2014 American Cancer Society Think Pink Tea

This years Think Pink Tea

might have been the last one.

Unfortunately there were only two

of us hosting a table that weren't 

part of the volunteers who work

at the ACS thrift store.

This year, there were even fewer tables

than last year.  Just four tables.

It wasn't hardly worth the work it took to

put this tea together for the ACS volunteers

or the hostesses.

This year I used an 

Autumn Sunflower theme.

I started getting everything together

in late September 

 as the ACS didn't let us

know if we were even having a tea

until then.

We were wondering and waiting.

I didn't want to go to the expense

of buying everything I needed,

if we weren't going to have the tea.

This year I reused the tablecloths 

that I had sewn for a previous tea.

I also reused the chargers, 

but the matching napkin holders

were used for the first time

along with new napkins.

 You can't really see clearly

what's inside the gift box,

so I added this sign to entice everyone

to use their raffle tickets on my centerpiece. 

The tea was held at the

 Win River Resort and Casino. 

 They supplied the room as well as the 

tea and food served.  They didn't charge us

for the room or the tea service, so 100%

of everyones entrance fee and raffle ticket money

went to the American Cancer Society.

They also let us use their chair covers.

You can see the difference between these

two photos with the chair covers

off and now on.

We got to choose between black and white.

  

The gift bags hold coupons

for the ACS thrift store, the program,

and a sandwich zip baggie 

in case my guests want to take  

 leftovers home.

 I also included extra napkins 

and a thank you

note for each of my guests.

The tea plate included four 

 little sandwiches of egg salad,

 ham and grainy mustard,

smoked salmon and a cucumber sandwich.

There was also a tiny scone.

The sweet side of the plate included

a chocolate covered strawberry and

a nut cookie.

We had to work around the table legs

for place settings so that's why

the chargers aren't spaced evenly.

It really shows in the above photo,

so I wanted to explain why it looks

a bit off.

 

Joyce is my husband's cousin,

but we've always called her Aunt Joyce

because she's a generation older than us.

This is her Gingerbread Man Table.

She used  gingerman cookie cutters

for a napkin holder.

  

The last two tables were put together

by the lady who took over the Think Pink

Tea after someone else retired from the job.

She used a Candy Land Game theme for this table.

I like the clear plates that let the placemats 

show through.

Her centerpiece was a collection

of candies from a local candy shop.

Her other table was a garden  theme.

Those windows in the background

let in a lot of light, making taking photos 

in this direction a bit difficult.

That's it for the tables.

Kinda disappointing because

there used to be from

 28 to 34 tables in previous years.  

 Getting to see everyone's ideas for the tables

was what I really enjoyed.

I miss that.

Here's the sales table

they set up with items from the thrift store.

This is were the ACS volunteers shine.

I think they set up beautiful displays

of the merchandise.

Everything here was donated

 to the ACS thrift store.

They also put on a terrific fashion show,

using models of all sizes and each was wearing

clothing and shoes that were from the thrift store.

That was a lot of fun to watch.

Afterwards Joyce and I talked with

a member of the ACS team.

She said that the tea would be canceled 

next year if they were unable to get

12 people to host the tables.

I think that's for the best.

It was disappointing to see only four tables.

So, it's going to be a wait and see

if we can do this again next year.

That in itself leaves me in a bind,

not knowing whether to prepare for

next years tea or not.  I'd like to try for

a woodland Christmas theme

using whites and browns.

Now's the time to find the stuff 

I need for it, but I also don't want

to be spending money unnecessarily.

We'll see what happens,

but I do think it's time to give it up.