When you have a princess or three in your house one of the best possible gifts they can receive is a real life tea set. And when it arrives in a Union Jack emblazoned treasure box with tea and molded sugar and cookies and miniature spoons and a hand-made table cloth? HEAVEN, I tell you.

Aunt Cristie bestowed said wonderful gift on Tess for Christmas. From the moment it was opened, it was non-stop “NOW can we have a tea party?” until it did happen, four days later.

A very long four days, might I add.

When the date and time were decided, the next order of business was attire. We are talking about girls, after all. Dresses were tried on and rejected and put on again. Then there was hair to be done and lip gloss! That was the easy part, believe it or not. Because after the hostess decided that the boys could attend, if they acted like gentleman, there was some serious drama about what to wear. A dress shirt was not nice enough and where in the world were the neck ties?!? In the end, Philip decided on a tuxedo two sizes too small as it was deemed the most appropriate. Max, on the other hand, donned his first communion duds and volunteered to be the butler. With everyone dressed to the nines and giddy with excitement, the party commenced.

The “Queen” was seated on her throne and was a fine regal hostess. Her sister, the princess, made a fine showing at her first tea party. Philip, the Duke, was gracious and Max was the best butler we’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that. They had such a great time, the party morphed into a dance party – or “ball” according to Tess. And that’s saying something since her brothers don’t dance.

It was a great party with a great gift from a Great Aunt. Thanks Aunt Cristie!