Celebrate the Holidays at Oakwood Inn
With a sip of Christmas tea and the joy of the season, guests at The Oakwood Inn’s Christmas Tea experience a taste of an old-fashioned Christmas. The festive event creates special memories for those attending the annual afternoon tea, partaking in four courses of delicious homemade dishes and a special Christmas tea blend. It’s a must-have experience for those who love everything about the holiday season.
Innkeepers Bill and Bridget Johnson love Christmas and begin transforming The Oakwood Inn for the season over the Thanksgiving weekend.
“Bill’s family comes and helps us with decorating and we have it looking beautiful by Monday,” Bridget shared. “The Christmas Tea is the perfect way to kick off the holidays and we love to share it with the community.”
How Christmas Tea Began?
Bridget was first introduced to a Christmas Tea when she was Director of Catering at Westin Oaks at the Galleria in Houston, Texas. The hotel would host year-round fundraising parties for ladies of the community; many who oversaw large budgets and funded the nonprofits in Houston.
“These ladies could raise $2-3 million in a couple of phone calls and would spend thousands of dollars with us over the year. Our question was how do we honor them over the Christmas season!” Bridget explained.
Westin Oak’s sister hotel, The St. Regis, held a prestigious annual Christmas Tea so Bridget secured a table for four at the event and she began taking their clients every Friday in December.
“I remember going to the first one thinking what do I have in common with my guests but they were just as nervous as I was and the Christmas Tea became the event everyone wanted to be a part of,” she said. “We thoroughly enjoyed the experience together over beautiful china, delicious food and flowing conversation; it became a festive event I quickly grew to love.”
When the Johnson’s moved to Okoboji and purchased The Oakwood Inn, the Christmas Tea was a holiday experience Bridget wanted to share with the Iowa Great Lakes area.
“I love everything about Christmas and love transforming the Inn for the season but I also want to enjoy the holidays and find it meaningful,” Bridget said.
The very first Christmas Tea took place in 2016 with six tables and one seating. Bridget’s mother Lil Buesing helped and brought several friends. “It sold out immediately and it was so much fun,” Bridget added.
In 2017, they added two seatings at 1 and 3:30 p.m. and showcased four courses and a special Christmas Tea blend. The following year they added another day, and since then, Christmas Tea at the Oakwood Inn has been sold out and welcomes families and friends to enjoy the festive occasion.
Christmas Tea
While the history of tea spreads out over thousands of years and throughout many cultures, Christmas tea traditions originated in the 19th century mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States, and were often held on Christmas Eve and welcomed loved ones of all ages. At the heart of the event was the Christmas Tea, whose festive beverage is generally made with a blend of black tea and spices like cinnamon and cloves and sometimes utilized fruit flavors such as cranberry and orange. The tea is considered warm, comforting and aromatic.
The tea showcased at The Oakwood Inn’s Christmas Tea took some special tweaking by Bill and Bridget. They wanted something that would mix with the four food courses but also produce a flavor everyone would enjoy.
“It’s a total Winter – Christmas feel,” Bridget said. “It’s not super sweet, a bit spicy and kids love to drink it. Our guests enjoy it throughout the event. It also helps clear the palette between courses.”
Enjoying the Event
As guests arrive at the Oakwood Inn, they are immediately drawn into the festive spirit. The entire bed and breakfast is elegantly decorated for Christmas and is the perfect backdrop for this year’s Christmas Tea. Tables are artfully decorated with Christmas china and soft holiday music flows throughout the room.
Guests are seated at their table and throughout the two-hour event, Bridget welcomes each one into The Oakwood Inn family. From the table setting to the Christmas scone, everything is artfully explained and history is learned for everyone in the room.
“We welcome children with their families. The kids love the food and they come all dressed up in suits and dresses,” Bridget shared. “It’s also not just women who enjoy the tea; we have a mixture of men and women. We have lots of people and make lots of food.”
The first course of the Christmas Tea is an amuse-bouche, which is a small appetizer designed to cleanse the palette and stimulate the appetite. The small, festive bite can be a cranberry and goat cheese tartlet, a small pastry or a mini-Yorkshire pudding with a savory filling. The small, elegant bits are always a surprise and delight guests to the tea before the next course is served.
The next course is a mixture of tea sandwiches: cucumber, egg salad, ham salad, and radish. One year Bridget made an apple brie with bacon on cranberry bread.
“Everything is homemade and it’s something different every year,” she added. “The year Queen Elizabeth passed away, we dedicated the Christmas tea to what she specifically enjoyed and included mincemeat! I’m not afraid to try new things!”
The third course is a Christmas Scone, made from a special recipe and it smells delicious, Bridget said, “It smells like Christmas morning!”
The pastry showcases rosemary, cranberries, vanilla and cinnamon and is served with lemon curd, cream and jam, specially made from the inn’s rose hips as well as a strawberry rhubarb option.
The final course is amazing all on one plate. A guest doesn’t just receive one dessert but they can taste a variety of sweet options. Bridget has made short breads to more traditional desserts to meringue. “I like to switch it up,” she said.
At the tea’s conclusion, Bridget hosts a special Christmas toast for her guests, complete with local champagne. “It always chokes me up; the holidays mean so much to me and the Christmas Tea is the perfect way to kick off the season!”
As guests leave, they receive a special gift from The Oakwood Inn, which includes limited tea edition bags and homemade Belgium cookies that Bridget’s mother makes for the event.
“We enjoy the Christmas tea so much and love to share it with the community. I also love how my mom and aunt come and help me in the kitchen, while my dad and uncle plate cookies or take care of the dogs. Being able to host this with the help of our families makes it so much more special.”
Tickets for the 2025 Christmas Tea quickly sold out. Watch Oakwood Inn’s social media or theoakwoodinnokoboji.com for details on their 2026 Christmas Tea.