An All American Tea Party at Colonial Williamsburg

Not quite the old Felicity Tea event, but close enough for me!

As you guys know – or as new readers might expect – I love Colonial Williamsburg. Living history is a really interesting, entertaining educational tool, and every time I visit, I come away learning something new and with a lot of fun memories. 

So imagine how excited I was when I heard that Williamsburg was going to be hosting an event this summer that was right up my alley: An All American Tea Party, where kids of all ages could bring a doll along with them, enjoy a tasty tea, make a craft, and enjoy a scavenger hunt with an exclusive prize at the end! Although it's not technically a Felicity themed event because it wasn't officially licensed with Mattel or American Girl themselves, it's pretty clear from the marketing who and what inspired the event.

There was just one problem: I live a good two and a half hours away from Williamsburg, and don’t have a car. 

Fortunately, I’m extremely lucky to have a good buddy who is always up for an adventure, whether it’s a trip to the mall or getting trapped on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia for three hours because our train home got delayed. Jenna and I got spots at the last seating of the tea, which was September 16. We hopped in the car with Felicity and Elizabeth in tow and set off to see if the All American Tea Party lived up to my childhood experience at the official Felicity themed events.

Jenna had never been to Williamsburg before, so we got there early enough to do a lot of exploring before we had to go to tea, which was from 1:00 to 3:00. She was also a really good sport and carried Elizabeth around all day. 

We dropped by the Governor’s Palace, the House of Burgesses, and did quite a bit of window shopping… and real shopping. I also realized I don’t think I’d ever gotten pictures with Felicity inside the Magazine, so I got that taken care of right away.

And of course I had to get a Raleigh Tavern ginger cookie, because that’s what one does when you’re in Williamsburg.

We headed over to Christiana Campbell’s for tea, which is where every tea I’ve ever been to at Williamsburg has been hosted. There were lots of kids with their dolls in tow, and while Felicity was the most popular, we saw a Caroline, a Saige, a Samantha, a Kirsten, a Molly, and an Our Generation doll as well. Jenna had the only Elizabeth, which I still think is especially fitting. I’m loud and obnoxious, and Jenna is quieter and polite, so it really worked well that she was the friend who was able to come with me.

Once they were ready for us, we were led into one of the front rooms at Christiana’s, while the other half of the people attending the event were ushered to the adjacent room. I’d guess there were about forty people per room. We were intentionally guided so that our parties were all sitting shoulder to shoulder rather than directly across from each other to encourage conversation, which was interesting.

The tea was separated into three courses as usual, and we were brought our pastry course before we were given our tea. It included a sweet potato muffin, a blueberry scone, a lemon tart, and what online was called a cranberry soda bread, but in person seemed like a cranberry scone. Either way, tasty! The pastries reminded me a lot of the Christmas tea my parents and I (and Felicity!) attended a few years ago. You can read about that on the blog as well.

Although the menu online advertised that we would be treated to a tea blended exclusively for the event, we were instead given a choice between an Earl Grey or a hibiscus tea. Fittingly, Jenna went for Earl Grey and I picked the hibiscus.

Next up was the savory course, which included a chicken salad croissant sandwich, a peanut butter and jelly square, a toast with pimento cheese, and a wrap which I think was ham and honey mustard? It was garnished with lettuce and an artistically sliced tomato.

And finally, my favorite: dessert! We got a chocolate covered strawberry, a coconut macaroon, a chocolate chip cookie (apparently made with Heritage Chocolate!), a mini walnut pie, and a fruit tart.

After we finished eating, we were instructed in a craft activity. Everyone’s place setting had a paper bag sealed with a pin and a needle which contained a partially completed pincushion, stuffing, thread, and ribbon. The interpreter explained that pincushions were carried by both men and women to help repair clothing quickly, and they would have been attached to your apron with a length of ribbon. We were instructed to stuff our pincushions, whipstitch the final seam shut, and then attach the ribbons on two corners.

This was a fun craft, but as someone who’s helped run American Girl themed events and done other hands on historical education, I think it was a little too ambitious for a lot of the kids who were attending. Modern children don’t always have the knowledge of what a whip stitch even is, and really young kids don’t really have the dexterity to complete a task like this by themselves. I can’t tell you how many times I had to cut out paper dolls for the young campers I worked with one summer. 

