The Teddy Bear Tea

The twins are now 4 1/2 and I wanted to take them to the Holiday Teddy Bear tea. Every year there is an adorable children's tea where everybody brings either a teddy bear or their favorite doll or stuffed animal to a children's holiday party. Ms. Claus dressed in a wide red velvet dress reads the Night Before X-mas and other holiday stories under a giant beautifully decorated X-mas tree.

It is a dream day for a grandmother - that's me. But I had to figure out what to do with the 8 year old sister who was way too old for the teddy bear too and was already making fun of it, repeating as only a teasing older sister can " teddy bear tea is for babies".

Luckily her boy cousins lived nearby and I arranged for her to sleepover at their house the night before the afternoon of the teddy bear tea. Then she couldn't sit in the car teasing them about their stuffed animals, meow and whoof whoof , Minnie Mouse who were not real and would never like going to a teddy bear tea.

As they say, all the best plans of mice and men have a glitch. The day of the tea, their aunt who was keeping the older kids occupied during the day of the tea hurt her back. Not only couldn't she handle the twin's older sister, but her two boys needed my help . As only a grandmother could do, I figured out the day. at 11 am. I raced 1 hour south to pick up the twins,then proceeded another 30 minutes to Miami Beach to pick up the other three, pile them in my van and take them all bowling so Auntie could rest her back. I had two hours to kill before the Teddy Bear tea.

The twins were adorable, so excited to be included with their older cousins that they were unusually well behaved. They attempted a few feeble bowling throws with 6 pound balls and then watched their older cousins bowl. Of course, I ordered french fries, chicken fingers and sliders to keep every body happy. I had an extra change of clothing for the twins so the ketchup from lunch would not mar their appearance at what was no becoming a marathon event- the infamous Teddy Bear Tea.

It was almost two o'clock and I still hadn't quite figured out what to do with the three older kids from 2:30 to 4pm. I suddenly remember that there was a tennis court connected to the building where the Teddy Bear Tea was to be held. I called quickly and reserved a court, asked to borrow racquets, and raced back to the house on the Beach to change the twins' clothes.

At 2:15 we arrived a bit breathless, parked the car, and raced to the tennis courts to settle the older kids in for a bit of excercise. Once rid of the three older ones, I proceeded with the twins to the Teddy Bear Tea.

The room for the tea was beautifully decorated with a x-mas tree, balloons and teddy bears at each table. The buffet was loaded with X-mas cookies and pitchers of hot chocolate with whipped cream. I watched the eyes of the twins ; they were overwhemed and excited. They couldn't believe their good fortune; all of this candy and cookies for them. They were very lady like in the beginning, sitting in chairs and sipping their hot chocolate. Finally, the awe ended and they starting run around the room picking up candy canes from the buffet, pulling on the giant teddy bears and balloons and bouncing on the cushions that were set out in front of the tree where the stories would be read.

Luckily, a few minutes later Ms. Claus made her entrance, calmed all the kiddies down and read the Night Before X-mas. The twins were enchanted and sat for almost 15 minutes without moving which I say was an old- time record. After a few minutes more, I realized that they had reached the end of their good behavior and I was exhausted.

The twins came back to our table, scooped up all of the candy which included chocolate balls, candy canes and hershey kisses for their cousins and we made our exit. We walked over to the tennis court and picked up the older kids. Everybody, was exhausted as we piled in the van , buckled up five sets of seat belts and headed back to the home on Miami Beach.

Another marathon drive back to the twins' house in 5 o'clock traffic and a drive back to my house on Key Biscayne for a total of 2 hours in the car. I crawled into bed for a nice nap . It was a great day , but would I do it again. Ask me next year.www.namelynewborns.com