• Mini bouquets

When your garden is in bloom, cut small bouquets and arrange them in empty jam jars or glass water bottles. If you have a long table, line them up in the centre for a table decoration that’s colourful and cheery.

  • Colour coordinates your vases

Add another dimension to floral arrangements with a dash of colour. A few drops of food colouring in the water of a clear glass vase can add extra interest to an arrangement.

  • Can it

Many products these days come in beautifully decorated cans and containers. Once you’ve consumed the contents, use the cans to create a centrepiece. Set small, leafy green plants of different heights in three cans and arrange the colourful planters in the centre of the table.

  • The sit-down test

Before guests arrive, make sure that your centrepiece isn’t so tall that it will block their line of vision: place your centrepiece in the middle of the table, pull out a chair and take a seat. If the tallest flowers or other decorative items are taller than face height, shorten them so that guests will be able to make eye contact.

  • You’ve been framed!

Use small picture frames (matched or unmatched) as place card holders. If you have lovely handwriting, write each guest’s name on a piece of good-quality paper cut to fit the frame or simply choose an attractive computer font and print out your guests’ names. Slide each ‘card’ into its frame.

  • Mix and (mis)match?

When good friends are coming over for a dinner party, make things more interesting and unexpected by varying the place settings — a brightly coloured plate here, a rose-patterned fine china plate there. The result is not only eclectic, but also a great conversation starter.

  • Use the family silver

Gone are the days when silver was taken out only on special occasions; use it for everyday casual dinner parties as a reminder of life’s small luxuries. Don’t worry if it’s tarnished … it will lend the table a bit of retro character!

Credit : Reader’s Digest

Picture Credit : Google