Teddy Bear Tea

Yesterday, Mitz and I took Natalie to her first tea! The Ritz-Carlton in Scottsdale holds a Teddy Bear tea each year during the holidays - Mitz and I love to have regular afternoon tea at the Ritz. They hold the Teddy Bear tea in the grand ballroom - the kids have a special menu (PB&J, ham and cheese sandwiches, hot cocoa), adults have a normal afternoon tea (savory sandwiches and lovely little desserts and scones). The ballroom was beautiful - lots of Christmas trees, the entire ceiling was lit up. The man who is in charge of tea there made an appearance and sang some Christmas carols. Once we ate, the kids went to an adjoining area to hear a story read by Mrs. Claus, then they had a puppet show, and a visit from Santa. Natalie was just wide-eyed through all of it. And even had her own cup of tea in addition to cocoa - "Tea is really good... With LOTS of sugar". And Mr. Teddy Bear made the rounds of the room - he got lots of hugs from Natalie! She also used some of her birthday present money to buy herself a special bear to remember the event.

And I have to give mad props to the Ritz with regards to accommodating Natalie's allergies. I called ahead to let them know - they thanked me, told me we'd have our own table (all parties do - I just wasn't sure since it was in the ballroom) and they'd do what they could to mitigate any risk. When we checked in, I could see our reservation - they put a huge note on it about the allergy. Then we were barely in our seats when the maitre-d' came over to let us know he was aware of her allergies, explained what the items to be served contained (you'd be surprised at how many restaurant staff do NOT know what the dishes contain). I expected them to just serve the ham and cheese to her. Nope. They made special jelly-only sandwiches in addition to the h&c. And since most of the desserts contained nuts, they brought her a dish of ice cream - and would have made her a sundae if she'd wanted one. They also brought her another dish because her first one melted - it was served just before story time, so she didn't get to finish. And they brought her a plate full of huge, fresh strawberries. They were so kind, and so accommodating, and managed it without making a big production about it either. Oh and they also sat us at a table near the door - didn't have a lot of tables close to us either, but we weren't in BFE either - just the best place for us in case of any airborne nut dust.

And now for a little bit of WTF... When I was gone from the table at one point, the maitre-d' mentioned to my mom that there was another nut allergy in the room, but they didn't know until they were seated - they had to strip the table completely and start over. I was flabbergasted. I'm well aware of how serious nut allergies can be, and cannot believe that those parents did not call ahead. The menu for the event was posted on the Ritz's site, so it wasn't as if it were a surprise. Besides the fact that they were playing with fire, that was just so rude to the staff - the event is busy enough without having to scramble to accommodate an allergy at the last minute.

And the icing on the cake? Near the end, a table near us was leaving. The mother made a point of stopping by to tell me how "lovely" Natalie's manners are - and that she was a former teacher so she notices and appreciates well-mannered children. I guess she was near Natalie during the story time/puppet show - some kids were standing up and blocking views, and Natalie was very polite about the whole thing. I was so proud of her! And it made an impression on her as well. I told Jon about it this morning (he got back in the wee hours last night/this morning), and he told me Natalie had already told him all about it!

Yes there are pictures. No they won't be up tonight. Soon.