These cucumber sandwiches were originally featured in my Valentine’s Spa Day Lunch post with FREE PRINTABLES! You might have also saw them on KATU’s Afternoon Live. They are both tasty and famous! 😉 Big thank you to my friend Alicia who helped me prep everything for the TV shoot and put together these beautiful sandwiches for photographs!

Valentine’s Day for me is a time to celebrate all of the people I love, not just my husband. Each year I try to come up with at least a fun valentine to share with friends, coworkers, and my children. This year I went a little further and came up with a party designed to celebrate the very busy, kind, and often stressed women in my life. I had the opportunity to share the Valentine’s Spa Day Lunch on KATU’s Afternoon Live and here on the blog.

Heart Shaped Cucumber Sandwiches

One of the tasty recipes that I put together for the party is this heart shaped cucumber sandwich. Cucumber sandwiches are known mainly as a go-to for tea parties. However, because I love the little sandwiches and feel like spa days and cucumbers go hand in hand, I thought it would make for a nice light lunch item for either a Valentine’s Day Tea Party or a Valentine’s Spa Party. I think these sandwiches would also be great for a wedding shower, bachelorette tea, baby shower, or a tea-time reception.

The recipe is pretty simple and can be adjusted to taste. If you are really stressed for time then substitute the cream cheese mixture below with a ready-made herbed cream cheese. I personally like my cucumber sandwiches on a nice white bread, but feel free to change the bread to any that you prefer. I use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out my hearts taking a knife to trim the edges if needed. Metal cookie cutters work best for this, but really, any cookie cutter will do.

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Don’t forget to hop on over to the main Valentine’s Day Spa Lunch post to get your free party printables!

Tea parties are such a special way to take a moment and connect with someone. Many little girls have memories of playing tea party with their moms (or dads!)— the little plastic cups and pretend tea. Growing up I always love the way tea sets looked and how dainty I felt when using them. One of my favorite things about going to my grandmother’s house was getting to see her beautiful china tea sets that she had in her china hutch. I’ve now had a tea party or two with my son and he likes it just as much as I did when I was a little girl. But, then again, he likes anything that involves sandwiches and cake!

When Plum Deluxe asked me if I’d like to try some of their tea, I immediately thought of creating a Mother’s Day tea party. Enjoying conversation over a pot of tea, tea sandwiches and sweets makes for a lovely way to connect and can make anyone feel special– especially mom! Read on for some tips for throwing a Mother’s Day Tea Party and to learn more about Plum Deluxe.

Tips for a Mother’s Day Tea Party

The cool thing about tea parties is that you can do so many different styles of tea parties from classic English tea party to a modern Japanese tea party. The key to a successful tea party is light treats, a pot of tea and some good conversation. Below are some of my suggestions for creating a great tea party: (affiliate links are used in this post*)

Pick a few simple, but delicious food items that are a mix of savory and sweet. You don’t need a lot of variety. Tea party foods are mainly just for snacking. For this tea party I went with classic tea sandwiches, cake, and fresh melon. (See below for links to recipes!) If I were serving a delicious green tea I might go with a selection of sushi, sweet filled mochi and fresh fruit. If I did a breakfast tea with milk and sugar cubes I might serve scones with crème fraîch and jam. Really, anything goes! Pinwheel sandwiches and petit fours are other great thing to serve at a tea party. Tea is often served between meal times, so don’t worry about needing to fill your guests tummies. Instead, focus on a few special treats that will pair nicely with the tea you are serving.
Pick one great tea to fill a pot, or put out a selection of teas served with hot water. If you tea party is for two then you probably just need to make a single pot of tea, choosing a tasty variety that you know your guest will enjoy. If you are throwing a larger tea party, you might think of having a selection of different teas and serve with hot water! Make sure your guests have the tools they may need to make their tea. Either opt for tea bags or put a couple of tea strainers/infusers with the tea. For this tea party I used the Plum Deluxe Oregon Breakfast Black Tea. It didn’t even need any milk or sugar due to the bright notes of orange and hazelnut the tea had.
Don’t forget to make the table pretty! Tea itself is pretty. The tiny bite size treats are pretty. Don’t leave out the table! Throw some flowers out on the table (Yes, I mean literally throw! I snipped the heads off some blooms and decorated the table with the blooms for this tea party.) Use a variety of coordinating dishware. You don’t even have to have tea cups if you don’t already have them. You can use some of your favorite mugs instead if you’d prefer.

Tea Party Recipes

There are a ton of great recipes out there for making tea party food. I like to keep my tea party food as simple as possible and make sure the flavors are fresh and not too heavy. Below are some of my favorite go-to recipes for tea party food:

Cucumber Sandwiches – These are so simple and refreshing. I think the key is a really great white bread. You can make the filling anyway you’d like really, from as simple as cream cheese and cucumber slices to more flavorful such as this recipe for Cucumber and Lemony Dill Tea Sandwiches.
Asparagus Tea Sandwiches– I made my tea sandwiches similar cut and shape. My asparagus tea sandwiches was simply sliced through… however, I love the idea of these asparagus rollups! So much easier than cutting through blanched asparagus neatly!
Cheddar Biscuits would be a nice savory treat for a tea party.
Scones – Scones are traditional, they are creamy, and they just go so nicely with tea! Alton Brown makes my favorite scone recipe by far!
Fresh fruit – I love to server some fresh fruit at my tea parties. Strawberries, apple slices, and melons make for beautiful tea party sides. To make melon look prettier I often take my melon baller to the melon. Learn how to ball a melon here.
Need more ideas? Try these 50 Tea Sandwiches from the Food Network or Martha Stewart’s many tea sandwich recipes!

About Plum Deluxe

I love the story behind the Plum Deluxe website and tea subscription. Owner Andy Hayes shares about his purpose and how his mother inspired the website that helps readers create moments that matter. The articles and resources available for free on Plum Deluxe is supported by the Plum Deluxe signature and organic line of teas. The teas are available in as a part of a monthly subscription service or sold by the ounce.

A gift subscription to the monthly club would be a fun gift to give at a Mother’s Day tea. Not only does mom get to enjoy an afternoon of discussion and treats, but gets the promise of a new tea each month that they can in turn share with you for future tea dates!

This Mother’s Day take a little tip from Andy’s mother that he shares on his site, “My mom taught me that no matter your circumstances, you can choose to create moments that matter, every day.” Take a moment to make a moment that matters this Mother’s Day weekend.

Thank you to Plum Deluxe for sharing some complimentary tea for my review. All opinions are my own. Some affiliate links are used in this post. Incremental amounts of items purchased using these affiliate links help support this blog at no cost to readers. Thank you for supporting A Well Crafted Party. Check in soon for a free Tea for Two Mother’s Day card printable!