I started a new tradition last weekend! I wanted to celebrate the holidays with my girlfriends before we all went home for Christmas, so I hosted a festive afternoon tea at the St. Regis. It was so much fun that we decided to do it every year from now on!

Afternoon tea at the St. Regis is held in the King Cole Bar & Salon. The space feels cozy and warm, and guests are serenaded by a harpist!

Most of my besties were there! Kendall, Ann & Marilyn:

Other Ann, Gretchen & Jess:

And Livia!

Everyone was dressed in their holiday best, ready to celebrate the season (and our friendship… awe!)

The tea selection at the St. Regis is fabulous! The menu has pages and pages of tea to choose from, both caffeinated and non-caffeinated. I chose a Jamaican herbal blend in honor of my (and Ann’s) trip!

Cheers!

My favorite part of afternoon tea is the tiny sandwiches, scones and desserts that are served with it. Our savory selection arrived first. From top to bottom, we had:

Smoked Scottish salmon tartar and lemon butter, served on pumpernickel bread

Roast beef and horseradish cream on a brioche slider

Egg salad and micro watercress on multigrain bread

The seasonal quiche

English cucumber and minted dill cream on brioche

The sandwiches were delicious, especially the egg salad and the cucumber! Our only complaint was that the roast beef sandwich had far too much horseradish on it. On the positive side, biting into it did wake us all up!

Our sweet trays arrived next, with a presentation that was beautiful to behold.

The freshly-baked scones were served warm, and garnished with pearl sugar. They were accompanied by double Devonshire cream, red fruit preserves and lemon curd.

The assorted tea pastries were delicious as well. The middle tray had green tea red fruit tarts and macarons.

And the bottom tray had decadent chocolate éclairs and lemon ginger cakes with cream cheese icing.

After a luxurious tea, it was time for our gift exchange!

We each picked cards at random, which had the order that we would select the gifts. Since there were eight of us, I based the order on Santa’s reindeer! On Dasher, on Dancer…

It was fun opening presents, and I’m proud to say, there was a lot of gift stealing as well!

One of the coolest gifts was this polaroid camera. Ann went to work snapping shots of the tea!

It was a perfect afternoon, and I’m glad I was able to spend it with such wonderful people. Love you girls!

To make a reservation for afternoon tea at the St. Regis, dial (212) 753-4500. During the holidays, I recommend calling one month ahead of time for big parties.

Have a fabulous, festive Christmas!

~A