Inside: Follow along on a magical weekend in Hamilton County, Indiana. Tea parties, dollhouses, and magical sparkly restaurants make for an incredible weekend for your little girl.
You guys. It’s been kind of a rough summer. Pandemics will do that, I guess. We had some big plans for this summer, and just about everything was cancelled. Dance camp. Most of the local pools. All of our international flights. Disney World. Even the local water parks.
And our little one took it all in a stride. Children are so resilient that way. While she was disappointed and a bit sad, she understood and rolled with the punches. So when I realized that we could surprise her with a quick weekend trip to nearby Hamilton County, I was determined to make this trip extra magical.
We filled it with all her favorite things and I’m so excited to share the magic with you because Hamilton County is the stuff of little girl’s dreams.
Have a Tea Party at Tina’s Traditional Tea Room
Located in Carmel’s Arts and Design District, Tina’s Traditional Tea Room is the cutest spot for a tea party. Tina’s has all sorts of fun tea to choose from, along with scones, sweet treats, tea sandwiches, and more. Inside is decorated like an English tea room, and there’s also lovely patio seating.
We ordered a variety of scones and they were served with assorted jams and clotted cream. We tried their elderflower jam and it was absolutely delicious. I may have licked the little bowl clean….
We also sampled a variety of sandwiches. Our little one loved the cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches and the crusts came cut off! My favorite was the English cheddar and chutney sandwich and my husband’s favorite was the curried chicken sandwich. They also had soup and salads on the menu.
Our little one ordered the “Princess” tea and it came out on a three-tiered china tray. It came with your choice of sandwich (she picked a grilled cheese and it was SO good – toasted bread and English cheddar), a scone with jam and clotted cream, and a sampling of mini pastries. It’s big enough that you could order 1 for two kids, or even share with a parent.
It was so much fun to sip tea out of fancy china cups and eat tiny little sandwiches.
Visit the Museum of Miniature Houses
After tea, we walked across the street to check out the Museum of Miniature Houses. This was such a fun museum.
The museum’s collection contains thousands of miniatures including room boxes, miniature houses, and tiny replicas to scale. Also included are private collections that rotate throughout the year.
We were in for a treat because during our visit, they were also hosting an estate sale! So after we looked at all the amazing miniatures, she got to pick out a few things to add to her dollhouse at home.
Have a Magical Dinner at The Cake Bake Shop
I was just as enchanted as my little one was on our visit to The Cake Bake Shop, Gwendolyn Roger’s fairytale bakery.
There’s really no way to describe The Cake Bake Shop, other than just to say that it feels like stepping into a fairytale.
Our little one ordered salmon sliders and a side of fruit off the kid’s menu, and her fruit came out sprinkled with glitter.
Glitter you guys. GLITTER! This was really just the most magical place.
Make sure you save room for a decadent slice of cake from the The Cake Bake Shop bakery. We ordered a slice of “funfetti” cake to share, and it came out decorated with edible GLITTER SEQUINS! Also, the slices are HUGE. You can definitely share one slice with the whole family.
We had such a magical day doing all the things that she loved. I’m already wondering when I can come back for another visit. This trip to Hamilton County would be absolutely perfect for a little girl’s dream weekend.
Looking for more family-friendly ideas in Hamilton County, Indiana? Check out day 1 of our trip!
This post was written in partnership with Visit Hamilton County. Thoughts, opinions and photographs are all my own.
What a fun trip for her!