For me, New Year’s Resolutions are always quite the process. I plan, draft, revise, tweak, and get creative until they present a perfect summary of lessons learned from the past 365 days and my wildest hopes and dreams for the next. After all, perfect (albeit often unrealistic) goals can only pave the wave for an upward trending year. Reach for the moon and land among the stars, as they say.
As I sat staring at my fresh, blank notebook on January 1st, 2025, reflecting on the past few weeks, one resolution immediately came to mind: 2025 is the year I will have more tea parties.
To celebrate the holiday break, my roommates and I planned a December road trip up California’s coast from Los Angeles. We made our way up the rolling hills of the Grape Vine, ultimately landing in San Francisco to celebrate New Year’s Eve with friends from across the state. Along the way, we spent a few nights in my roommate’s lovely home in the East Bay.
I’ve always loved being able to visit the hometowns of my college friends. Away at school, we meet versions of each other and build memories that often feel so far removed from our former lives. Getting to see someone’s childhood home, spend time with their family, and meet the friends you’ve heard so many stories about feels like completing the missing pages of a beloved scrapbook.
This hometown tour, in particular, touched on a special place in the heart of my childhood self, inspiring me to honor her in my final year of college.
A day after arriving, my roommate’s mother said that she would love to prepare a tea party for her daughter and guests. While I grew excited about the prospect of wonderful tea, snacks, and conversation, I would have never expected the immense love, care, and joy she poured into the occasion. We arrived home to a beautifully decorated table of vintage teapots and teacups she had collected over the years, British-inspired pastries, and homemade finger sandwiches. The finishing touch on this marvelous spread was a collection of Victorian-style headpieces for us to wear as we ate. My roommate and her mom shared that they had bought the hats during the pandemic to bring light and laughter to their daily routines during a scary and isolating time in the world.
As a little girl, I was always obsessed with old and fancy things, and above all else, I loved to play ‘dress up.’ My sister and I would drape ourselves in aprons, old jewelry, and hairpieces, toting antique-looking books we couldn’t yet read and pretending that we were going on adventures in a different time. Among my most cherished childhood memories was a birthday party at a Children’s Tea House where we were outfitted in costume-ball gowns, scarves, and tiaras for the 2 hour occasion.
While we sat around my roommate’s table, eating, drinking, and sharing stories with one another, I began to think about those memories.
While every day can not be a tea party in the literal sense, I will do my best to always carry this sense of wonder with me throughout the year. Whether it means spending extra time picking out an outfit that excites me, creating handmade decorations for a friend’s birthday, or even simply lighting candles before sitting down to study for the night, I will spend time truly loving and appreciating my life in its littlest and biggest moments.
In 2025, I will be intentional about bringing magic into my life the way my childhood self always could. I will be having tea parties, and you should, too.