Candlelight Tea - December 2025

Our annual Candlelight Tea, affectionately referred to as the elegant tea, marks the end of the holiday season at Sweet Remembrances. Held this past weekend, we celebrated the season with joy and festivity. We began the tea service with our Cranberry Apple Salad which includes Gala apples, sugared pecans, craisins, and Feta cheese all topped with a colorful fresh cranberry dressing.

The sandwich plate held an assortment of sandwiches and warm savories. The Queen Adelaide sandwich is always popular. It is a combination of ham and chicken salad with an orange curry butter on the bread. A slice of Cranberry Tea Bread topped with a cream cheese rosebud was next. The petite holly leaf was filled with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Carrots. The phyllo cup held a warm Fruit and Swiss Cheese blend of pineapple and orange zest. The Crostini was topped with a cheesy Spinach and Artichoke mix served warm and toasty.

Our oven fresh scones included the Traditional English Cream Scone alongside the triangular Cranberry White Chocolate Scone with sweet cream and jelly and fresh fruit. 

Scones plated in the kitchen, ready to be served.

The dessert medley included a Poppyseed Supreme Cake topped with chocolate ganache and a fluffy frosting. A triple Chocolate cheesecake, a Caramel Cookie, and a Salted Caramel Truffle from Brittle Bark, a local chocolatier. 

 

December! And,

it's beginning to look like Christmas! We welcome December to Sweet Remembrances and The Rosemary House with all the festive flair associated with the month. Holiday teapots are used as decor, colorful poinsettias are tucked here and there, and the culinary Santa collection has returned to the tearoom.

The Rosemary House front room,

Sweet Remembrances 

The holiday season has officially kicked off with our annual Holiday Afternoon Tea at Sweet Remembrances held the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving. And The Rosemary House was abuzz with activity on Small Business Saturday. 

Seasonal tea cozies in colorful reds and greens alongside Christmas teacups set the scene for the holiday. Afternoon Tea featured an Apple Cranberry Salad adorned with red and green apple pieces, craisins, sugared pecans, feta cheese, and dressed with a colorful cranberry dressing. Can you spot the center garnish, a miniature tree cut from a turnip.

The sandwich medley included a Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Triangle, a Feta & Pesto Puff Holly Leaf, a warm Apple & Brie Crostini, Baked Spinach and Artichoke Square, Cran-orange Pecan Sandwich on Cinnamon Bread, and a Cucumber & Ranch sandwich topped with a petite tree.

The scone course included our Traditional English Cream Scone and a triangular shaped Cinnamon Chip Scone served with Sweet Cream and Strawberry Preserves along with fresh fruit. Dessert rounded out the holiday tea and included Peanut Butter Pie, a frosted Sugar Cookie topped with an icing holly leaf, White Cake with a Cran-Orange topping, and a petite chocolate cup filled with Orange Curd & Mascarpone Cheese. Much appreciation to our guests that joined us during this special tea.

In Appreciation - Holiday Tea

The last holiday event, post Christmas celebrations with the family, included an appreciation tea for the faithful family and friends that lend a helping hand in the tea room throughout the year. The tables in the main dining room were pushed together to form one large square to host an intimate gathering of ten guests. The festive table. complete with traditional British Christmas crackers was ready for a celebration. 

Going around the table (L to R), are Mike and Gail. Gail is frequently seen in the tearoom as a gracious hostess and tea server. Her husband Mike offers a helping hand at the PA Tea Festival in September. The two young ladies, Tabitha and her sister Caroline were tea ambassadors at the festival, willing to provide assistance to whomever asked. Their mother, Kristin can be found at the tea festival also (it's a family affair), and willingly lends a helping hand in the tearoom when the need arises. Susanna and David are pillars of support for the ongoing operations for both The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances.

And rounding out the table, niece Angelica pitches in at the tea festival, and works behind the scenes and occasionally in the tea room when she is home from Penn State where she is working on her final semester for her Masters degree. Master salad preparer and tea server, Claudette, is an integral part of the tea room service. And Nancy savored the opportunity to sit and enjoy Afternoon Tea as prepared by Melissa and Michelle of Manchester Tea and Tarts.

We were offered a variety of British teas including Barry's Gold, several Twinings favorites, and assorted fruit blends. Once we each had our tea, the three tiered servers laden with an array of delicious sweets and savories were presented to the table.

The bottom tier held an assortment of three sandwiches, and each guest received two of each sandwich. The sandwiches, all cut in the traditional British style 'finger' included Sliced Turkey Breast with British Stuffing and Cranberries, Five Cheese and Branston Pickle, and Cucumber and Tzatziki Sauce. A colorful array of fresh and delicious holiday flavors.

The middle tier included the warm Scones which featured a traditional plain English Scone and a Figgy Pudding Scone which included all the ingredients you would find in a figgy pudding. Large bowls of homemade lemon curd and strawberry jam were on the table, and a petite cup of true Devonshire Clotted Cream was on the tier alongside the scones. 

The holiday medley of desserts included British Christmas Cake (laden with Sultanas), Scottish Snow Cake and Petite Mince Pies generously dusted with confectioners sugar. Scottish Snow Cake has a shortbread crust, a thin layer of jam, a white cake layer, and a sweet vanilla icing coated in coconut. Such a festive and delicious assortment of British sweet treats.

