Table Decor on a Budget

This last week I was in charge of the food for a women’s event at church.

The theme of the event was preparedness and food storage – the event was called “Stockin’ Up!”  There was a great guest speaker from Arizona who shared with us her method for storing food and being prepared.

Since we were unsure how many people would attend we decided to go with a dessert bar.  We did bar cookies because those would be easy to cut into smaller pieces if we had more people than we expected.  We planned on 200 and had over 350 people there so we quickly cut all the bar cookies in half and it worked great.

For a list of the bar cookies served and the recipes go here.

Of course we had a budget to work with for the event and bar cookies are great way to stretch your budget because you can cut them big or small. 

I also came up with a few fun ways to stretch that budget with the table decor.

One of my favorite things to use on a serving table is cake plates.  Not only are they pretty but they create nice height on the table.  So using the theme of the event – food storage  and stocking up I created my own cake plates out of canned food and other items found at the dollar store!

I used a combination of clear plastic and silver serving plates from the dollar store along with some canned food I bought there.  Our color scheme for the night was green and pink so I found some canned fruit with pink, green and yellow labels – perfect!

 

Because the plates were fairly lightweight we used some duct tape to attach the plates to the cans so they didn’t topple over when people reached to get a bar cookie  – thanks to my husband and friend Jeannena for figuring all that out for me!!

 

I always like to lay out the serving table with all of its serving pieces beforehand – to make sure that it looks good and the table is well balanced.

 

Of course a centerpiece of flowers in a large can added the perfect touch!  The flowers and the pink and green ribbon came from Costco and helped tie everything together along with the pink and green sheer pieces of fabric we already had from another event.

 

I also created little place cards in my Creative Memories Storybook Creator software that sat on little stands I found at the dollar store!!  I like to know what I’m eating!

The total spent on table decor was very little and was created mainly out of things from the dollar store!

Of course the table always looks prettier when it is full of food!

 

 

What’s your best budget saving table decor ideas?

Party Planning with Albertsons

Last week I was invited to attend a blogger event put on by Albertsons.   The purpose of the event was to give people a better idea of how the store can be a resource  during the holiday season and for your party planning needs.  The focus was on showcasing fun, creative ideas that don’t require a lot of time or extra effort that Albertsons could help you with.

It was a fun evening as they shared with us how all your party planning needs can be taken care of all in one place – Albertsons!

The evening started out in the wine section.  Since I am not a wine drinker I didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention to the wine talk but I did enjoy tasting several of the “mocktails” they served us. 

 

From there we moved into the meat department and then into the floral department.

They showed some great quick and easy ways to put together a floral arrangement for your holiday table. 

 

The first one used a clear dish, fresh cranberries and a candle.

 

One great tip I learned was you can turn a tea light candle into a floating candle just by removing it from the little metal case it comes in!

The second arrangement idea they shared uses a margarita glass, chocolate kisses and a candle.  How easy is that!
 

The next station was appetizers.  We tasted some yummy things and then they showed us how to make pumpkin hummus.  I am not a fan of pumpkin but this hummus was yummy and it has half the calories of regular hummus!

 

Pumpkin Hummus

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin

2 Tbsp tahini

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine ingredients until smooth and creamy.  If hummus is too thick, you can add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency.

Spoon into serving bowl, and sprinkle with desired topping like cinnamon, red pepper or more parsley.

Next they share some quick and easy dinner ideas to make using their rotisserie chicken – chicken noodle soup, BBQ chicken pizza, and chicken lettuce wraps – yum!!

I had to leave early to go hear the high school choir sing at the Grotto so I missed the last few stations.  We were each given a fun goodie bag which included a gift card and all the things neede to make our own cranberry/candle arrangement.  Thanks Albertsons for a fun evening.

Next time you have a party to plan be sure and visit Albertsons!

Welcome!

Welcome to Your Homebased Parties – party planning from my home to yours!

I love parties!

I love to go to parties and I love to put on parties.

Over at Your Homebased Mom I have had fun sharing with you some of the parties I have done over the last few years.  The response to those posts has always been so wonderful .  I have also gotten lots of emails from people asking for help and ideas for various events and parties they are putting on so I thought – why not a blog just about parties!?

Sounded like a good idea to me and I hope you think so too!

I want Your Homebased Parties to be a place you can come to have fun and be inspired.  You will find tips and ideas for putting on your own homebased parties. If you need some extra help and direction from me with your party planning or if you just want me to plan it all for you, I can do that too!!

Would you like me to be your personal party planner?  Well, now I can!

I’d love for you to check out the Shop and Service pages in the menu bar to read more about what I have to offer.

I’d also love to hear about your parties too – if you have pictures to share from parties you’ve put on please contact me and we can feature you here on Your Homebased Parties!

I’ve been planning parties for a long time.  In fact, I put on my first dinner party at the age of 13!

My best friend Jenny and I hosted a holiday dinner for some of our friends.  Check us out!

Don’t we look so cute in our stylish matching hostess outfits!? (Ok, it wasn’t a good decade for hair!!)

The only memory I have of the menu was that we served manicotti.  We got the recipe off the side of the box.  My menu planning has gotten a little bit more sophisticated since then.  We also served a festive, holiday lime punch!

Check out the table – we even had little Santa party favors we made!!

I have put on lots of parties, big and small since this holiday dinner party.  I look forward to sharing with you and working with you to create your own special party.

So welcome to Your Homebased Parties, please take some time to look around and see what is here.  Don’t forget to visit the Party Portfolio page for lots of fun pictures.  Please take a minute to let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

If you have an event coming up you’d like help with be sure and click on the
Party Form at the top of the page to let me know what you are looking for and how I can help you!

I look forward to hearing from you!!

Party planning – from my home to yours!