Hosting a dinner party is the perfect time to bedazzle our dining room tables, and fill them with delicious treats while catching up with friends and family over a lovely meal. Next time, steer clear of bland, lifeless table décor and think outside the box. One way to spruce up your table décor, and make your guests feel very special, is by using unique and homemade place cards.
Place Cards are a Great Way to Inject Personality
Place cards are a fun way to give your dining table a little personality. Don’t waste your money at high end stationary stores and buying custom card stock. There are plenty of great do-it-yourself place card ideas, even for a novice craftsperson. All you’ll need are some basic craft supplies (colorful paper, ribbon, scissors, etc.) and a quick stroll outdoors or to the local market.
If you really aren’t a crafty person, but you have a few old corks lying around your house from past parties or a healthy love of wine (or buy them inexpensively at a DIY wine making shop), then this is the perfect dinner party place card craft for you. Simply take the cork and hold it vertically. Take a serrated knife and cut ¼ of the cork off of the side. Take your knife and cut into the cork half way deep on the opposite side that is still round, making a thin sliver down the side. Decorate a note card or cardstock square with your guest’s name or print the name on a card using your computer, and insert the card in the sliver that you have sliced in your cork. Do this for each guest, and you will have fun personalized place cards for each invited dinner party guest. This is a great idea for a wine tasting event also.
Take a Cue from Mother Nature
An emerging trend in party décor is bringing nature indoors. Take a stroll through your neighborhood or local park, and see what you can find. You may be quick to overlook a pine cone, seedpod, or leaf, but these make great seasonal place cards. Use a metallic marker to write your guest’s name on a leaf or use a strand of ribbon to tie a note card with your guest’s name on a pussy willow branch, garden rosebud or winter pine cone.
If nature walks aren’t your thing, then pick up a few seasonal fruits while you’re doing your food shopping. Apples and pears work best. There are numerous ways to attach your guests’ names to the fruit. You can pin it with a fancy thumbtack or old stud earring, tie it to the stem with a ribbon, or slice the fruit on top and slide a name card in the sliver, either way you will have a unique, organic and inexpensive place card for your guests.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious and you’re blessed with a green thumb (or a credit card!) then why not give a gift that keeps on giving as a place card? Most local hardware stores sell small pots, soil, and seeds. You can either decorate the pot with your guest’s name or place a Popsicle stick in the pot with your guest’s name on one side, and the type of plant on the other side.
Many nurseries sell small herbal plants that you can use instead of making your own. Rosemary plants are great to use as place cards at a Christmas or winter holiday dinner party because they look like mini Christmas trees. For the posh crowd, mini silver picture frames are also nice keepsake gifts that double nicely as place cards.
Weather you’re crafty or not, one of these DIY holiday place card ideas are sure to give your dining table some character.
