Tea set for my toddler boy, any ideas?

I’ve been on the look out for a non-girly tea set for my son’s 2nd birthday. We like to have afternoon tea and a snack every day and I want to make it a memorable experience for him as he grows up.

Plastic sets are fine for now, but I’m also looking for something that I can hand down to his children, so feel free to suggest both. I have looked at Toys R Us and Amazon, but it seems that most sets are geared towards little girls. If my son is anything like my younger brother he will hit about 3 and decided he wants nothing to do with anything pink or purple.

I’ve got a few months until his birthday, so I thought I would start looking now. Thank you in advance for the suggestions.

36 Replies
darby select said

I had one I got years ago from tjmaxx that was primary colors, perfect for a boy. Maybe try searching for primary colored set.

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Lala said

You can try looking at collectors sets. I have seen ceramic winnie the pooh tea sets.

I had considered a Winnie the Pooh set briefly, but we just aren’t huge Pooh fans in this house. My mother thinks we’re a bunch of weirdos, she loves Pooh.

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Nicole said

Winnie the Pooh, maybe?

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ashmanra said

What about a really authentic Asian set? Chinese or Japanese, both could be very masculine and quite classic! Maybe check out the assortments on Teavivre.com and purepuer.com for ideas. Since you a fairly new here, I also thought I would suggest that you sign up for the Teavivre free samples if you haven’t yet. They are high quality and very reasonably priced teas and they are quite generous with their free samples!

forsythia said

This is the first thing that comes to my mind too. Would the round cups be too warm for him to cuddle in his little hands though? Just thought of that.

ashmanra said

Possibly, but the Asians say, “too hot for the hands is too hot for the mouth.” So perhaps waiting until it was cool enough to hold would keep him from burning his mouth? You do make an excellent point, Forsythia!

my first thought was to buy him an authentic Asian set, but I was worried about the cups being too hot to hold.

I haven’t signed up for the Teavivre samples yet, thanks for reminding me. I’ve been meaning to all week and it keeps slipping my mind.

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Chizakura said

If you’re wanting a set that he can keep for a long time (assuming none of the pieces break accidentally) I’m with ashmanra. They’re beautiful and artistic, and not at all girly.

Or if you’re wanting more of a toy for now and a serious set later, then I’m with everyone’s Winnie the Pooh suggestion. I’ve seen several of those before.

It is really hard for me to decide, there are just so many neat sets. I’m thinking a plastic set for his birthday and if he shows a continued interest an Asian set. But then there is the Alice in Wonderland set, and the Pooh set, and the one that looks like my antique fiestaware. I think you get the idea, I want one of each, but I’m pretty sure my husband would complain.

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Dustin said

My daughter has this set which is made from recycled milk cartons. The kettle is pink and lavender, but the cups and saucers are blue and green.
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-5512754-Tea-Set/dp/B001543YEY/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1368227045&sr=1-2
We also have the Haba wooden tea bags… if you are cool with him using bags not loose tea. ;)
http://www.amazon.com/Haba-1515-Teatime-by/dp/B0002HYDL8/ref=pd_sim_t_4
There is also this pinterest board that has some sets which are for sale. http://pinterest.com/kchrouser/childrens-tea-sets/

ashmanra said

Oh, I love so much on that Pinterest board!

great pinterest board!

I love the pinterest board, thank you for posting it. I actually completely forgot to even look on there. There are just so many cool looking sets it is really going to be hard to choose.

I was considering starting out with the set you posted from amazon since I’m afraid he’ll get mad and throw one of the cups. That was the exact one I was looking at, but I hadn’t seen the haba tea bags, those are so cute!

I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it before, but after looking at your pinterest board I might look for an Alice in Wonderland set. We’re actually reading that right now before bed time and the disney animation was always one of my favorites.

Boy I could sure get myself into trouble looking at tea sets, there are just so many choices. This is the main reason why I haven’t replaced mine that broke during my last move.

TeaLady441 said

Thanks for the suggestions – I pinned them for now as my daughter is only 1 year old. Maybe a little too young. :P

Dustin said

^Bah! Never too young to start good tea habits! Especially with a nearly unbreakable plastic set! If she sees you drinking tea, she’s likely to want to mimic.

I’d love to upgrade my daughter’s set to one of the fancy porcelain sets. Unfortunately she is still in a bit of a destructive phase and I’m afraid she’d break it.

I agree, it’s never too young to start and it is a great memory for the kids once they get older. I remember having tea parties with my mom around age 4 or so, but there is no reason you can’t start sooner. Once my son decided he wanted to eat and drink everything mom did I started putting some thought into this. A plastic set is perfect for a 1 year old who wants to mimic mom.

I completely understand the destructive phase, my son is in the middle of it, but that gives me plenty of time to look and decide.

Dustin said

I really love the company that makes that set and have several other toys they make. They are made here in the US and I like it when my purchases help employ folks here. The toys aren’t flimsy plastic that will easily break or go brittle quickly in the sun, they are reasonably priced AND the recycled material factor are all pretty awesome. My only wish is that they made MORE toys!

We have several toys from them as well and they are among my son’s favorites. I love the fact that they are made in the US and from recycled materials.

We got our son that set for Christmas a year ago when he was two. Pink is his second favorite color after blue and his daddy got a pink cherry blossom tea pot for Christmas that year too. He has gotten a lot of use out of it.

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Lala said

Tupperware would be a good place to look as well.

I never even thought of Tupperware, I’m pretty sure my cousin still sells it so I’ll have to ask her if they have anything.

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Serenity said

Is there an Ikea near you?
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00130148/
They also have toy food that is fun to have at tea parties, as long as it is age appropriate, safe for your son’s age. I love having tea parties with toddlers and preschoolers, my favorite thing is seeing how delighted they get when I act as though I’m so grateful for the nice hot cup of (pretend) tea, and blow on it, and sip and say, “ahhh!” Good times.

ashmanra said

That is a cute set, too!

That is cute. I really wish we had an ikea near by, the closest one is near Chicago about 2.5 hours away. I’ll have to keep that in mind in case we make a trip that way over the summer.

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Frolic select said

This one reminds me of my antique Fiestaware dishes. I think the colors are just so much fun.

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Sil select said

found these: http://www.yoyo.com/html/sg/toy-tea-sets-for-boys-with-basket.html

though i’m not overly a fan of any of them. I’ll keep an eye out though as i imagine some day i’ll be in the market as well ;)

Thank you for the link, there were several I hadn’t seen yet. I figured that many of us would be in the market for a set eventually as we pass our traditions down to our children.

forsythia said

Oh, I want that “Tea Maid – Milly” to set on a shelf in my kitchen. So cute!

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