Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Afternoon Tea With Santa at the Grand America Hotel


The snow is sparkling and lights are 
twinkling and at this special time of year
we were lucky enough to get reservations
for
Afternoon Tea With Santa
at the
Grand America in Salt Lake City.


Just walking into the lobby of the
Grand America transports you to
a more elegant time, perfect for
Afternoon Tea
and at this time of year there are
wonderful Christmas decorations
and animated windows and a lifesize
gingerbread house to see so come
along with us as we 
celebrate Christmas
with 
Afternoon Tea.


Miss Utah County, Hannah Harkness 
and her Little Miss Utah County,
Kylie are perfect in their princess gowns.
They fit right in with the European decor
of the Grand America.


We have to start by affixing the
crown on our Little Miss and
donning her sash.


The Afternoon Tea is held in
the lounge right off the lobby and
at the entrance you are greeted with
the menu.

I expected to be seated at a
dining table so imagine the
delightful surprise when we
were shown that this 
gorgeous and comfortable
seating group was for our 
party of six.


They have a huge selection of teas
but I have had their hot chocolate
before and it is so rich and wonderful
that I chose Peppermint Hot Chocolate
for my drink.



While you waited for your
drink selection the waittress
poured hot water over what
looked like a dried nut and
it opens into a flower.



For your starter the table already
has strawberries in chantilly cream.
We all loved starting with something
rich and sweet.



Next came your tea or in my case
and Kylie's too, Peppermint Hot Chocolate.
This is so rich and creamy, I am sure it
is decadently made with cream.


We each had our own tea pot and we
all thought that would be so fun for
Christmas morning - to have your own
pot to pour your hot chocolate out of.


Next came scones and finger sandwiches
with clotted cream, lemon cream and
raspberry jam.




There was a wonderful variety of
savory and sweet on this
tower of treats.




Then that tower was removed and
a new tiered tray of sweets came out.


The tier started with jellies



And had wonderful gingerbread men,
chocolate cake and fruit tarts.


Here Mom and Little Miss are
enjoying their gingerbread men.


Just about the time you are finishing
up all the goodies, who should walk by
jingling their bells as they go but
the wonderful 
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
First they sing songs and have some
fun with the children and then
they greet the families, one table
at a time.




And of course the little ones get 
to tell Santa what they want.


The Misses had posed for pictures
with the children before 
Mr. and Mrs. Claus came.  
It was fun to see how excited the 
little girls were to have their pictures
taken with the princesses.


After a story with Santa and a candy cane
you simply must tour the main floor to
see all of the glorious trees and holiday
decorations.




And we can't forget the fun, animated
shop windows.



And finally the giant gingerbread house
which is located all the way around the halls
to the back of the building
where a darling elf stands and hands
out chocolates!








This grand gingerbread house
 took 1200 lbs of flour, 400 lbs of sugar, 
1200 eggs, 800 lbs of powdered sugar,
4 chefs and 40 cooks and nearly
700 hours to create!


Our last stop was to tickle the keys
of the Steinway.



Of course we couldn't leave without
a few spins in the revolving doors.


What a Grand time!
I sure hope we can make this
one of our new Christmas
traditions.

I will be posting with


Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

18 comments:

  1. How fun! WHat a great afternoon event. Do they do it more than once during the Christmas holidays?
    hearts,
    Betsy

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  2. WOW, I love all of your pictures! They are fabulous!!! I felt like I was re-living the spectalcular afternoon while scrolling through the post, what a fun day! Love you lots!

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  3. Looks like everyone had a really great time:@)

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  4. Happy Pink Saturday, Jacqueline.

    It looks like a magical tradition to begin. We used to attend Breakfast with Saints for years in Fort Lauderdale, and those are treasured memories for us.

    I am having a Holiday Home Tour on my blog. Days one through four are now posted. Please come by to visit and say hello.

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  5. Looks like it was a fantastic event and thanks for sharing the pictures. You captured it all beautifully!

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  6. What a grand time you had. I remember when you took the kids to Breakfast with Santa there -- it is a fun memory for them. What was that flower in the drink? Hannah and Kylie are so cute in all these photos. Kylie has such poise these days! What a beautiful hotel and tea. Glad you are up and about and blogging. Hope Kirk is better too. Love you, Joni

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  7. Fabulous Christmas tea party! You certainly scored by sitting in a comfortable place. The darling Misses dressed in red gowns were so lovely! The experience was great and what a beautiful setting!

    Pam

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  8. What fun. We went to an Afternoon Tea on Sunday. It was just wonderful. The dishes were Lady Carlyle.

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  9. Such an elegant tea to attend, and the girls are simply stunning in the red dresses.
    Wow, I think this should become an annual event.

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  10. What a wonderful and magical holiday event! How much fun, thanks for sharing all the photos and goodies!
    Jenna

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  11. What a wonderful and magical holiday event! How much fun, thanks for sharing all the photos and goodies!
    Jenna

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  12. What could be more fun than tea in a beautiful setting and wearing "over the top" red dresses and tiaras. Perfection!

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  13. First, I'm pretty sure I gained 5 lbs. just LOOKING at that hot chocolate!!! My goodness!!! That is the thickest, richest, most decadent hot chocolate I've ever seen!!! It must have just slid over the tongue and down the throat like silk!!!

    Second, I wanna go next year!!! I have a tiara all polished up and waiting for something big like this! :-) WHAT FUN!!!

    LOVE the gingerbread house! That's a lotta house!!! :-)

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  14. What fun! Your little Miss is adorable, Jacqueline. I know you must be having a joyful holiday with your darling family. Holiday hugs, my friend ~ Sarah

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  15. What a fabulously fun event! The princesses sure look like they are enjoying themselves:) That GIANT gingerbread house is really something; I'd love to see it!

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  16. Hi Jacqueline,
    What an elegant day! It looks like so much fun was had and so much deliciousness too:-)
    Happy Weekend...
    Bella

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  17. What a wonderful day! So elegant and entertaining. Great to have you at "Oh, the PLACES I've been!"

    - The Tablescaper

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  18. What a beautiful event and you did a beautiful job, too, of taking us along! Thanking you for a lovely experience. Merry Christmas!
    Linda at Beautiful Ideas

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