Are you planning your Jubilee party? In need of a few tips to help you make yours the best on the block? Well Polly Betton may be about to come to the rescue, as well as joining forces with Schweppes to find Schweppes Social Monarchs in time for the Jubilee. So has been busy recording a video and writing down her top tips for holding a party fit for the Queen this year. Polly Betton is the founder of the events company Tea Time Production so has plenty of experience under her belt to help you make your party go off with a bang. And what are her top 10 tips for throwing the quintessentially English party? 1. Bunting Oodles of the stuff. Bunting is brilliant and this is the perfect moment to go bananas with it. Personally, I like the old-fashioned fabric kind but there are all sorts of options out there now, from beautifully embroidered stuff to nicely weatherproof plastic. Use it in copious quantities indoors and out.2. Red, white and blue You may not want to plaster your house with Union Jacks, but any terribly British party should really have a colour scheme that incorporates the colours of our flag. This has the added benefit of leaving you with some items that you might actually get to re-use at some point before the next big royal event.3. Best of BritishFeed your guests a selection of traditional regional classics in miniature, from mini Melton Mowbray pork pies to a regional cheese board and breaded fish goujons with mini chips in newspaper print canapé cones. And for drinks? It’s got to be gin & tonic, Pimm’s and lemonade or an ice cold bitter lemon.4. More tea, vicar? Reference our national obsession with tea by serving tea-based cocktails in teacups, poured from tea pots.5. Cake In the UK, we love our cake. Whether it’s a Victoria sponge or Queen cake, there are lots of cakes with a royal lineage that you can include in your menu. If you don’t have the time to research recipes go literal – make gingerbread princes and princesses, and biscuits shaped like crowns with jelly tot jewels.6. Precious metals Gold is officially a food additive (it has its own ‘e’ number: E175), and is thus perfectly safe to eat. Add a bit of sparkle to a long drink with gold leaf flakes that will dance on the bubbles, or make a dessert a little more regal by topping it with some gilded berries. If you’re on a budget or worried about your craft skills then you can buy edible gold and silver food sprays online that are more affordable and super easy to use.7. Great British music Fortunately for us, the UK has a rich and varied musical heritage, which means that you can make an all-Brit soundtrack to suit every taste, from the Beatles to Britten.8. Queen for the day Party guests love to dress up – it’s a great ice-breaker – so get online and order a big pile of cheap novelty crowns, tiaras and jewels from party suppliers. Throw in a few grey wigs, false moustaches and purple sashes and you’ll be up to your ears in royal impersonators before you know it.9. Lawn games No British summer party is complete without lawn games – whether croquet, lawn tennis, cricket or badminton, they’re perfect for a lazy summer afternoon’s socialising.10. Jam favours Send your guests away with a taste of the British summer in the form of mini jam pot favours filled with homemade fresh fruit jam. It’s super easy to make from scratch using fresh fruit and jam sugar (see sugar pack for directions), and for an extra homespun touch tie a Jubilee-theme fabric swatch around the jar lid with a commemorative label.
Really not sure what I can add to all that great advice! Other than have fun! If your holding a Jubilee Party I would love to hear all about it.
*Top 10 tips copy right of Polly Betton.
We’re having a big family/firends BBQ on the Sunday, where everone will bring food to share & most will make an effort with their dressing up, I prefer homemade dressing up as to going to hire one (alothough that could be todo with the fact I think its a waste of money & imagination to hire) I’m going to be a Princess & who else but Mother (81 going on 30!) would be our Queen for the day.
We are having games, competitons & everything I’m so looking forward to it.
Great post!
Ooh, I made jam favours for my wedding!!
Lovely post! x
Great tips.
Thanks for these tips and ideas. We are also planning a large Jubilee themed party for friends and family with everybody bringing along food and drink to help with the cost and also everybody dressing up. I lvoe the idea of the more traditional games and this post has certainly given me plenty of ideas.
Love that Gold has its own E number:) Best keep the gold leaf topped cupcakes for me and not the kiddies
I went to a Jubilee party and they had a really big fruit punch (alcoholic free) which was lovely and a real hit with everyone.
They are great tips & I included some in a Diamond Dinner, well we had a big family BBQ with lots of fun & games, I even managed to drink a whole glass of wine! Normally have a couple of sips & spend the rest of the evening looking for it!
dressing up as the queen is a great idea!
So jealous of all the lovely parties it sounds like will be happening!! If you fancy sharing some photos I would love to see them
x
I would love to hold a traditional party and you have inspired me to do so for the Jubilee. The more bunting and balloons and accessories you have the more the kids enjoy it I think so I’m going to go all out on decorations and invite the in-laws for afternoon tea.
Not holding a party but some great tips on how to jazz up my house.
Excellent advice – will be using this for our Jubilee/birthday party !! x