One of my favorite Christmas traditions is celebrating the holidays with a festive afternoon tea with my girlfriends. We’ve done it the last two years (read about those here and here) and this year the third time was a charm. It was my favorite year!

We headed to The Peninsula which is all decked out for the holidays.

We were all decked out too!

Afternoon tea is held in the hotel’s Gotham Lounge which is tucked away off the lobby.

We sat down to tea while the harpist serenaded us with Christmas carols.

We started with champagne.

And then moved on to tea.

Although I have to admit – I think I drank more champagne than tea!

During this time of the year The Peninsula has a special holiday-themed afternoon tea. $5 of the cost of each tea goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, so our scones were for a good cause!

Our sandwiches included a Persian Cucumber with cream cheese on white toast, a Slow-Roasted Beef with horseradish on pumpernickel bread, a Cherrywood Smoked Salmon with crème fraiche on seven grain toast, and a Fennel Pollen Egg Salad on whole wheat toast.

Our scones were an assortment of regular as well as raisin, served with lemon curd, berry jam and clotted cream.

And the best part: dessert! We had an array of Bourbon Pecan Tarts, Peppermint Macarons, Clementine Profiteroles, Bûches De Noël, and Gingerbread Mousse Cakes.

After we had our fill of tea, champagne and bites, it was time for the gift exchange.

And I’m proud to say there was a lot of present stealing!

There’s nothing better than ringing in the holidays with your favorite people.

Afternoon tea at The Peninsula is a hidden gem. The hotel is beautiful but not too crazy with the holiday rush. You can find out more information, and book your own festive afternoon tea, here.

Merry Christmas to you and your besties!

~A

P.S. My dress is by Adelyn Rae and is on sale here.