Throw an Easy and Elegant Valentine's Day Party

I love prepping for a party and then getting to see how it all come together in the end.  Hosting an elegant Valentine's Day Party can be really easy.  I'm sharing with you my dinner party must haves.

1.  Flowers instantly make a table feel special.  Guests will notice this extra effort.  They don't have to cost a lot either.  I used inexpensive spray roses, that can be purchased at your grocery store or local florist for about $10.  Small, low arrangements across the table give you a lot of bang for your buck.  

2.  Set the table.  I tired of buffet lines and piles of paper plates.  Let's set the table with real dishes, real cutlery and gasp...... real cloth napkins.  As a foundation, I laid a long custom table runner down the center of the table.  I made this one-of-a-kind runner at Shutterfly to go with the plates and coasters I made. (If you'd like to make a runner for yourself, you can download my design HERE.)

3.  Start with everyone's favorite - bread and butter.  When guests can munch on bread, butter and a little cheese, you can feel ok about finishing up the finally touches on the rest of the meal. When folks are eating and drinking, they are usually happy. And don't worry, there's even some good gluten free options out there.

4.  Plan a simple homemade menu. Don't over think the meal, just make a few good dishes that everyone will enjoy.  A heavy, carb loaded meal, will leave guests feeling weighed down.  I'm serving this light menu below that features a pretty salad and grilled salmon.  Guests will also appreciate that you cooked them a meal from start to finish.

Pomegranate Basil Lemonade

French Baguette, Butter, and Goat Cheese

Winter Pomegranate Salad

Grilled Salmon

Red Velvet Sundaes

5.  Have a favor for your guests. You've gone to all this effort to make your guests feel special, give them a little memento to help them remember this event. You could give each guest one of the small flower arrangements from the table or I made little packages of bath salts for everyone to take home.

DIY Rose Petal Lavender Bath Salts

2 cups of Epsom salts

a few drops of lavender oil

1/2 cup of dried rose petals

I took a small bunch of spray roses, and once they had wilted, I pulled off all the petals and allowed them to air dry for a day or two.  But, be sure to enjoy the roses for a couple days first.

In a food processor, place the salt, lavender oil and rose petals. Pulse on and off until the petals finely chopped and the oil is incorporated. 

Pour 1/2 cup in clear bags and tie with simple twine.  

Now you are set to host your on dinner party or luncheon. If you are a host or hostess with the mostest, what are your tips and tricks for throwing a party? I'd love to hear from you.

Be sure to check out Shutterfly's Design Studio for inspiration and lots of great DIYs and downloadables. This coffee table and this living wall are pretty cool. 

This post is sponsored by Shutterfly.  Thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible.

Friendsgiving Table Setting

Can you believe Halloween has come and past? Before you know it, Thanksgiving is going to be here. We are headed to my parent's for Thanksgiving week, but before we travel we are celebrating Friendsgiving here at home.  It's going to be great!  I love this casual, no fuss version of this holiday. We are going to deep fry a turkey, and make the meal super simple by having everyone bring their favorite side dish. And to keep it kid friendly and fun, there will be a root beer and cream soda bar, with all different kinds to choose from.

I'm excited to host, I love setting a table. I'm decorating with a little wheat, black and white pumpkins, some simple candle sticks and some awesome paper goods from Makr.  They have some really cute kits for setting a fabulous Thanksgiving table. I'm using the Friendsgiving set.  And how much fun is the Kids Table set? 

This kit includes:

• 1 Howdy Pilgrim Poster
• 12 ad-lib cards
• 8 can coolers
• 25 temporary tattoos
• 12 favor boxes
• 12 placemats
• 20 dinner napkins
• 12 tent cards
• 12 coasters

The illustrations and clever sayings add a fun vibe to table. I love thoughtful details and this Makr kit does all the work for me.

Hey, you don't even have to plan a game or activity, these ad-lib cards will have folks in stitches in between dinner and dessert.

Who doesn't love a fun temporary tattoo?  "I like legs" and "Dish Duty" are just a couple of the clever ones available.

Everyone can go home with a piece of pie for breakfast the next day in these adorable boxes.

