2025 Ladies' ORCN Christmas Tea

The Ladies' Christmas Tea [at Orchard Ridge Church of the Nazarene] has come and gone.  It was held last Saturday, December 6th, and was the largest one we've had in our new building, with 89 ladies reserving a spot.  A great time was had by all.

For this tea I opted to give ladies an opportunity to set and hostess a table.  We had 11 tables.  Our ladies were shy about volunteering, so two ladies set two tables and I set three, but now that they've seen how it's done and how creatively rewarding it is, I'm hoping the response will be better the next time we do it.

The hostesses gathered last Thursday from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. to set their tables and get them ready for Saturday's noon arrival time.  Some of the hubby's even helped set-up

~ Overview of the Room ~ 

Our seating chart and ballot box [guests voted on their favorite table].

~ Photos of each tablescape ~  

The hostess who set the first table pictured below was so happy to be able to use her grandmother's silver cutlery.  It was the first time she had ever participated in setting/hostessing a table and she did a beautiful job.

The hostess below set two tables.

~ Second table ~

My girlfriend, Lori, set this table which was voted 3rd Place.

This table was set by a sweet young gal from England - hence the Christmas Crackers at each place setting.  It was her first time to set/hostess a table also.

The hostess below set two tables and the first one pictured won first place.  The Limoges china was her grandmother's.  She received a gift card to Hobby Lobby.

~ Second table ~

Below are my three tables. The first one had a blue and silver icy, wintry theme, and I used my Petals Depression Glass by Federal Glass.  The table was voted 2nd Place.  In reality, all the tables were winners.

The second table was a Nutcracker Theme with Gracie Fine China dishes purchased this year.  I made the centerpiece.

The third table was Farm House Christmas Truck and I succumbed to purchasing the dishes I blogged about previously.

The meal was catered by Pamela's Catering and we served Harney & Son's Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea [regular and decaf].

~ Blueberry Scones ~

~ Savories ~

~ Desserts ~

A few pictures of the attendees...

~ Three Generations ~

My girlfriend, Sandy

~ Mother & Daughters ~

I read Tom Hegg's book, A Cup of Christmas Tea and told the story of how he came to write it, and then we were dismissed.

My girlfriend, Lori, with her new great-granddaughter, Parker.  It was her first tea party, and she slept through it all. 

I hope you enjoyed a recap of the tea.   The boxes and tea totes are patiently waiting for me in the garage ready to be unpacked, dishware washed and everything put away.  I haven't had a chance to tackle them yet.  All the floor length tablecloths had to be washed and returned to church today for a senior Christmas event this Saturday.

160 packets of tea also had to be assembled and placed in red mesh bags to take to work tomorrow for The Whitney Christmas tea this Saturday.  The ornament picture frames will also go in the mesh bags.  

Tis the season for being busy!

Post Thanksgiving - Farewell November

I didn't get a chance to write a post Thanksgiving Day, Friday or yesterday, but I hope you had a holiday filled with gratitude - family/friends and lots of good food.  We celebrated the first Sunday of Advent today [Hope] and tomorrow is December 1st with the Christmas Season rapidly approaching. 

It was a small group around the Thanksgiving table this year... Lori & Dave were in California, Brianna was in Oregon visiting a friend, and Sharon's mom is in rehab following surgery from a broken hip, so her dad spent the day sitting with her.  

Sharon had a cute Gingerbread theme going on throughout their house.

Her house was decorated so festively for the holidays with two Christmas trees, and I don't even have one up yet.

Lori and family in California facetimed us Thanksgiving Day, and texted us this picture.  I mailed the girls pumpkin pie headbands and turkey glasses which they're wearing in the picture.

[John, Tiffany, Lori, Dave, Evie and Jules]

Jeremy and his family came over later in the afternoon after spending some time with Samantha's family.

[Jeremy, Landon, Brooke & Izzy]

[Samantha & Ellie]

It snowed for a little while [but no significant accumulation]. I took a picture of it coming down looking out the doorwall.

Izzy had to work at Ford Field yesterday for the Michigan State vs. Maryland game.

Today was the last day for ladies to sign up for the Christmas Tea at church next Saturday, December 6th.  89 ladies will be attending.  Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice tea [both regular and decaf] will be on the menu.  I'll be sure to post pictures of the different hostess tables.  Have a good week as we welcome December!

Thanksgiving Eve

Today was a work day for me, and it was a challenge getting into The Whitney parking lot.  The restaurant faces Woodward Avenuue and Detroit's 99th Thanksgiving Day Parade route is a 3-mile stretch on Woodward Avenue.  It goes right past The Whitney.  Crews were setting up road blocks all along the Woodward Avene parade route, so it took a little ingenuity to get into the parking lot. 

We're still featuring Apple Cinnamon Black tea at Mansion Tea but on Friday we'll switch over to Mistletoe Kiss Black Tea.  A yummy spicy Christmassy tea.  The Whitney was having their outdoor tree lighting tonight and the interior is beautifully decorated for Christmas.

On the way to an appointment after work, I was pleasantly surprised to see pick-up trucks pulling over 30 floats on Warren Avenue in preparation for tomorrow's parade.  My hubby was driving so it gave me the opportunity to take several photos through the car's windshield and his driver's window.  I'll share just a few photos but you can be sure I'll be watching the parade on TV when coverage begins at 8:45 tomorrow morning.

