Teddy Bear Tea Party - Start the Tradition Now!

The joy a stuffed animal can bring to a child is a wonderful and amazing thing and I believe every child should have at least one favorite bear in her lifetime. They're cuddly, warm, and cute and they don't make a mess on your living room floor before guests arrive! Children of all ages love stuffed teddy bears and for good reason!
The Teddy Bear Tea Party! Now, combine this great love of all things fluffy with a little girl's tea party and you have the makings of the grandest event of the year for your daughter.
So let's look at both in just a little more detail. the tea and the teddy bears. Obviously the two main elements must be accounted for...

There are several ways you can create this memory-filled event for your little one.
Remember mom; all the little ones will probably have a good toothbrush at home anyway! More sugar is required in the form of cookies, little chocolates and other tea fancies to complete the tea table. Don't make the tea too strong and remember to have plenty of sugar (get the cubes...little girls LOVE the cubes) and cream for those who have not yet acquired the taste for afternoon tea yet.

You can go with the varieties from the tea aisle in the grocery store or find some fine lovely teas at various upscale tea shops or even online. Blackberry, apple or vanilla are a few of our favorites. Choose a tea with some added flavor. Not too much scrimping on the sugar here, mom...this is the event of the year remember? Assuming you're planning your party for the younger of the young ladies, you'll want to keep the tea simple and SWEET!

The tea. 1.
Or, if you want to get even more elaborate, have a make your own stuffed animal event as part of your party, where each guests can build a bear or other stuffed animal to take home. Providing a simple craft for the girls to make a teddy tea shawl (an inexpensive cloth napkin and some fabric makers or rubber stamps will do nicely) will help to make the stuffed animals more at ease at the tea table. The most economical way to include the animals is to ask each child to bring their own favorite teddy or other animal along for the event. As you know, not all children choose a bear as their favorite stuffed animal so you might want to offer some flexibility here!

The Teddy Bears. 2.
Include the picture with your thank you notes so each will have a grand remembrance of the day as well. Finally, remember to take a photo of each guest with the guest of honor and their bears. You'll want to take plenty of pictures of the little ones, pinkies high sipping their tea while enjoying their tea dainties. Keep the entire party short and simple for maximum memory making and remember your camera and film.
At the end of each year's celebration, create a special page for a scrapbook so your girls will have something wonderful to pass on to their daughters along with the annual tradition! One is never too old to love a stuffed teddy bear! and each year you can guarantee the teddy bears will come along too.

I bet you'll find that the tradition you start when your girls are young will continue on into their teen years and beyond... Celebrate the start of the school year or celebrate the first day of spring. Make this an annual event for your girls. Teddy Bear tea parties don't need to be just for birthday parties either.

Tea Tree Oil for Bad Breath

There is a tree native to Australia called the Tea tree, and an essential oil distilled from its leaves and stems appears to have a myriad of healthful uses - one of them is Tea tree oil for bad breath. It seems that people are using dental floss soaked in Tea tree oil, or adding a couple of drops to the toothpaste on a toothbrush. They say it works wonders.
If you have bad breath Tea tree oil may work because it has antibacterial properties, and the majority of cases of bad breath, particularly the nasty chronic kind, are caused by the activities of bacteria in our mouths. These bacteria break down proteins and produce bad smelling volatile sulfur compounds that are expelled in the breath. Tea tree oil for bad breath may work because the oil is toxic to the bacteria: they are fragile, and can be killed by drugs and chemicals.
If you do some research on Tea tree oil for bad breath, you will discover that the oil should not be taken internally - it is really not known what effect ingesting the oil may have, but it could be toxic. For cleaning the mouth and treating bad breath Tea tree oil should be used topically only - that is, you can apply small amounts to your teeth, but don't swallow! After brushing or flossing, spit out whatever is in your mouth, and rinse.
It should not be a problem to avoid swallowing any significant amount of the oil when you use Tea tree oil is the same.
In the end, if you decide not to use Tea tree oil for bad breath because of fears of toxicity, or for any other reason, there are other natural remedies for bad breath on the market that you might be more comfortable with. Investigate the ones that use an olive oil rinse to physically remove bacteria, or an oxidizing agent to kill them. These new approaches to the treatment of halitosis give us more choices than ever before - when it comes to natural remedies for bad breath Tea tree oil is far from the only thing.
R. Drysdale is a freelance writer with more than 25 years experience as a health care professional. She is a contributing editor to
Tea Tree Oil for Bad Breath
, a blog dedicated to the treatment of bad breath.