• Try warming teacups and teapots in warm water before serving guests.blue cup and tea from a blue tea-pot image by Maria Brzostowska from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>
  
  With a little help from the home-making and arts and crafts guru Martha Stewart, you can ensure your next tea party is the talk of the town. Tea parties are relaxing afternoon social gatherings, which often involve finger foods and small refreshments in addition to the requisite tea. If you are considering hosting a tea party, gather helpful tips from Martha Stewart's website.
  
  

Invitations

• Get the buzz brewing about your tea party before it even begins by sending out festive or decorative invitations. One option, as Martha Stewart recommends, is to put an actual tea bag inside each invitation envelope. Write party information, such as the date, time and location, on a pleated piece of paper and attach it to the tea bag like a label. Another invitation option is to create blossoms on pieces of craft paper by stamping them with apples. For best results, cut the apple in half, remove its seeds and brush it with acrylic paint before stamping.
  
  

Teacups

• Although it is customary for the host to provide teacups---and the teapot---for all guests at a party, an alternative strategy is to recommend guests bring their own. As Martha Stewart notes, this idea works particularly well for bridal shower tea parties. Each guest should bring a decorative or antique teacup and saucer set, which, in addition to contributing a beautiful, eclectic style for the table, will double as a gift for the bride once the party ends. Regardless of what teacups you use, warm them up by soaking them in warm water before serving the tea. Treat the teapot the same way.
  
  

Tea Selection

• Instead of serving guests tea made with teabags, try brewing whole tea leaves inside of a strainer. Brewing whole leaves will produce a higher-quality, fresher-tasting tea, Martha Stewart notes. Serve a variety of tea for guests to try, and consider including a caffeine-free or herbal version.
  
  

Decorations

• To give the tea table a charming decor, Martha Stewart recommends decorating it with vintage or otherwise decorative tea tins. These tins feature old-fashioned imagery and lettering, and turn into vases for flowers and other plants. Cherry blossoms, sweet peas, gomphrenas and roses all work well in these types of vases.
  
  

Snacks

• Traditional English-style fare for a tea party includes cakes, scones and tea sandwiches with cucumbers, smoked salmon, cream cheese, poach chicken and other "safe" ingredients. For an alternative, spice up food with some Eastern influences. As Martha Stewart notes, hostesses can incorporate unexpected ingredients in tea party refreshments, such as shiso leaf, salmon roe, wasabi and black caviar.