We had high winds and light snow flurries today, and light snow is also predicted for tomorrow.  Those watching the parade in person will have to bundle up.

I was so happy to see the Hudson's float which had three parts [only two are pictured here].

The Jazz float paying tribute to the Detroit Jazz Queens.

The Oz float

And part of the very last float - Santa's float

After dinner tonight I made a 9-inch pumpkin swirl cheesecake with a gingersnap crust for one of tomorrow's desserts.  It's been several years since I made one and The Whitney inspired me with their pumpkin cheesecakes made in the pastry kitchen and sold thru tonight for $59.  

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  🎜 Count your blessings, name them one by one... and it will surprise what the Lord has done. 🎝 That line comes from great hymn Count Your Blessings that was published in 1897 and it's still true in 2025!

I loved how one of the officiating clergymen began his prayer at former Vice President Dick Cheney's funeral service at Washington National Cathedral last week:  "Oh God, whose mercies can not be measured..."  I jotted it down and tucked it in my Bible.

Celebrations and Preparations

My hubby's 'biological odometer' recently rolled over another year and my daughter had us over for a lovely celebration dinner.  

Thanksgiving is a time of being grateful for our blessings and giving to those less fortunate.  I usually send checks to Salvation Army, Gleaners, and/or Detroit Rescue Mission to help feed the hungry [that's the easy way], but this year I took a Thanksgiving box to fill from my local church and put a little of myself into it.  I shopped for the list of grocery items on Monday [minus the perishables which I'll purchase this Saturday] and will return it Sunday morning. Tea wasn't on the list, but you can be sure a box will be in there!  So grateful for the opportunity to brighten a family's Thanksgiving.  50 boxes were distributed and my box was #44.  It's very organized by a couple in our church.

Aside from focusing on Thanksgiving Day food preparations [I'm making the turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, rolls, and pumpkin pie] and transporting it to my son's house, and daughter-in-law, Sharon, will fill in with other sides, I'm also VERY busy with the preparations for the December 6th ladies' Christmas tea at church.  

I bought the Christmas silk flowers to decorate the tiered servers.  61 ladies have signed up to attend so far with two Sundays remaining for sign-up.   Six ladies volunteered to hostess a table and three of us are doing two tables, and it's starting to look like some may be doing three.

I already posted that one of my tables will be a Nutcracker theme, and I decided my second table will be a snowy/icy theme using my Petals vintage dishes.  I bought the placemats and chargers on Monday.  I haven't decided what theme the third table will be yet.

This will be the favor for that table.  I copied the picture frame idea from what I'm doing at The Whitney.  The photo is our church on the first snowfall a couple of winters ago.

I would LOVE to order these dishes from Overstock.com for my third table because I already have the truck centerpiece, but I keep telling myself, No!  No!  No!  But the grandkids would love them.  No!  No!  No!

As previously mentioned, the theme of the tea is "A Cup of Christmas Tea" and I received the most lovely surprise in yesterday's mail from a dear friend in California.

She read on my blog the tea's theme and sent Tom Hegg's book.  What makes this book so special is she acquired it at an estate sale 20 years ago and inside the book was a handwritten note a mother wrote to her grown son, David, in 2000 saying she found the message of the book so profound and beautiful.  David and his family were joining her that year for Christmas and she wanted to start a tradition of sharing 'A Cup of Christmas Tea' around their Christmas tree - something they would always treasure and remember.  

My friend thought it would be honoring to this dear mother to share her story at the tea, which I will definitely do.  

If I don't get a chance to post again before Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours a very Blessed Thanksgiving!

The Christmas Season is Approaching

I am definitely not trying to rush the season, but I've got two upcoming Christmas teas in December and the clock is ticking.

Our Ladies' Christmas Tea at church is Saturday, December 6th and the theme is "A Cup of Christmas Tea".   The ladies are setting and hostessing tables this year and the sign-up to attend has begun.

I'm hoping I only have to set one table which will be a Nutcracker theme, but I'm mulling around a second theme just in case.  I was able to get Gracie China dinner and luncheon plates with matching mugs at HomeGoods, but had to order the matching teapot directly from Gracie China at almost 3 x's what I would've paid had I been lucky enough to find one at a HomeGoods near me.  It makes me wonder, are the dishes at HomeGoods seconds [slightly imperfect]?

I prefer cups and saucers to mugs, but Gracie only made mugs in this pattern.  I only needed 8 plates, but I got enough to use for my family on Christmas Eve.  I ordered Nutcracker glasses from Kirkland and will pick them up tomorrow.

December 13th is the Christmas Tea at The Whitney.  I'm responsible for ordering the gifts/favors for each guest.  We've given Christmas teacups for a couple of years so I wanted something different this year.

I found Christmas ornament picture frames at Michael's and will put a picture of The Whitney inside it.  The General Manager liked the ornament and picture, and I'll also assemble a 1/2 oz. package of our signature Mistletoe black tea to go with the ornament [the package makes 7-8 cups of tea].  They told me to plan for 160, so I'm going to be busy for awhile!

It's a cold, wintry day in Southeastern Michigan - 34 degrees [feels like 25] with a snow/rain mixture.  My hubby put our first fire of the season in the fireplace when we got home from church today for a warm cozy feeling.

We're awaiting our youngest son's arrival as he'll be on our side of town for a meeting tomorrow, so I'll sign-off for now.