Christmas Tea at Edsel & Eleanor Ford House

Last Thursday, Dec. 8th, I went to a Christmas Tea at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe, MI.  I met, Kristin, one of the servers at The Whitney, on the second floor foyer before our 12:30 seating in the Lake Shore Room.  I arrived first, so I took the pic below looking down on the first floor foyer.

While waiting for Kristin, I viewed the Ford Family photo gallery on the second floor.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of Eleanor Ford on her 75th birthday with her four children, since that's my current age.  She was a widow for 33 years and never remarried after Edsel died at the age of 49.

While waiting for our reservation, we met Santa and had our picture taken with him.

Lakeshore Dining Room was bustling with attendees.  The empty seats were for the 12:30 guests.

The 'tea lady' came to our table so we could make our tea selection.

We chose Earl Grey by Bigelow.

~ Kristin ~

~ Moi ~

The tiered server.  Top tier: Chocolate Chip Scones with Blackberry Preserves and Chantilly Cream.  Middle tier desserts:  Macarons, Pecan Diamonds, Peppermint Bark, and White Chocolate Truffle.  Bottom tier tea sandwiches and canapes:  mini cone with Mascarpone and Smoked Salmon; Pomegranate and Brie Phyllo bite; Beef Wellington; Roast Squash with Pesto, Onion Jam and Arugula on Wholegrain Bread; Honey Roast Ham with Fig Jam and Goat Cheese on White Bread, and Classic Egg Salad and Watercress on Brioche.  It was all delicious.

After the tea we boarded a shuttle that took us the short distance to the mansion for a self-guided tour.  It was decorated beautifully for Christmas with a Christmas tree in almost every room, beginning with the foyer.

I've toured the mansion many times but never knew they had a pipe organ until Thursday when a door in Drawing Room was open.

The cloister on the way to the Gallery [the largest room in the house, used for balls and parties].

The Library was set up with cookies and tea [even though Eleanor wasn't a tea drinker] and cookies and milk for Santa.

The beautiful Dining Room.

A maid's uniform on display in the butler's pantry.

Statue of Edsel & Eleanor outside the mansion.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon of tea and touring!