Did you mean to host one? Cost of food and drink really varies depending on what you serve. We had one catered and it’s approximately 50 per head, definitely not less expensive than having it at a 4-star hotel.

I would guess they are fairly cheap to run compared to the cost of attending. Most of the food is bite sized, and coffee and tea are not expensive.

I’ve been to a few high teas but I’ve never hosted one myself.

I think you can find them in most places these days – they seem to differ in prices depending on what city you’re in. I’ve been to a few and they’re usually about $60-95

I went to my first high tea at a nice café with my sister in law who invited a bunch of us and is well worth it if you like a hot drink and try some sweet things such as nice exclusive cakes , biscuits etc. Of course if you don’t like sweets /desserts you probably won’t like it. It was at a local café and it cost about $15 for each of us which is considered cheap.
To hold your own you need fine china cup/saucers , some nice cakes, pastry biscuits etc ( whatever sweets you fancy ) and cups of tea and coffee ( for those who don’t drink tea ) . The foods are usually arranged on cake stand or nice platters etc ( to look fancy ).Everyone comes dressed up so it looks “classy ” You can buy a lot of nice cakes from your local bakery so you should have heaps to choose from . Enjoy it .

Interesting comments! My mum like to g to high tea but at some hotel!

it depends on you! ask to borrow some cups etc and keep costs down.

I have done a number of high teas at home and it actually costs more at home for quality and you have all the mess, when compared to a restaurant or winery who do it for $40-50 per head including a drink!
I’d prefer to go out unless there are heaps of kids invited.

yes my older friends and me, did a special high tea, we shopped at op shop and dressed up in old finery,wore gloves too, great fun to do.. Plan 5 or 6 is good party to do, tiny sandwiches and cakes too, or friends could bring goodies too..Have fun, like kids at tea party too, playing make believe is great any age good for you…Post a photo of your day to view

I helped with a high-tea done as a fund-raiser amongst friends…..over the years most people end up with a few weird and/or wonderful tea-pots which were all brought along (there was a prize for the whackiest which meant that people outdid themselves!). We had some very pretty cups & saucers but got some more from the op-shops. Even though we made some lovely little cakes & sandwiches we also cut up a heap of fruit & someone brought along a chocolate tower. We were going to just coat the fruit & put them on the cake plates but everyone wanted to help & it was a bit of fun.

Thanks NAOMI for your answer, so very helpful! I am putting on a charity high tea and these ideas are wonderful! The high tea is for Red Cross and I am rather excited about it!

I’ve also bought cups from op shops for a high tea. It’s very trendy to have all mismatched. I went to the $2 shops and bought pokadot matching decorations… plastic table cloth, a cardboard cake stand, spotted napkins. It looked lovely. Paper doilies to put under food looked really cool too.
I have done a couple with friends for baby showers/kitchen teas and we got everyone to bring a plate which reduced the cost. But biscuits are really cheap, a platter of fruit, a slice or two and quartered simple sandwiches and maybe suasage rolls were what we did. Cheap and easy but tasty and it looked wonderful. We did on average 15 people.
Also I had a table on the side with tea so people served themsevels and I had little jugs of milk… Maybe an extra bottle of juice or two. So I hardly spent on drinks, even when I did all the food just simple food I did it for under $100. (I can’t remember if I reused decorations or bought them that time)

Thanks for all of the wonderful tips, love the tip MOM103936 to buy cups and saucers from charity shops! Brilliant idea!

I’ve had a high tea for my Mum & Mum in law on Mother’s day with 24 adults & I didn’t actually spend more than I would in doing a normal family lunch. The 2 elderly Mum’s enjoyed using the cups & saucers (that they handed down to me), & grazing on all the finger food that my sister’s help me with too.

no, but I wish you luck with yours! Sounds like too much hard work to me x

If you want to buy teacups and saucers you could try st vinnies and charity shops to keep the cost down.

I imagine there’s an awful lot of variables here… home cooked food? Bought from a bakery or supermarket? Catered? You could probably do it cheaply, or spend a lot.

I held a high tea for my daughters birthday party. I can’t remember the cost but it was definitely under $100 for about 15 girls and 5 adults. I made the food myself so that helps cut the cost down. For the girls it was all about the presentation and the ‘posh’ plates and tea cups they got to use. I’m sure it could add up to be very expensive if you had it catered but if you can do it yourself it’s really not that expensive. A little time consuming but I did a lot of prep the day before.