Do leave plenty of time to make decorations for your celebration party. Remember that every last detail, from the venue itself right down to the drinks is a potential styling opportunity. None of it has to be expensive. As with styling your home, you can achieve a wonderful look for your celebration with a combination of second-hand shopping and home crafting.
Gather together all your scraps of fabric and make lovely vintage bunting and garlands to hang all around – you can never have too many. Add appliqué to each flag or, even better, monogram each one with embroidered initials – if you have the time. You could also embellish bunting flags with ribbon tassels or small bells that will jingle in the breeze when hung outside.
Garlands too can be handmade from just about anything – paper, fabric, leaves, flowers, ribbon, paper dollies, crochet flowers, glass baubles hung up with string… the list goes on. Paper decorations can be handmade very cheaply and easily.
To make tassel chains, for example, cut lots of thin strips of tissue paper or paper napkins in different designs and colours, stuck them in bundles and fold bundles over a length of rope at regular intervals. Grasp both halves of each bundle under the rope and twist the first 5 cm together. Paste the twist with PVA glue, put a peg just below the glued part and leave to dry. Remove the pegs before you hang up the chain. The result is really simple but beautifully effective.
Handmade wooden signs add a marvellous decorative touch, and it doesn’t take a carpenter to make them. Just paint your message on pieces of driftwood or any reclaimed wood (piece of railway sleepers, old pallets or wooden fence), or, if you are feeling bold, use a soldering iron to char it onto a surface. Alternatively, collect shells from the beach and glue them onto driftwood as simple decorations.
An interesting option is to set up a message board for your guests – let them be creative and leave a short message for you. You can leave it on display days after the party as a reminder of the great time with your family and friends.
