Glen Ellyn fifth-graders give senior citizens the royal treatment at tea party

The invite told guests to dress in formal attire and show up to a Glen Ellyn address for a ritzy tea party.

The lucky 50 or so who would be treated to an afternoon of finger food and freshly brewed tea start counting down to the event months in advance.

And when the day finally arrives, they're whisked to tables with floral centerpieces and on the arm of their very own escort.

"The guests always arrive with a smile and leave with a smile," says Brian Pindar, one of the many organizers. "And they're so thankful that for two hours they've been treated like a king or queen."

Wondering how you can get your hands on an invite? And how to get through the doors of what must surely be a four-star hotel or an exclusive restaurant?

Well, this isn't just a tea party. It's an opportunity for the young hosts - fifth-graders - to learn about making a good first impression and making someone else feel special.

"The parent involvement, the student involvement, the day of - it's like a wedding," says Pindar, a teacher who helped start the first tea party about 16 years ago at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School.

Fifth-grade students took seriously the roles of servers, hosts and greeters when a bus full of seniors from a nearby retirement community recently pulled up to the Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 school.

With the help of their parents, kids bake cookies and lemon bars, mix tea and lemonade and arrange bouquets and goody bags for their guests to take home. Their teachers and moms and dads also provide a little etiquette training.

But Pindar has full confidence in the students, who display "a lot of unselfishness" preparing long before the Senior Tea.

"Those are the kids stepping up and wanting to take pride and wanting to make a difference," he says.

Despite the generation gap, both hosts and guests ease into conversation and even end up becoming pen pals.

"It's amazing - when kids dress up, their behavior dresses up, too," Pindar says laughing. "Sometimes the silliness they display during the training doesn't carry over. They really shine, and you're very proud of the students."

Pindar later receives thank you notes from seniors that he reads to students.

"What's really cute is the handwritten letters, and they're delivered in the mail," Pindar says. "It just shows the appreciation."