Decorating for a Party

In our continuing blog series," Summer Entertaining," today we offer ideas on decorating for a party.

Many people are unsure of how to decorate for a party and so either do nothing or do something that it would have been better to do nothing. 

The first thing to remember is that you should do SOME decoration.  How do you make guests feel like it is an adult party and not a college frat bash? By decorating!

This is not at all difficult, and here are several ideas to get you started.

Buy two floral arrangments and set one on your buffet or dinner table and one in the entry way or in the living room (or wherever guests will gather before dinner).  If you do nothing more, this makes your party elegant but not fussy.  What colors? In summer you can't go wrong with light colors or white flowers; light colors should complement or match your home's decor, and we are fans of flowers all in one color as trying to do different colors is tricky--why complicate things?

If you don't like flowers put something else decorative with height as a centerpiece on your buffet or dining table--candles, candelabras, statues...But remember, for this to work the object must have height. It really is easier to do flowers.

If you entertain more than once a year, consider buying a tablecloth to use for your parties--A buffet or dining table with a cloth,white, ivory, or colored, always looks festive, and when the party's over just put it in the laundry hamper (if it's stained spray-treat it first and wash the next day).  So many people nowadays don't want to use tablecloths and then complain that their parties are drab! This is because your table looks the way it always does, i.e., no tablecloth, so what's festive about that? Nothing! Or try colored placemats if you absolutely don't want to use any tablecloth.  The point is to add in some color to make your eating and guest area more festive.

One of our signature touches is to add a few strands of greenery to tables and tabletop bars--Many people have something in their yards or a friend's yard that can be used like this, or you can buy some greenery at the supermarket. Recently we did a dinner party for a client and we added a strand of passionflower vines to her round tabletop bar and the client and the guests really liked it because next to the bottles of wine it looked festive but not overdone or granny-ish and set off the artwork hung on the walls.

If you're really pressed for time, use colorful plates and napkins, real or paper--This always looks festive and there's no messing with tablecloth drapings or arranging anything--just put them on your table(s) and the colors look festive.

A decorative beverage dispenser also helps your party look festive--Check out the large selection at www.classichostess.com ! Here at this site you can see how a decorative beverage dispenser can really add a nice touch to your party--that's why they're called decorative!

If you choose even just one or two of these ideas, your party will be so much more welcoming to guests and festive.

Enjoy!

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com