A few weekends ago, we hosted one of my favorite parties to date. We celebrated a roommate’s birthday with a fall cocktail party. Inspired by her travels abroad we opted for a theme inspired by crisp nights of the English countryside and a seasonal take on Spanish tapas and Sangria. It was a perfect evening with great weather, company, and food. This week I’m letting you behind the scenes, as you discover ways to throw a similar gathering on a shoestring budget (we mainly used items we had on hand and items that could be purchased through the local dollar store).
Here’s a few tips for planning the perfect fall party.
Have a plan.
Plan ahead. (When cooking for 30 this is essential.) Use pinterest and various blogs to compile ideas and create a moodboard. This will give a launching point for your party and allow for visual cohesion throughout the event and as you make purchases. This isn’t the time to find 10 new ideas and recipes to try out. Maybe try one new recipe and one new DIY. This will ease your stress and help you enjoy being the host or hostess.
Some things to think about as you execute your moodboard:
- What will be the visual impact of this element?
- Is it worth the cost or time to create?
- What are the three items that are really important to me (my non-negotibles)?
- Ask yourself, “I want my party to be __________.”
Now that you have a plan, set a budget.
We spent around $100 total on the evening. We did this through a variety of factors. We used a lot of the items we already had on hand to create a beautiful party and spent majority of the money on food and drinks. Here are a few of the things we did to help our money go the extra mile.
We used objects already in our home and on our property.
- White christmas lights are always elegant and classy.
While I love the perfect string of outdoor globe lights, we had these strands in great quantity and were the perfect price. Free! This made them the winner. To make our lights span the whole length of the patio we opted to place strings of white balloons and tissue paper flowers in between the lines of lights.
- Wooden cutting boards are the perfect serving platter.
We knew we were going for a fall, cozy, elegant vibe and had four wooden cutting boards in the house. They became the serving platters for many of our food items.
[Tip: Have some cutting boards that have seen better days? After cleaning with warm water and gentle dish soap, let dry. Then use 1 TBS of coconut oil and rub into the wood in a circular pattern. Use a clean rag to wipe off the excess oil. Viola! The wood is now back to it’s original beauty!]
- Indoor furniture always looks incredibly beautiful outside.
If you have extra furniture or know that majority of your party will be spent outside take the risk and place the furniture outside. Maybe this is your dining room table or kitchen table. It looks amazing in the grass or on the concrete patio and will be the perfect focal point to your party. We used ours as the buffet table and it was the first sight as soon as guests walked outside.
- We foraged our centerpieces.
Knowing that floral centerpieces would cost us a lot of money, I opted to do some foraging. I love foraging! Sometimes when options are limited, creativity flourishes. For the centerpieces on all of the tables we used colorful fall branches, berries, and eucalyptus that we have growing in our yard. Interspersed with branches and candles it created the perfect mood.
Pick a signature drink that can go a long way.
We opted for a spiced apple sangria for this party. It used affordable wine and had cider and club soda in it as well. This kept the cost on alcohol at a minimum. We made a few pitchers of it and it lasted the whole party. Pick a drink that can taste great using a few ingredients.
Go to the dollar store and get creative.
I absolutely love the dollar store for party items. I say this with a disclaimer. I specifically go here for items that are somewhat disposable in nature. I purchase things like string, rolls of kraft paper, candles, etc. here for far less than I would spend anywhere else.
Some questions to answer as you set your budget.
- How much do you want to spend?
- Are there some things you need to cut in order to have what is really important?
- Are there items that I can delegate to others that will ease the financial burden?
Set the tone.
We did this through playlists, lighting, and the perfect fall drink. We wanted people to feel comfortable, to want to celebrate (it was a birthday party), and to have an incredible evening. Our choices in visual elements, food, and drink all contributed to an evening that felt different than our typical firepit moments in the backyard and allowed it to feel special.
Set the menu.
We wanted to convey the idea of a few tapas with a seasonal twist. I brainstormed through some of the seasonal flavors I wanted to highlight and let that be theme for our tastebuds. I thought of all the yummy things that fall brings: squash, kale, pumpkin, apple, caramel, roasted marshmellows, and a wonderful cozy feeling that these flavors evoke.
Our menu:
- Spiced Apple Sangria
- Mulled Apple Cider
- Butternut Squash and Kale Flatbread
- Lemon and Rosemary Shrimp with Toasted Bread
- S’mores Bar
- Cara’s Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Honey Cream Chesse Frosting
For the rest of the week, I’ll be sharing all of the recipes and DIYs for this party, plus some extra goodies on Friday.
See you tomorrow!