I've got a special deal for Oleander + Palm readers, enter the code PALM to receive 20% off of any kit order via makr.co (code is valid through 11/11/15)

This post is sponsored by Makr, thank you for supporting the companies that make this blog possible. 

Butterfly Brunch

I love hosting parties and get-togethers.  Kids parties are the best, because I can run with a theme. But, sometimes I'm just not in the mood to have my home spotless for guests or deal with the cleanup after.  And to be honest, our house is really small, so if you have more then 5 kiddos over, it feels very crowded.  So, I decided a picnic party in the park was a great solution.  I put together a fun little Butterfly Brunch for Olivia.  Her friends met at the park and I brought the brunch and games to them. 

To make sure the all important nap time is not missed, a morning party is perfect for little ones.  I started with Munchkin's adorable Butterfly Lunch Bags and made simple decorations and treats in the butterfly theme.

No paper plates and cups needed for this party.  All the guests were served their brunch in Bento Boxes and Drink Box Carriers that I added butterfly touches to.

In each Lunch Bag I packed a french toast breakfast shaped as a butterfly, a little yogurt, fruit, and some syrup for dipping.  I cut french toast diagonally to make 4 triangles and then placed them on either side of a breakfast sausage to make the wings of the butterfly.  I also added a couple slices of strawberry for antenna. Olivia loves the little containers and compartments for keeping her food neat and organized.

No need for fancy drinks, kids LOVE anything in a pouch or box.  I gave these super handy Drink Box Carriers a little party look by adding paper butterflies.

And after you run around and play for a while, you need a snack, so I made these easy butterfly cracker and cheese bags.  I painted some small wooden clothes pins lavender.  Then, I filled a snack sized zipper bag with a handful of oyster crackers and a few cubes of cheese and divided the two treats with the clothes pin.  The crackers don't get mushy and it makes a fun butterfly shaped snack.

And here's my favorite part, there is NO cleanup.  As a party favor, send the lunch bags, bento boxes and drink box carriers home with each guest.  It's a favor your guests will actually use.  

Come back tomorrow to see the how-to's for the cute Butterfly T-shirts I made for Olivia and her little friends, a take-anywhere game I made with a towel and Munchkin's Grippy Dots, and the cute paper butterflies on the Drink Box Carriers.

This post is sponsored by Munchkin. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible. 

60s Themed Birthday Party

A couple weeks ago we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday with a 60s themed party.  My mom is the queen of entertaining and making fabulous meals for crowds.  She has a generous heart and serves her community and family all the time.  She deserved to be spoiled and honored.  We had the party on the front porch and lawn of my parent's gorgeous Northern California home.  

In the 60s tradition, I served fondue for the meal.  We had traditional Swiss and white wine fondue and a spicy bacon chipolte fondue with lots of yum veggies, breads and meat to dip.  And for dessert, there was more fondue, Chocolate and also a peanut butter fondue with homemade vanilla bean and blackberry marshmallows, brownies, cake, and and lots of fruit.

We also dressed in period clothing and did a murder mystery throughout the evening.  The characters and costumes were very entertaining.  

60 looks pretty darn good!

For the table decor, I placed air plants in hot pink sand on some simple squares of fabric that I tie dyed in green. 

Do you think these two enjoyed the chocolate fondue?

All the gorgeous paper products came for Party Pail.  This is my new favorite go-to party supply store for all the basics.  I chose Hot Magenta Pink and Emerald Green for the party palette. 

Lots of fun sodas from World Market.  I bought everything they had in green and pink.  I think I had about 15 different flavors for the guests to choose from.

Yes, this girl enjoyed herself.

Some of the crazy cast from the murder mystery.

Using green chevron treat cups from Party Pail, I made a quick and easy set of party string lights.

You will need as many treat cups as there is lights on your string.  Mine had 24.  Turn the cups over and cut an X in the middle of the cup with an x-acto knife. Then bend the pieces into the bowl.  Remove the bulb from the string and fit the base into the cup, then put the bulb back in.  So simple, but a whole bunch of festive fun.

All paper party products were provided by Paper Pail.