this year. Once the girls were settled at their tables, Carroll talked to the girls about Felicity’s life and how it relates to life today. She explained how the house they were in was built in 1874, 100 years after Felicity. The house didn’t have plumbing or heat back in 1874. Then she pointed out how different 100 years later things were, explaining that homes in 1974 had plumbing and heating. She also pointed out that La Grange didn’t exist until 1879.

The menu was chosen based on the time period Felicity lived. The menu and descriptions are as follows:

~Flummery~

Felicity’s favorite 17^th century dessert is a sweet pudding made of stewed fruit. This traditional British treat is similar to a porridge or mousse.

~Sugar Cookie~

Felicity enjoyed spending time with her horse Penny. These sweet cookies are shaped like her beloved horse and decorated with icing.

~Fresh Fruit~

These fancy fruit kabobs were Felicity’s favorites.

~Chocolate~

The coin represents a piece of 17^th century money called a bit.

After the girls and their parents were done eating it was time for the raffle. There was an assortment of books and American Girl items available to win. Once the excitement from the winning settled down it was time to take the traditional picture of all the girls with their dolls or lovies sitting on the stairs together. I commend the girls for their patience while sitting on the stairs trying to make sure everyone was in the picture. Parent after parent was lined up to take their turn at the picture. Six of the girls were wearing dresses that matched the dresses their dolls were wearing. It was amazing to me how perfectly matched these girls were to their dolls. This American Girl doll thing is serious business to girls.

Once the tea was over, the girls and their parents departed with their winnings and or gift bags in hand. The volunteers then jumped back into action setting up for the next tea. In the past they have offered two or three sessions running at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This year the response was so great they had to open up a fourth session on Sunday. Each session can accomodate up to forty guests. The group that puts this event on worked hard to make sure that no detail was missed. I could go on and on about them, but to me; a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at the picture gallery and see all the details and the smiling girls with their dolls enjoying the tea party.

Although I haven’t attended a tea party before, this one far exceeded my expectations. A day later I’m still looking at the pictures to see what details and things I missed while I was there. If you have a young daughter that enjoys American Girl Dolls, then this is a must attend event next year. Something tells me they might have five sessions next year. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with the girls and their parents but I have to admit, this boy mom went straight home and couldn’t wait to put on her jeans.