Fear and Trembling: Party Decorating Design on a Dime

The Fajitas & 'Ritas gathering was a big success - we started at 4 and we finally shut it down about midnight.

I received several nice compliments about how I always throw a great party and go "all out." While the key to a successful party is the company and plenty of food and drink, I do like to add a few little extra touches. It's really not much extra work and doesn't have to cost very much, either. When I Google for party decorating ideas, most of the hits are either cheap, plastic decorations or professional-event-planner quality (read: expensive.) I thought I'd start chronicling some of the my events to share some easy, inexpensive ideas to give the impression you went the extra mile for your guests.

Okay, I know some of you are going to roll your eyes when I say I did a cactus arrangement for the dining room table. I normally make flower arrangements (which I'll share in a different post on how I do affordably). I have to admit that after I got the idea and bought the supplies, I was slightly dreading it. When I finally got around to re-potting the plants, it was pretty easy and took about 30 minutes. Materials were ~$25 (cacti from Lowes and Craigslist, clay plots from Michael's Craft store). Rounding out the tablescape were two table runners from Target and Mexican Prayer Candles from the dollar store. The table runners happened to be on clearance (2 for $1.97), but regularly priced at $4 each, they're still not a bad deal. They're reusable, too. I love Target for accessories since they work with lot of great designers.

Since the powder room would be used quite a bit, I added a cactus on the vanity as well as switching out the normal guest towels with fiesta-colored ones ($1.58/package, again on clearance.)

Since it was a small party, I was just going to set out my regular dinner forks. At the last minute, I remembered that I had disposable napkins and utensils from when I threw a Cinco de Mayo party for Jim's 30th birthday. Yes, I still had them after 5 years! It's just a simple paper napkin wrapped around a fork/knife and tied off with raffia. If I'm using disposables for a really large event, I like to go with solids for the paper goods and clear or silver for the utensils so extras can be used for other events.

Just my regular everyday dinner plates. A little confession - I really don't like the look of placemats. Alas, I'm too lazy and have no desire to iron a tablecloth, but I don't want the table damaged from my pretty heavy dinner plates. So, I use placemats and try to get ones that don't look so grandma's table. Since this was a casual buffet, I didn't set the table and just set a pile of the placemats out so that anyone who ate at the table could grab one.

These placemats are from Ikea (another great source for inexpensive accessories). They're $1.99/each and come in black, red, lime, and purple. I like the fun lime color because they can work with a variety of different themes - from a fiesta to a casual/elegant summer dinner party.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I like to use glass. I actually had enough margarita glasses I had been given as gifts over the years, but margarita glasses are something everyone probably has a set of, so if I didn't have enough I would have borrowed them. I like that they don't all match, too. It helps people keep track of their drinks, and it looks fun grouped on the table.

I also set out simple bar glasses that can be used for water, cocktails, and sodas. $9.99/dozen at Marshall's.

If it's a buffet-style party, I like to use chafing dishes to keep food warm. I bought these disposable chafing trays years ago and have used them over and over again. I buy the food pans in bulk at Costco. Costco has a much better price than party supply stores or even the dollar store.

All my everyday dishes are simple white so again, they can be used for everything. I transfer all condiments, sauces, etc. to simple white bowls.