Wallet Friendly Tips for any Party

A couple weeks ago I was dealt one of my biggest party challenges to date.  My dad's company (well, he owns it... my husband and brother work there, so it's kind of all of ours!) was hosting its annual family day cookout celebration.  What's the big deal, right?  Well, my dad owns a heating and air conditioning company, so the cookout was slated to take place in their warehouse (think forklifts, furnaces, and other industrialish stuff everywhere) and parking lot.  Plus, decor wasn't necessarily the number one priority for this shindig, so I was told to keep it simple, but festive.  To top it off, the cookout ended up taking place during one of Virginia Beach's recent rain out weekends, so the whole thing was actually moved inside to the aforementioned warehouse.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges, I was pleased with how the party's decor turned out.  I was hesitant to share these with you because they are not necessarily the best party pics I've ever done, but they do provide some really easy, budget friendly ideas for transforming ANY party space.  So, in that vein, I've decided to share with you what I learned.
Party Tip #1: Pick a color scheme.    That may seem obvious, but when everything is color coordinated it just looks much more put together.  As you can tell from the massive company banner, this company's colors are black, yellow, and red...the perfect compliments for a cookout featuring ketchup and mustard!  So, I covered the tables in black and then let the red and yellow accents do the rest of the work.

Party Tip #2: Jazz up your tabletops.  I think covering your tables is a given, no matter what kind of party you are hosting (unless of course you have some really pretty table to show off).  From a budget standpoint, I am a big fan of the cheapo plastic ones you can get at any party supply store.  They get the job done, but I am also a big fan of jazzing them up somehow.  For this party, that just meant purchasing a simple roll of red/white gingham wrapping paper, cutting it in thirds and taping it down to create runners.  I've also used scrapbook paper (that you can kind of see here) and ribbon (seen here).  

Party Tip #3: Use that ribbon, scrapbook paper, etc. to jazz up other stuff too.  As you can tell from the above picture, I also used some gingham ribbon to wrap some simple buckets...instantly more appealing.  If you bothered to check out the other links, you may have seen my candles wrapped in scrapbook paper (and bedazzled with scrapbook embellishments).  Customizing simple objects instantly makes them look more expensive...shhh, it can be our secret how easy and affordable it really is!

Party Tip #4: Use your food as decor.  In this case, ketchup and mustard were necessities, so instead of just putting out some Heinz and French's bottles at the food table, I filled some ketchup and mustard bottles (available at any party supply store) and used them as tabletop decor.  I also filled buckets with cookout friendly chips, which proved to not only be decorative but quite popular in the snacking department.  

Party Tip #5: BALLOONS!  I mean, really, nothing says "party" quite like some balloons, right?  But they party staples are completely affordable and when color-coordinate and arranged smartly, they end up looking pretty chic as well.  I used them in small clusters at this party, and then to line the back of the dessert table (shown below with no desserts yet!), but have also used them here and here among others.

Party Tip #6: Don't be afraid to create a banner.  If you're a party aficionado like me, you've probably noticed pennant banners in just about any party picture EVER.  These things are crazy easy to create, though, and do add a little spunk to your bash.  I created mine in Microsoft Word by inserting a simple triangle shape into my document, enlarging it, filling in the background, and adding text (OK, it's a little more technical than that, but that's the basic gist!).  Best of all, it was 100% free

So, there they are...my tips for creating a moderately chic party on a minimal budget.  Anybody else have some  decorating secrets up their sleeves that they'd like to share?  I'm always on the hunt for some new ideas!