By Amanda Pevey
Elmore/Autauga News
Tea with the Clauses is an annual event put on by the Smith-Byrd House Bed and Breakfast Tea Room located in Prattville, Alabama. This year marks the ninth year for the event.
Originally, it was called “Tea with Mrs. Clause” then Santa decided he wanted to come as well so this year it was changed to “Tea with the Clauses.” Unfortunately, Mrs. Clause was not able to join in on this year’s activities but Santa was able to come and spend time with everyone. Tea with the Clauses is a fun event that children can come with their families and enjoy some delicious pot of hot tea, make a keepsake ornament, and take plenty of pictures with Santa. You still have opportunities to take part! More about that further down.
The Smith-Byrd House Bed and Breakfast has a lot of history in the home. Smith-Byrd House was built around 1880 to 1884 by the Smith family, Daniel and Ada Smith. The house design is what is referred to as a four over four. That means, it has four rooms over four rooms. The home is a Queen Anne Style Victorian home and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Smith family owned the house from 1880 to 1960 when George and Ginger Byrd purchased the house raising two sons. George and Ginger Byrd owned the house until 2001 selling the house to the Hale’s who owned the house for a few years before selling it to the Fortiers.
Beth and David Melling purchased the home in April 2007 from the Fortiers. It is located at 137 North Washington Street in Prattville, Alabama. After purchasing the home in April 2007, Beth and David Mellings’ dream was to turn it into a bed and breakfast inn and tea room. In March of 2008, they were opened for business.
The Tea with the Clauses event brought over 80 attendees the day the EAN visited, which included children and their families. The cost of the event is $20 per child and $10 per adult. The price includes two keepsake ornaments, a pot of tea, a tea tray of fresh scones, sandwiches, and sweets, pictures with Santa and plenty of pictures of memories that will last a lifetime.
Many of the families that came to the event enjoyed the many different varieties of tea. Over 100 different varieties of loose tea can be found at the Smith-Byrd House. The favorite tea out of the ones that attended during our visit was the Scottish Caramel Toffee tea. It was like dessert in a cup.
Other examples of tea include chocolate strawberry, peach ice cream, peppermint, nutcracker sweet, maple cream, German gingerbread, and snowflake. These are just a few examples of teas that are offered at the Smith-Byrd House.
The Grissett Family attended the event for the first time. “We love the atmosphere here, seeing Santa, and my daughter Sydney feeling really fancy and enjoying our mother, daughter time,” said the Grissett family.
“This is one of our favorite events each year. It has grown each year and we have new families join us as well as those who have made it an annual tradition. I think the adults love it as much as the kids. It’s not uncommon to have 3-4 adults with one child at Tea with the Clauses. We love opening up this wonderful old home for people to come and enjoy tea throughout the year, but especially during the Christmas season. Santa and Mrs. Claus have made it a wonderful experience for everyone,” said Beth Melling, owner of the Smith-Byrd House.
For more information please visit their Facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/Smith-ByrdHouseBedandBreakfastandTeaRoom. Check out their website at: www.smithbyrdhouse.com.
Please call (334) 365-1459 for reservations. The next Tea with the Clauses event is on December 18th from 3 p.m to 5:00 p.m. and December 21st from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Enjoy the history in this amazing home, try a variety of different loose teas, delicious food, keepsake ornaments, and take pictures for keepsake memories.
See more photos below!
