Messenger Intern

On Thursday morning, eight young girls made a Christmas toast over tea and the gingerbread man.

The girls met for the tea party at Alex and Jane Whaley’s house where they

donned feather boas and dainty white hats.

The tea party was inspired by the Whaley’s grandchildren, who have always enjoyed a good tea party in an adjacent playhouse that was once their great aunt’s.

"We have always had tea parties, so I thought it would be fun for the children to have one big one," Jane Whaley said.

Visiting friends and relatives from as far as Montgomery were invited to the tea party.

After tea, the girls ate reindeer cookies and brought the gingerbread man to life with candy facial expressions and icing clothes.

When the party was finished, the girls retired to Emma Whaley’s "Secret Garden" for a puppet show featuring a troupe of animals.

When asked what was her favorite part of the party, Paige Lewis said making the gingerbread men, although she could not say why.