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

Oh The Places You've Been

Home Sweet Home

Let's Dish

Tablescapes Thursday

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday