Looking for a pleasant party to host? Want to celebrate the arrival of spring but at a loss for how to do it? We've got you covered! This garden party theme is an excellent way to celebrate the arrival of warmer weather, or to just have some fun with friends and family
Garden Party Theme – Your Secret Garden
Use bright colors to decorate; green, pink and lavender all would work well. Put different colored tablecloths on the tables, and use small flower pots to hold the silverware and napkins. Hang colored streamers from the tress if you're having the party outdoors; it will add to the atmosphere. Line small flower pots with fabric and fill with small, colorful candies like Skittles and M&Ms. Stick a lollipop in each pot to look like a flower.
Make a canopy over the party table with yellow and green streamers. Attach them to the chandelier or ceiling and have them float out over the chairs. Fill water cans with bunches of fresh flowers and scatter them throughout the house. Use a small baby pool to make a pond. Fill it with water, and put in plastic frogs and ducks for the kids to enjoy. Add some toy boats as well. Be sure the pond is always supervised to avoid accidents.
Buy several round, flat rocks from a craft store and paint bright red. Use a black marker to make dots all over them, creating cute ladybug decorations. If you need a way to keep the kids busy, let them dot the ladybugs!
Garden Party Theme – Garden Grub (not grubs)
Serve the food in new, clean flower pots. Make jelly sandwiches and cut them into flower shapes with a cookie cutter. Serve cut-up veggies in rows to look like a vegetable garden. Put the dip in a small tin pail or flower pot. Make flies on a log by filling celery sticks with peanut butter and sticking on some raisins or chocolate chips.
Serve lady bug treats. Cut a red apple in half. Stick chocolate chips in point-first to make spots. Serve each bug on a lettuce leaf. To go along with the cake, serve cups of dirt. Put a layer of chocolate pudding in the bottom of a clear cup, add smashed up chocolate cookies, and put gummy worms on top. Serve with mini plastic shovels bought at the craft store.
Pour drinks from new, clean watering cans. Make flower shaped sugar cookies using a cookie cutter and lots of colored sprinkles and icing. To make a flower cake, bake an 8″ round cake for the middle. For the petals, you can either bake a sheet cake and cut out petal shapes, or use Twinkies. Frost the round cake in yellow, and the Twinkies in the frosting color of your choice. Put the cake on a large cookie sheet. Draw the stem and leaves with green icing.
Additional Things to Keep in Mind
Hosting a party can be a lot of work! We want to make it as easy as possible for you, which is why we want to go over some additional things you'll want to remember. First, always have a backup plan for rain if you plan on hosting the party outdoors. Make sure you keep any items that you don't want getting ruined by the rain close to the house, so you can quickly bring them inside if need be.
Make as much food as you can in advance, to make it easier for yourself the day of the party. You'll have enough on your plate decorating and getting ready for everyone's arrival! Certain foods, like the cut-up vegetables, should be saved for day-of. Have your kids give you a hand with plating everything, assuming they're old enough to do so.
Remember that parties don't need to last forever to be great! You can either let your guests decide when they want to leave, or set a time when you want the party to end. If you do the latter, aim for a party that's 3-4 hours long. Anything longer than that, and your guests will likely want to leave prior to the conclusion of the party. If you want to keep things simple, keep the party down to 2-2.5 hours. This is especially good if you have very young children who tire quickly.