After most of us had completed our cushions, we were instructed in a traditional colonial dance, and treated to some songs as well. Both Jenna and I were dreading being called up to dance, but fortunately there were enough kids willing to try that we weren’t asked to. 

Tea ended more or less on schedule, although Jenna and I bailed a little bit early so we could get a head start on the next part of the day. Overall the tea itself was fun, if nothing different from other Williamsburg events I’ve been to in the past. I’d definitely recommend it for any AG fan, as we weren’t treated differently or strangely for being grown ups without kids in tow carrying dolls around, and the food was tasty.

Admission to tea also gave us a scavenger hunt to complete, which in theory requires you to walk around the historic area and find specific landmarks or unusual features of buildings. This was also the only part of the event that specifically referenced Felicity by name, as again, it wasn't really an officially sponsored American Girl event the way that the tour I went on as a nine year old was. I was specifically corrected when I brought up to one of the women running the event that I had gotten to experience the Felicity tour and tea lesson back in 2000 and was excited to see an event like it making a comeback, which I’m guessing is a copyright thing. I wish Mattel and Colonial Williamsburg could work something out to bring that back for real, but considering the gift shops in CW have started selling their own exclusive 18 inch doll characters (with inexplicable side parted wigs…), I don’t think that’s likely. 

The hunt was fun, with a good mix of questions I could answer immediately just from knowing Duke of Gloucester Street and things we had to keep an eye out for, although we were later told we could just turn up to claim our prize without finding everything.

The William Pitt shop had the prize, and presented it in a really pretty little wrapping, complete with a handwritten note congratulating us for finishing the hunt. Jenna and I were both super surprised it was handwritten – imagine having to write all those out! 

The prize was a really cute little cookie tray with a teapot engraved into it. It’s a little too small to work for an adult human, but I think it’ll make a nice doll prop.

Oh, and I also bought a hat so I can keep the sun off my face should I ever again volunteer at my local historical society’s living history days in full colonial gear in the middle of summer. Doesn’t it look great?

Our last stop before dinner (at Christiana Campbell’s… not very creative of me, I know) was the Charlton Coffee House. This is one of my favorite attractions at Williamsburg, as it’s both extremely interesting – coffee houses were places people could exchange ideas and catch each other up on goings on in and out of town – and also you get a free drink! Jenna and I both got hot chocolate, which is Heritage Chocolate and extremely delicious.

Oh, and they installed a little cabinet of curiosity in the back room! This is basically the predecessor to the museums you visit today, and as Public Historians, we were really excited to see this mini museum within a museum!

Overall, I think it’s safe to say we had a really great time, even though it was super, super hot. I really regretted wearing a long sleeved flannel shirt, let me tell you. Should they offer this event next year, I would strongly recommend checking it out for yourself, as it was just enough fun American Girl related stuff to feel similar to that awesome childhood vacation, without being too geared towards kids and thus making it awkward for older fans who still want to participate. 

Also just generally, Williamsburg is awesome. While Jenna and I were eating a snack before tea, I was just thinking about how great it is to be there just people watching, enjoying the nice weather, and appreciating the architecture. The smell of the soaps sold in the gift shops is one of my favorite smells on the planet, and stepping inside always triggers that nostalgic ah, I’m home feeling in me. 

This is especially important because, as some of you might be aware, Williamsburg has found itself in a bit of a dire situation financially and has only recently opened up to the public about just how bad things are. I have a lot of feelings about how and why this happened, but I don’t want to bore you all with a rant about how bad it is to withdraw funds from your endowment to cover your costs. They’ve estimated that if nothing changes, they’ll have enough money to stay in operation for eight more years, which really bums me out. I’m hopeful that something will change – or perhaps a donor or buyer will step in and save the day – but there’s a not impossible chance that the CW we know might not be here in ten years. 

So if you haven’t visited but have the means to do so, I’d strongly encourage going sooner rather than later, both to support them financially, but also because you literally might not have a chance to if you wait too long. No matter what ends up happening, Williamsburg has been a really unique institution that doesn’t deserve the mismanagement that got them in this situation. Hopefully, things will take a positive turn, and it’ll be around to educate the public about the Revolutionary period for many more years to come. 

Many thanks again to Jenna for driving and tagging along! Definitely a highlight of the semester and I hope we'll be back soon!

Faithful friends forever be indeed!