Host a Mother's Day Tea Party

This year celebrate Mother's Day by inviting your girlfriends and their daughters to don frilly frocks and sip steaming cups of tea at a sumptuous afternoon tea party. A lavish spread of decadent sweets and springtime decor sets a festive tone.

Embrace warm spring weather by setting up a table on the lawn. Highlight the natural beauty of the outdoors by topping a simple white linen tablecloth with burlap and ferns potted in terra cotta. Bird and butterfly tabletop details add to the setting's lush, botanical feel.

Cake stands and pedestals piled high with sweet treats serve as delicious centerpieces. Now's not the time for sensible eating: Finger sandwiches, sugar-dusted cookies, macaroons and petit fours are delicious ways to indulge. Even store-bought treats look special when artfully displayed at varying heights.

Transform a bundt cake into a whimsical nest by surrounding its base with tufts of green moss and raffia. Tuck a single pink peony in the center for a sweet, feminine touch. To keep it from wilting, place the bloom's stem in a water tube concealed within the center of the cake.