And the finale featured warm Sticky Toffee Pudding atop Devonshire Cream Custard. It was hard not to lick the plate.

Many thanks to Manchester Tea and Tarts for presenting such a memorable afternoon holiday tea. We enjoyed opening the Christmas crackers, sharing silly jokes, discovering tiny trinkets, and sporting colorful paper crowns. You'll have to imagine us in purple, orange, green, and blue crowns. It was a sight.

Extra special thanks to the family and friends that gathered around the table at this joyous event. It is with great appreciation that such enthusiastic and energetic friends and family are willing to share their time at Sweet Remembrances throughout the year. The opportunity to sit around the table and enjoy our very own special tea time was sublime. They all promised to be ready to pick up the mantel again in February.

The Year End 2024 Candlelight Tea

Over the years, we have typically closed out the year with our annual Candlelight Tea. This past year, 2024, was no exception. The final tea for the year, held a few days before Christmas marks the end of the tea room festivities for another year. The tea room is all aglow with the flickering candlelight, and our guests leave the hustle and bustle of pre-holiday activities to enjoy an elegant and relaxing evening tea.

 

The first course featured an Apple Cranberry Salad with fresh apples, craisins, parmesan cheese, and sugared pecans all topped with a homemade Cranberry Dressing. The sandwiches included a Cran Apple Chicken Salad Triangle, Swiss Pumpernickel Melt, Cucumber and Savory Feta Cheese Sandwich, Warn Artichoke in Puff Pastry Bundle, Turkey & Monterey Jack Wrap, and a Cheesy Pumpkin Tartlet.

The festive scone course included our traditional English Cream Scone alongside a Farmhouse Craisin Scone served with Sweet Cream and Jelly. Fresh fruit, including pomegranate arils. The dessert medley included a Cranberry Bliss Cupcake, Chocolate Cheesecake, Caramel Cream Sandwich Cookie, and Salted Caramel Truffle from a local Mechanicsburg chocolatier.

We hope your holidays were memorable, and that the advent of the new year brings you much joy, happiness, peace, and a bounty of  tea times. Here's to 2025!
 

A Christmas Eve Tradition

 

Sweet Remembrances Candlelight Tea

 The candlelight casts a subtle hue throughout the tea room in quiet anticipation of a special evening. The annual Candlelight Tea is the culmination of the month of afternoon tea gatherings that begin with the holiday teas on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. There is a feeling of celebration in the air. 

This festive event began with a Pear & Pecan Salad, laden with goat cheese, parmesan cheese, sugared pecans, and an oil and vinegar dressing. The recipe is from Eating Royally, a book written by the chef to the royals. Our guests were also offered a complimentary glass of wine or a Cranberry Punch.

The sandwich medley included an Artichoke Truffle, Feta Cheese Round on Party Bread with a tree cut out from a turnip, Roast Beef and Vidalia onion relish on a lemon pepper chive muffin, Turkey and Provolone on cranberry bread, CranApple Chicken Salad Triangle, a warm and cheesy Cordon Bleu Melt, and Sun Dried Tomato Caprese in a petite phyllo cup.

The scone course included a Traditional English Cream Scone and a triangular Lemon Currant Scone served with Sweet Cream and Raspberry Preserves alongside assorted fresh fruit.

Desserts included Chocolate Toffee Torte (several layers of pure bliss), White Cake with a Holiday Medley (raisins, cherries, coconut, pecans and sherry), a truffle from Brittle Bark, our local chocolatier, and a Strawberry cream profiterole. Sweet endings, indeed.

And here's a peek at some of the holiday vignettes tucked about the tea room.  

Wishing a very happy holiday season to all of our friends, both near and far!

A Christmas Carol Afternoon Tea

One of our holiday teas in December features the songs of the season performed by a local artist. This year, we welcomed Jeff Greenawalt as our strolling minstrel. He performed a selection of traditional Christmas carols as he moved throughout the tea room while our guests were enjoying their afternoon tea. At the end of the event, everyone joined in for a chorus of Jingle Bells and Silent Night. A video has been posted on our Facebook tea room page.

The afternoon tea began with a Cranberry Pecan Salad topped with craisins, sugared pecans, goat cheese, red onion, and a Raspberry vinaigrette.

The sandwich plate included a Veggie Confetti Round topped with a turnip cut into the shape of a Christmas tree, a Cucumber Square on Whole Grain Bread, Cranberry Bread with mascarpone filling, a Turkey and Havarti rollup on a spinach wrap, warm Brie & Apple Crostini and a Pistachio Cranberry Chicken Salad.

Freshly baked scones, lined up in the kitchen ready to be served next, included Traditional English Cream and White Chocolate Apricot Scone served with sweet cream and apricot preserves and a serving of fresh fruit.

The trio of petite desserts included a Raspberry Almond Puff, an Eggnog cookie, and a miniature chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate ganache topping. Yum!

Special thanks to Jeff Greenawalt for sharing his musical talents with our tea room guests.

Thanks also to Carla for sharing some of her photos for this post. 

Holiday Greetings to all!