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Tea Parties Help Teach Etiquette

Cheryl Bentley/SUNCOAST

A trio of 3-year-olds, from left, Malesa Zullo, Emerson Deptula and Abbey Herbage practice good teatime manners.

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: February 10, 2009

Updated:

For six little girls, it was a time to become princesses, get sprinkles of fairy dust and dance. For their moms, it was a time when the children began to learn etiquette.

The children attended a tea party organized by Tea Parties and Glamour at Dance Magic, a school of dance in Odessa.

Tea Parties and Glamour is owned by New Port Richey resident Beverly Guice, who provides etiquette lessons and examples of genteel living through Princess Tea Etiquette parties and other activities. Guice, who recently moved to New Port Richey from Gainesville, is just starting her business in this area but says she has hosted more than 500 parties in the Gainesville area.

All the moms at the Dance Magic party welcomed the chance to expose their children to good manners.

"Etiquette is just lost today," said Tracy Harelson, one of the moms at the party. "She teaches them how to be young ladies."

Being young ladies, with doses of dress-up, dance and pink lemonade thrown in, proved to be a winning combination for the 3- to 6-year-olds who attended the party.

The children had just finished a dance class at the dance studio when Guice introduced them to an array of long dresses, boas, hats, wands and jewelry suitable for any princess. She encouraged them to dress their best for a special event, a tea party.

Children in a group often seem to choose costumes around a theme, Guice says. For the Dance Magic girls, Disney fairy princesses were popular.

Abbey Herbage, 3, chose a pink dress that was about 2 feet too long. But Abbey managed her bulky train with the regality of royalty and never tripped once.

Emerson Deptula, 3, and Malesa Zullo, 3, explored an overflowing jewelry box and selected necklaces. To complement her royal attire, Malesa chose a blue boa, which she wore throughout the party. However, even princesses can have trouble with their fashions. Although she appeared to love her yellow purse, Malesa eventually decided it was too bulky for a princess who loves to run and jump. By the end of the tea, the purse lay discarded in a corner.

In her soft voice, Guice quieted her young charges by having them sit down, close their eyes and make a wish before having fairy dust sprinkled on them.

"I'm going to wish for my prince," Grace Halula, 3, piped up.

Music by Charlotte Church, the Welsh classical and pop singer, played quietly in the background. She uses calm music to set the tone of an event, Guice says.

After reading them a story about a princess, Guice prepared them for the tea. "A tea party is a great way to show off manners," she told them and asked them if they knew what manners were.

"Saying please and thank you," piped up Abbey Herbage.

Guice led the little ones to a table elegantly laid out with gold-rimmed doilies, gold spoons, cups and saucers and cloth napkins in napkins rings. A pair of white lace gloves rested next to the dishes.

Guice explained what to do with their napkins and how to put on the gloves. Moms were at hand to help guide tiny fingers into the gloves.

Guice then asked each girl if she wanted some pink lemonade mixed with raspberry seltzer water.

Each child had the chance to say, "Yes, please" and then "Thank you" after the drink was poured. Children who were allowed to have sugar practiced stirring a sugar cube into their drinks.

The girls had to wait until everyone had been served before sipping their drinks.

Hers are soft lessons, Guice says. "If I can just teach them one thing, that's important."

The party concluded with an energetic dance by moms and princesses.

What was the best part of the part for Guice? "To see the smiles on their faces," she said, with a smile on her own face.

For more information about programs Guice offers, go to www.teapartiesandglamour.com or call 727-817-0968.

Cheryl Bentley can be reached at 727-815-1069 or cbentley@suncoastnews.com.

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