Hello. I'm Michelle from Michelle Lea Designs. Just a Southern girl and military wife who loves to blog about photography, organizing, parties, crafts, and the crazy life adventures of our family of 5! I enjoy the connections I make in blog world, so please stop by and say hi!
Now the good stuff! The decorations, food, and crafts/games to make your party fabulous! You will even find a cute 4x6 menu printable for you to download.
Decorations
You can go so overboard with decorations.... but we are keeping it simple with a food table and your dining table. Depending on your crafts and games, you may want to include a craft table also.
For our food table, I used a roll of kraft paper as my table covering. These rolls are around $5. I attached the paper with clear shipping tape on the underside. Next, I measured and cut a piece to go around the front and sides of the table, slicing it down the middle so it only went half way down the legs. Then, for a little added depth, I freehand cut a scallop edge on the paper.
I pulled together items from around the house for decorating the table top. I love how it turned out, so simple and meaningful for our family.
I like to do odd number groupings. In the left corner, I used two vintage Ball jars that my Dad gave me a few years ago. I gathered twigs from the back yard and made a rustic arrangement in the largest Ball jar. I finished off the grouping with a small pumpkin.
Typically, I would use plastic utensils for easy clean-up... but this mint container called for silverware. I found this beautiful little crock at target on clearance... which makes it even better :)
I added in a piece of orange chevron fabric. Adding layers of pattern and textures will add dimension without overloading the table with numerous items.
I balanced the right side of the table with a grouping at a similar height to the twig grouping on the left. A frame with pretty tissue paper medallions hung carefully with twine highlighted a measuring wheel, framed menu, and a Ball jar filled with coordinating fall color blooms. This is so simple, but it works and looked stunning in the evening light of the back porch.
. . . and finally the dining table. I left it simple by using the second half of the paper from the food table skirt as a runner on the dining table and preparing another Ball jar flower arrangement. Paper plates, Mason jars, and striped paper straws rounded out the party's flatware. You could add in layers of pumpkins, candles, and fabric as well if you have the motivation. Let's just say that this mom of a newborn, 7 and 11 year old ran out of steam!
Food
The options for food are endless... so I'll just tell you what we did for this party. It was our 1 month old's baptism. Since we have a one month old at home, we went simple... serving items that most people would like and could work for gluten allergies of some attendees.
Appetizers
mom's famous guacamole (pampered chef recipe)
cheese & crackers plate
Main course
dad's famous carnitas meat (this was discovered during a late night feeding of the little man while watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives)
salad
rice
corn
black beans
salsa, sour cream and taco shells to round off the taco options
Dessert
fall cupcakes
Williams Sonoma pumpkin bread
click the photo below to download your menu printable. You can write your menu items straight on your print or add a text box to the jpg file in a photo or page layout program.
Crafts & Games
Ohh . . . what fun you can have in the fall with crafts and games. The weather is cooler and you can play outside without dying from a heat stroke in most of the US!
Now, we didn't do these at my newborn's baptism, but we did do them during a fall birthday party. My favorite fall games are carnival style games... they work great for all ages (even the adults!)
- Bobbing for apples. Make sure it is a soft apple that you can get your teeth into
- Ring toss. The rings that I used are curtain rings from Wal-mart.
- Sack races. All you need are sacs and a finish line... and a wife who will challenge her husband to a race and it is on! Just don't knock over your child to win... it looks bad ;)
You can come up with so many carnival games that are simple to re-create and so much fun!
Fall crafts are a blast. Here are a few for you to try:
- Pumpkin decorating. Ideas for decoration include: washi tape, markers, paint, ribbon.
- Decorate your own Halloween/fall gingerbread house (this could even be it's own party theme)
- Decorate your own trick or treat tote bag
- Decorate cookies or cupcakes
The final must for any party is a photo wall... complete with mustaches, smiley faces, glasses and crazy masks. Set up a few seats along a great backdrop wall that will make your subject pop in the photos. You can also use fabric if you don't have a great wall. I used a paper bunting and some tissue flowers hanging down for added depth. You could also add some fall mums or your favorite Halloween decorations.
These photos will also make a great favor for party attendees. Just stick in a photo print of them being silly with your thank you... or, even better, print them before they leave the party on your home computer.
I hope that you found some inspiration for your next fall party. Remember to stop and enjoy the beauty of fall where you live and stop by Michelle Lea Designs to check out the next creative idea that pops into my head!
