Instead of purchasing expensive serving dishes for every holiday, place a cloth napkin over an everyday plate. You can place the plate on a cake stand for a little extra presentation. If serving foods that may stain, line with a small piece of wax paper.
If you need to purchase napkins for this tip (on sale of course) remember red works for the most holidays: Christmas, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, etc.
By Jenifer M. from New Haven, CT
This page contains the following solutions.
When you want to make a nice appetizer, present it in a martini or margarita glass. I made southern spicy shrimp over grits. Lovely presentation.
To dress up your chips and dips tray for your next party or get together, instead of serving your dip in a dish, use a red or green bell pepper. Cut off the top 1/4, take out the seeds and membrane.
Would you love to throw a party, but you don't have enough nice serving dishes? Well here are a couple of low cost ideas.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am planning an 80th birthday party in May for my mother. We have decided to serve punch, but nobody owns a punch bowl and we don't want to purchase one just for this occasion. Does anyone have any alternative ideas we can use for a punch bowl? Also we are searching for ideas to make this party special- any ideas would be welcomed. Thanks!
Hello!:) I was at a party at a friend's house not too long ago....she did not have a punch bowl, either, but had a cute idea! She carved out a watermelon to look like a basket and put her punch inside of the shell with some melon balls floating in it.
You could use a low bowl with a wide bottom turned upside down and place a lovely crystal bowl on top of it for the punch bowl. If the bottom bowl is not so lovely, cover it with a cloth napkin and ruffle it up a bit around the edges or place some greenery from your yard around the base on top of the covered bowl. Do consider going to your local thrift shop though as they more often than not have punch bowls. You could also consider a plastic crystal bowl from your local upscale supermarket. However, if you asked a few of your church, club or womens' group friends, I bet you would find one you could borrow in pretty short order! One rather inexpensive idea for decor is to place a paper gift bag in the middle of each each table, tie a few balloons around a weight of some sort and place in the bag. Finish off with tissue paper coming out the top. It is cute and colorful. Hope you will have loads of fun!! Mitzi
What a great idea Ashley. I may just give that a try.
I will certainly keep it in mind for parties this summer. Thanks
Hi!
I have a few ideas.
1. Email all of your friends, neighbors and relatives asking if anyone has a punch bowl you can borrow.
2. The watermelon, as described above.
How about glass fruit bowls or salad bowls? You can also buy nice "fancy" bowls at the dollar stores.
For glasses you can buy some nice plastic wine glasses or similar at dollar stores.
You could use an large bowl for a punch bowl. Depending on how many people you could use a large pan or a small metal garbage can, a large planter. These items could be covered in fun fabric -wall paper or crepe paper. One thing we did for my aunt was send a form or pretty notebook paper with each invitation and ask the person to write their favorite memory of our aunt. We put all the responses in a predecorated notebook. We took a picture of the person that wrote the memory and then put the picture with the memory they wrote in the notebook. This would provide lots of good memories for you and your mother to share.
You could use assorted glass pitchers instead of bowls. Arrange them in a circle with spouts pointing in and have a small posy style bouquet in a glass vase in the center.
I would have to concur with the offer of salad bowl(s) to help you our so you don't have to spend the money on a punch bowl. All you need is a large container with a soup ladel and some pretty things floating in the liquid...flowers, ice cubes, melon balls, etc.
Joanne,
If you have a trifle dish or a cake dish with a pedastal, you can turn it upside down -and on the pedastal place a larger, deep bowl on it, or the cake cover. It is hard to visualize, I am sure.
How about using pretty pitchers, or a gallon "iced tea" jug.
Have friends and family write a letter or note on how they know your mother, maybe include a story or memory about her. Have them send the letter to you. Since you have more than a month, you should have time to copy and gather the letters and notes into one notebook or scrapbook. She'll enjoy reading the letters and notes from all her friends and family. Be sure to have everyone keep this a secret - it will add to the giving.
An alternative punch bowl sort of depends on how formal your party for your Mom will be. Put out the word among friends that you'd like to borrow a punch bowl, to begin with!
However, even something like a large aluminum mixing bowl will do in a pinch, as will a large (preferably glass) water pitcher (which you'll have to repeated refill).
Wish your Mom a happy 80th...I'm 80 too!
Ah the options... One idea might be if you have one of those large glazed terra cotta flower pots. As long as it's galzed it should be fine to use a a pretty spring punch bowel. Just tie some pretty ribbons around the rim and pop in a spring colored plastic laddle OR your cooking laddle will do also. Then just float some pretty little floweers or colored ice cubes on top of the punch.
Another idea... Cookie Jars.. yup gather up any spring or cute theme cookie jars, ask your friends to do the same. Get pretty plastic colored laddles from your local party supply store and use those. Place all your filled cookie jars in the center of a decorated table. It will make an unsual centerpiece and a great conversation piece as well.
Last idea is to take your largest cooking pot, cover the outside with pretty spring like wrapping paper, then cover the wrapping paper with saran wrap to protect the paper. Then use y our own cooking ladle or one of those plastic ones from a party supply outlet store. Hope one of those ideas help to inspire you. Have a happy party!!
We have a local party store, that "rents" out fancy punch bowls very affordably. I was surprised at their prices, and how nice the punch bowls were. Our store even carries different sizes, and colors. I found other things they rent out too, like candlebras, and all sorts of party theme things...check it out, we loved it....
glinda
You can buy inexpensive ones at Smart & Final - &/or you could borrow one from your church or that of a friend - they always have punch bowls!!!
You could use a new, clean galvanized bucket...like the old time water buckets with the metal ladle we used to drink out of. That would fit into an old-time picnic theme. You could have checkered table clothes and fried chicken, potato salad, watermelon, etc. Good luck.
If you are a Longaberger Basket collector you could use a large basket--also you could give a basket and have anyone attending sign the basket for her. YOu could write on the bottom the date and the event. It's also recommended for bridal showers or weddings. If you need me to help you find a consultant let me know.
You know you can just have a jug of the punch and if anyone wants some, they'll pour themselves some in a cup or class! Your welcome! :-)
Using something theme related is always fun. For a baby shower for instance, we used the baby bath as the punch bowl with floating ducks (the kind that light up are even better).
You can get one at party city for $9.99 or you can check out your thrift store, garage sales, or better yet. at the rental wedding stores you can rent one. They normally have all different sizes. Good luck and GOD BLESS.
Things I've decorated and used as replacements:
an enamelware canner
a pressure cooker
a stock pot
a dutch over
a large serving bowl
a new bucket
large tupperware containers
For the ladle I have used a kitchen ladle that I use for soup. For my daughter's wedding we are using pint sized canning jars as glasses so you could go with a theme of the canner and the canning jars.
I would use a bucket ,for the punch bowl, old jars for glasses,serve things like she would have grown up with think that would be fun for her maybe some music that they listen to just a thought
