Once upon a time there was a grandmother who wanted to make a special
time with her two granddaughters.
So she waved her wand and created a tea party.
The magic that Kathy Chaplin performed was too good for onetime use. So
the rural Saskatoon bed-and-breakfast operator decided to turn it into
a regular event this summer.
Chaplin’s Cinderella parties became more successful than she had
dreamed.
She had planned the tea parties for little girls and their moms or
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grandmothers for Sunday afternoons in July, August and September.
But demand was strong, so she added October and November. Each Sunday
for five months she was the fairy godmother hosting 16 girls and their
moms to a two-hour tea party for a fee of $10 each.
“No one else does it in the Prairies, but on the internet you can see
it’s popular on the U.S. East Coast. That’s where I got the tea party
etiquette from.”
The girls, who usually come formally dressed and made up, behave well,
she said, because of the formality of the tea table that is shining
with linens and silver. But she also emphasizes that good manners are
required. That is why there is a minimum age of four.
“One week I had four generations. The oldest was 90, the youngest four.
“It’s a special day and they’re all so cute.”
Even the mothers are starting to dress up, said Chaplin. They don’t
wear jeans but are getting another wear out of a bridesmaid outfit.
The event is like a formal English tea with place cards, flowers,
music. On the menu are scones, mini-sandwiches, cookies, punch and iced
tea.
“I say ‘eat them so my husband doesn’t have to take them for lunch’ –
and they all disappear,” including the cucumber ones and the
kid-friendly ones with peanut butter and cinnamon sugar.
She jokes that she wants to find a used tuxedo suit so her husband can
dress up as a butler.
After the meal Chaplin does some magic tricks and then it is playtime
for the kids.
Chaplin also offers school tours at the farm and a petting zoo in May
and June. She has done them for 22 years and had 70 groups this year.
She plans to restart the tea parties next July.
