Girls Tea Party Quiz: Which Kind of Tea Party Girl Are You?

Are you a La-Ti-Da style tea diva, who believes bigger is better when it comes to feather boas, tea party hats and lists of best girlfriends?

Maybe you're more of a nostalgic girl, with sentimental memories of beloved childhood dolls and imaginary tea parties under shade trees on summer afternoons long ago?

Perhaps you're something of a tea perfectionist, appalled by the notion of lukewarm tea or scones served without clotted cream, not understanding how someone could consider a hat more important to the tea party experience than thin slices of lemon!

One thing is certain. When it comes to a tea party, your cup of tea probably isn't your best friend's or neighbor's. Rarely have two little words -- Tea Party -- evoked so many different images to so many different people!

One girl's scone is just another girl's overcooked biscuit, and one girl's delightfully vintage tabletop is just another girl's down-on-its-heels collection of flea market oddities. This is the reason so many different kinds of tea rooms flourish, receiving rave reviews from some devoted fans and baffled dismissals from others, who were disappointed by the very things that so enchanted the fans.

In the long run, of course, there's no real right or wrong when it comes to the tea party experience. A girl can have just as much fun with white gloves and bone china as she can with a feather boa and fan; it's all a matter of individual style, and the only thing absolutely required for proper enjoyment of a tea party is a mindset for fun!

We at The Party Fairy are so amazed and intrigued by this oddity that we've developed a fun little quiz to help you figure out exactly where you sit at the tea party table of individual Tea Party Girl style. Answer a few questions to find out whether you're a La-Ti-Dottie, an Elegant Ellen or one of the other Tea Party Girls we've identified so far -- then see how well the personality traits for that Tea Party Girl match yours! (And be sure to click on the poll at the very bottom of this hub to let us know which Tea Party Girl you turned out to be most like.)

OUR GIRLS TEA PARTY QUIZ: What's Your Tea Party Girl Style?

Which are you most likely to wear to a Tea Party?

1.) A great hat

2.) Pearls

3.) Your favorite special occasion dress

4.) A forgotten bit of flour left over from all the baking you did!

Which door prize are you most likely to enjoy:

1.) Movie tickets

2.) Flowers

3.) A vintage magazine cover framed as art

4.) A great new cookbook

5.) A pretty tea cozy

Which Tea Party faux pas do you rank as the most embarrassing? (Choose only one!)

1.) Forgetting to invite someone who invited you to a tea party

2.) Using the term "High Tea" to refer to an elegant affair

3.) Spilling tea on someone's family heirloom tablecloth

4.) Serving a skimpy repast (too little food)

5.)Taking both milk AND lemon with your tea

Which statement is most important to you? (Choose only one!)

1.) The right mix of guests is crucial to the success of the Tea Party.

2.) A proper tea table requires fine china, linens and lace.

3.) The best Tea Parties nod to yesteryear, hearkening back to more gracious times.

4.) The menu is the most important element of the Tea Party.

5.) Tea should never be made without boiling water.

Which are you likely to spend the most time on:

1.) Putting together the games and "fun" accessories

2.) Planning and creating a gorgeous tabletop

3.) Searching flea markets for exciting finds to use at the Tea Party.

4.) Planning a delicious menu

5.) Choosing the perfect tea to compliment the menu

Which centerpiece are you most likely to use:

1.) A teapot-shaped cake

2.) Fresh flowers

3.) A vintage tea pot, cracked but beautiful

4.) A serving tier filled with home-baked treats

Which are you most likely to serve at your Tea Party?

1.) Chocolate-covered strawberries and fun, hat-shaped tea cakes

2.) Assorted tea sandwiches and a nice array of prettily presented desserts

3.) Your grandmother's tea bread recipe and heart-shaped cookies from the local bakery

4.) A fantastic new recipe you've discovered -- and a few delicious old favorites your guests always love!

5.) Traditional scones with jam

Which activity are you most likely to plan at your Tea Party?

1.) A fun hat contest

2.) A gracious Tea Party IS an activity. Besides, the seating arrangement you've planned should generate so much interesting conversation that activities won't be necessary.

3.) A few old-fashioned, authentic parlor games you've researched.

4.) Enjoyment of each delectable course will be an activity in itself!

5.) Activities? Aren't we here to have tea?

HOW TO SCORE OUR TEA PARTY GIRL QUIZ

Scoring your results should be easier than sipping tea, and doesn't even require much math. There are a few Tea Party Girls who score all over the board, but most of us tend to fall into one specific category or another! Take a look at the numbers you most frequently selected and read on to find your specific style.

Do you see more 1s among your answers than any other number? If so, you're definitely a La Ti Dottie.

If you tended to choose more 2s, you're an Elegant Ellen.

Those of you who marked more 3s are Nostalgic Nellies.

If you chose more 4s than anything else, you're definitely a Betty the Baker.

If you had more 5s among your answers, you're a True Tea Trudy -- but check your second-highest set of numbers for more about your other personality traits.

Read about your Tea Party Girl below -- and be sure to take a moment  afterward to record in the poll at the bottom of this hub which Tea Party Girl you are. We want to see whether there are more Dotties, Betties, Ellens, Nellies or Trudies taking this poll!  

 ARE YOU A LA TI DOTTIE?

A true Tea Party diva, you relish the experience of the Tea Party, savoring the dress-up aspect as much as the delectables served. Boas tickle your fancy, and you believe hats are like friends, meant to be collected and enjoyed as often as possible.

