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DIY Tropical Party Decoration Centerpiece

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If you’re planning a winter luau party, or you’re getting ready for a pool side gathering next summer, I have an easy tropical party decoration or centerpiece to share with you today. All you need is some fruit, palm  or fern leaves, and some glass jars and you can make a spectacular tropical center piece for your next party or event. Check it out.

This would work great for weddings, prom, a birthday party, or even a baby or bridal shower. I can see this outside on a table by the pool in the summer. Here are the simple instructions to make your own.

Flowers and Citrus Vases

Simply place oranges, limes, or lemons in rectangle, or round clear glass vases. Fill the vase almost to the top with whole fruits, then add fresh water to surround the fruits. Add a few large colorful tropical blooms to the mix for a very bold and beautiful tropical centerpiece or table decoration.

Pineapple Palm Trees

Cut the bottoms out of, or completely core 5 pineapples, then stack them one on top of the other. Insert large palm or fern leaves into the top pineapple to make them look like palm trees.

Have fun!

Low Cost Party Planning and Decorating Ideas

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If you’re like me, you’ve been watching your nickels and dimes a little closer lately. Even if you don’t have a big budget, you can still have a great party, you just have to do more yourself, and start planning early so you can watch for bargains.

If you have a birthday party, shower, graduation, or holiday party coming up, but you don’t want to spend a fortune here are a few tips.

  • Check out the local dollar store, or the dollar section of stores like Target. You can often find tons of really cute party favor ideas, favor bags, and supplies to make centerpieces and decorations for a fraction of the cost of supermarkets.
  • Keep it simple. If you’re planning a themed party like Justin Bieber, everything at the party doesn’t have to be that theme, with licensed merchandise. Use another sub-theme, like music (decorate with cardboard cutout music notes, or decorate cardboard cutout guitars), or use stars and glitter decorations. You can use a solid col color for your plates and napkins, since they’ll be disposed of after using. Better yet, use plates that can be reused or recycled. The children will still get the idea, and your party will cost less.
  • Make your own decorations and centerpieces for the party. You can usually purchase the things you need for way less than you can purchase pre-made table decorations. Even if you’re not crafty you can make some simple decorations and table centerpieces for your party.
  • Check out eBay, it’s one of my favorite resources for unique party items that don’t cost a fortune.

If you planned a party recently on a budget, please feel free to share how you cut costs and still planned a great celebration.

Snack Mix For Your Fall Harvest Party

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It’s super fun to incorporate some of your favorite fall flavors into a quick and easy snack mix for your fall or Halloween party. Just throw this easy snack mix together into a large bowl, and set it out for your guests to enjoy. Here’s the recipe I like to use for a simple harvest or Halloween party snack mix.

Fall Harvest Snack Mix

Mix together:

  • 5 cups of Chocolate Chex(tm) Cereal
  • 1 bag Brachs(tm) Autumn Mix
  • 2 cups of lightly salted peanuts

You can also spread this mixture out on a cookie sheet, or waxed paper, and drizzle it with melted chocolate, or white chocolate. Let it cool, then break it apart.

Yum, I love sweet and salty snack mixes.

Check out more kid’s: Halloween Party Ideas

Using Gourds For Fall Party Decorating

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Today I have some fun ideas for you using one of my favorite (and low cost) fall decorating materials~ gourds. I love using gourds to decorate in the fall, and they make fabulous party decorations and centerpieces. You can use gourds several ways, either by themselves with other fall favorites.

Gourds are inexpensive, and come in a large variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. I think that’s why they’re so versatile for fall decorating.


Here are some ideas you can use to make simple party decorations featuring gourds:

  • Scatter them around the center of your tables, with a few miniature pumpkins and colorful fall leaves.
  • Put them in a basket together.
  • Paint faces on them, and make them fun for a kid’s party.
  • Place them around the base of potted mums.
  • Add them to a cornucopia.
  • Dry them and cut them out to use as serving bowls.
  • Mix fall flowers in with them for even more color and variety.

Gourds are so versatile, and since they’re also very affordable, especially if you grow your own.

Painted Pumpkins For Fall and Halloween Party Decorations

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Decorating a pumpkin doesn’t have to involve a sharp knife. We haven’t carved a pumpkin for several years at our house. We paint them!  Painted pumpkins will last longer than carved pumpkins do, and you can get very creative with paint. Here are some cute and fun painted pumpkins for inspiration.

You can use any acrylic paint, and top it with a coat of polyurethane to give the pumpkin a shiny finish.

Image via flickr

Dress them up like your favorite character, better yet make a pumpkin look alike for everyone in your family.

Here are some painted and carved pumpkins.

Image via boliyou flickr

Any of these would make wonderful Halloween party decorations, or a wonderful addition to your fall outdoor decorations.

Cut Some Fresh Flowers For Your Summer Party Decorations

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Fresh spring an summer flowers make fabulous table centerpieces, and decorations for your outdoor or indoor party. Just walk out in your garden and clip a handful of your favorite blooms, and arrange them in a vase.

A couple more quick flower arranging tips:

1. Use the freshest flowers possible.

2. Clip your flowers early in the morning, late in the evening, or just after a light rain. The flowers will be holding more moisture at these times. The extra moisture will keep them fresh longer.

3. Carry a pitcher of warm water with you as you clip, and put your flowers in it as soon as you cut them. This helps keep the stems open, and helps the plant continue to take up moisture.

4. You can use almost any flower in your arrangements. If you’ve got enough flowers, you might want to do a practice run ahead of time to make sure the flowers you pick will hold up, and to check out what looks good together.

5. Even tiny flowers can be used in small vases, or glass jars to make a cute table display.

You can’t go wrong with cut flowers for a summer party centerpiece. It’s really hard to make a floral arrangement look bad if you include an assortment of different flowers, and plenty of greenery! Just have fun with it!