Lockdown seems to be going on forever, people are still getting Covid and stress levels are through the roof. It’s no different here in the Crafty house. I decided though it was time to have a bit of fun in lockdown with M, by way of an anxiety free afternoon tea.
When he was younger, we would do all kinds of random things like this, and I don’t see why we can’t anymore just cause he’s turning 14 soon. Its fun to break up normality anyway but in the days of lockdown, anything that makes your day in isolation a little more bearable is definitely welcome.
So how do you have an anxiety free afternoon tea? Simple ... you cheat!
Rather than bake in the kitchen all day, I took advantage of our monthly Morrison’s home delivery. The majority comes straight out a packet – yeah, I could have made it all from scratch, but the key point was the anxiety free bit. I made up the sandwiches which was quick and easy, and most of the extras were things I had in the house or were buying anyway.
It was a nice for M who came downstairs to a delicious spread and it was pleasant to just sit with him and enjoy something different. We could take our time and enjoy the food and conversation. We spoke about all kinds of random things, as most of out chats are wont to do and a simple little set up used 2 hours of our day that we would usually spend watching TV or playing Xbox.
An anxiety free afternoon tea doesn’t need to break the budget either. We only had to add a few extras onto our monthly shop which came to around £7 extra, the rest came from the pantry or was things we buy each month anyway. And not everything we added got completely eaten so we have some leftovers for future lunches etc. I had been looking at some of the places local to me that do an afternoon delivery but the cheapest I found was £10 per head so I’m still saving a small fortune.
Here is a break down of what it cost to buy in extras.
Pastas – 2 for £3. Only ate the prawn one so £1.50
Mini quiche - £1.40
Cupcakes – 6 pack £1.15
Chocolate chip scones – 4 pack £1.10. Only ate 2 so 60p
Everything else like tuna, eggs, ham, mini sausages, etc is all things we had already. And I buy mini muffins and brownie bites every month for snacking, but they are 2 for £3. You can use up whatever you have in the house, have all ham, have sausage rolls. You could even cut up some pizzas if you wanted. You set the menu.
The beauty of an anxiety free afternoon tea is you can choose what to serve … yeah, a “traditional” afternoon tea has structure, but a lockdown special can be whatever you want it to be.
Ours was a random mix, and it was lovely.