Mismatched tea cups never offend your sensibilities; and in fact, you're just as likely to prefer a whimsical or humorous pattern as a traditional pattern of old-fashioned roses. A few fun games always sweeten the party for you, and there's plenty of laughter, love and good memories under construction anywhere you and your friends gather.

You love the words "High Tea" -- and it matters not a bit to you that High Tea tradtitionally is not really an elegant affair, but more of a small supper time. Since 'High Tea" sounds a bit more elegant than the more proper "Afternoon Tea," you prefer the former. You could in fact care less whether the tea party features scones and savories or just some delicious cookies, because your focus tends to be more on the fun aspects of the gathering rather than rigid and restrictive rules or traditions!

Your motto in life is that chocolate is best paired with friends -- and since you'd never want to poison a friend, you often feel called by the obligations of friendship to sample everything before serving it! You have a tendency to overindulge in food, friends and fun -- but each day is a new adventure, and life is always a joy to experience in your company.

ARE YOU AN ELEGANT ELLEN?

Linens and lace lift your spirits and put a smile on your face, because you have a natural affinity for elegance. Tea is prettiest in a porcelain cup, and you are appalled to see it served in a mug . Bone china soothes your inner need for beauty and peace.

You have a heart for fresh flowers, always stylish, and you love to grace your table with a cluster of fresh-from-the-garden roses, fragrant and gorgeous. But you're just as happy to change the ambiance, contemporizing the look with a mesmerizing mix of candles in glass, polished marbles and the refractive glint of mirrors and candlelight. You can spend an extraordinary amount of time choosing the perfect ribbon to tie off a napkin, or arranging cookies in perfect circles on serving trays, and you are happiest when the china matches and the tabletop looks magazine-style perfect.

For you, it all comes down to what's pretty, and the Tea Party is less about the tea than the artistry of china, silver and food presentation. You're just as happy in a lovely setting featuring a crystal punch bowl as you are with a tea pot! Of course you want friends to join you for tea, but would a true friend serve her guests anything less than the best? You can be a bit of a perfectionist, bogging down in the details, but your parties are always a visual delight!

ARE YOU A NOSTALGIC NELLIE?

Mismatched tea cups are almost a prerequisite for your parties -- and vintage flea market finds are treasures to be displayed on your tea table with near-reverence. You love to dress your tea table with heirlooms and sentimental objects such as.your grandmother's china, your mother-in-law's lace tablecloth, or a miniature tea set from your own childhood.

Your favorite kind of tea party is when each guest is invited to bring her own teacup and saucer, and time is set aside for those with interesting stories about a vintage hat or teacup to share the story. Tea parties featuring teddy bears and porcelain dolls tug your heartstrings, and you tend to be enchanted by Victorian-themed Tea Parties. You're likely to have a scrapbook filled with fun pictures of past Tea Parties or visits to fun tea rooms.

Like Elegant Ellen, you tend to put a great deal of thought into tea party decorations, but a highly contemporary tea table, no matter how magazine perfect, would never seem to be a true tea party to you. Like La Ti Dottie, you would happily wear a hat -- but more for the nostalgic value than to express your own distinctive style.

Friends would affectionately describe you as a romantic or a fanciful dreamer. You're rarely accused of being too practical!

ARE YOU A TRUE TEA TRUDY?

A true tea lover, it's all about the tea for you -- and preparation is key. Boiling water is crucial as the tea -- and you marvel at the lukewarm brew often served in place of real tea and laugh at terms like "properly steeped."

You love your tea paired with scones, muffins or assorted sweet breads, but truthfully you would be happy with something as simple as toast as long as the tea was properly brewed!

Oddly enough, there's no distinct set of personality traits for a True Tea Trudy, who may share many of the personality traits of a Nostalgic Nellie, Elegant Ellen, La Ti Dottie or Betty the Baker. The difference that sets her apart from any of the other four distinct Tea Party Girls is her absolute, unequiivocal insistence upon perfectly brewed tea as part and parcel of the tea party experience.

ARE YOU A BETTY THE BAKER?

A tea room may have a delightful ambiance and a decent menu, but you'll be disappointed if the scones aren't made on site. A perfectly flaky pastry crust always ranks higher on your list of priorities than the china on which it is served -- and frankly, you don't understand how anyone could spend more time fussing with the lace tablecloth than folding fresh berries into the batter!

You feel that a proper tea party always needs a showstopper of a dessert and an assortment of enticing new foods for guests to sample. Fare as simple as cucumber sandwiches or chicken salad seems a bit too simple for you, and you tend to feel let down when others serve it, as if the hostess did not really go to much trouble.

Your own tea table is never set with anything less than delicious, and your guests expect mouth-watering delights when you're the hostess. You're always on the lookout for a great new recipe, and find time spent in the kitchen intensely pleasurable. The precise nature of baking stongly appeals to your sense of order, and the magic that occurs in the oven when the ingredients are properly mixed feeds your craving for creativity.

Don't agree with our non-scientific quiz results? Oh, go have a cup of tea with a friend and chill; it's all in good fun! What does is really matter whether you prefer marmalade or strawberry jam with your scones, and take one lump of s sugar or two in your tea?

Remember, one Tea Party Girl's chocolate-covered strawberries are another girl's lemon tarts. A Tea Party is just a reason to have fun, and we wish you lots and lots of fun!

This hub was contributed by The Party Fairy, a children's party and special events service in Richmond VA. We stage delightful children's parties, and provide free party-planning tips and advice on our blog to those of you staging your own parties.