Party Ideas That Do Not Break the Bank
July 1, 2012
I was blessed enough to be able to co-host my sister-in-law's bridal shower today at my home with my other sister-in-law, Jen. I wanted to share a few of the items we made and decorated with, in hopes that it will help you with creative ideas and save a penny!
Here was a completely free decoration. I had my husband decorate the chalkboard I made last summer. Sometimes you can find old chalkboards at thrift stores or you can make one like I did. A friend of mine game me the frame, including wood for free and then I bought chalkboard paint.
A few other decorating ideas:
Decorating Tables: I had 3 rectangle tables to decorate. The first thing I did was visit thrift stores for table cloths since I did not have any. I was able to purchase 3 for $15. For the centerpieces we used frames from Ikea that we already had, but again, you could pick them up at a dollar store or thrift store. We printed out pictures of the happy couple and placed one on each table. For flowers I was hoping that some of the purple flowers in my yard would be in bloom, but no luck. Instead I purchased a bouquet of flowers at my local grocery store and then trimmed them and split them into 3 jars that I had picked up at thrift stores in the last few years.
The color of the wedding is purple so I wanted to carry that into the shower. We ate off of white china, so I had to have something to break it up, white plates on white tablecloths, no! So, I found 2 purple tablecloths at the thrift store and made place mats, adding some cute stitching along the sides. My sister-in-law made the votive candles in the mini champagne glasses for everyone to take home, the napkins were from Dollar Tree and the ring on a ribbon was to play a game. She had the idea to display it on each place setting in the shape of a heart.
Banners are really in right now, so I made one. The triangles are made out of burlap that I purchase at JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon. I also purchased a stencil sheet while I was there and created this banner. I made purple flowers for each triangle to give it a little color.
Food:
I cannot believe I did not get a picture of the meal completely plated. Bu,t I will share what we made along of a few pictures I did take. We made crossiant sandwiches. Both chicken salad and a turkey/ham combo. My sister-in-law made an awesome salad and then we had fruit kabobs. You know us ladies, always trying to eat light, so we stayed with a pretty healthy lunch.
Here are the kabobs. I put them in the color wheel order and I think they are pretty :)
For dessert my sister-in-law made mini cheesecakes. Always a hit and so tasty! I also baked cookies which I placed in jars for everyone to take home with them.
Here are two pictures of the jars.
They were designed to fit around a water bottle, so they did not wrap all the way around the mason jars that I placed the cookies in, but they were hit anyway. If you would like to create your own, you can download the Powerpoint template HERE and customize them how you like.
I hope that these ideas might help you out!
Here was a completely free decoration. I had my husband decorate the chalkboard I made last summer. Sometimes you can find old chalkboards at thrift stores or you can make one like I did. A friend of mine game me the frame, including wood for free and then I bought chalkboard paint.
A few other decorating ideas:
Decorating Tables: I had 3 rectangle tables to decorate. The first thing I did was visit thrift stores for table cloths since I did not have any. I was able to purchase 3 for $15. For the centerpieces we used frames from Ikea that we already had, but again, you could pick them up at a dollar store or thrift store. We printed out pictures of the happy couple and placed one on each table. For flowers I was hoping that some of the purple flowers in my yard would be in bloom, but no luck. Instead I purchased a bouquet of flowers at my local grocery store and then trimmed them and split them into 3 jars that I had picked up at thrift stores in the last few years.
The color of the wedding is purple so I wanted to carry that into the shower. We ate off of white china, so I had to have something to break it up, white plates on white tablecloths, no! So, I found 2 purple tablecloths at the thrift store and made place mats, adding some cute stitching along the sides. My sister-in-law made the votive candles in the mini champagne glasses for everyone to take home, the napkins were from Dollar Tree and the ring on a ribbon was to play a game. She had the idea to display it on each place setting in the shape of a heart.
Banners are really in right now, so I made one. The triangles are made out of burlap that I purchase at JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon. I also purchased a stencil sheet while I was there and created this banner. I made purple flowers for each triangle to give it a little color.
Food:
I cannot believe I did not get a picture of the meal completely plated. Bu,t I will share what we made along of a few pictures I did take. We made crossiant sandwiches. Both chicken salad and a turkey/ham combo. My sister-in-law made an awesome salad and then we had fruit kabobs. You know us ladies, always trying to eat light, so we stayed with a pretty healthy lunch.
Here are the kabobs. I put them in the color wheel order and I think they are pretty :)
For dessert my sister-in-law made mini cheesecakes. Always a hit and so tasty! I also baked cookies which I placed in jars for everyone to take home with them.
Here are two pictures of the jars.
They were designed to fit around a water bottle, so they did not wrap all the way around the mason jars that I placed the cookies in, but they were hit anyway. If you would like to create your own, you can download the Powerpoint template HERE and customize them how you like.
I hope that these ideas might help you out!
Posted by Moms Fun Money. Posted In : Misc.
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