Friday, August 24, 2007

We're going on a picnic...



Okay, well, my family isn't going on a picnic and neither am I, for that matter. I am hostessing the ladies fellowship at our church in September and I have chosen the theme of "Picnics". That sounded fine and dandy at first. It actually sounded kind of FUN even. But now... I'm lost. What kind of decorating do you do for a picnic when the picnic is going to be indoors with ladies of all ages? We can't very well sit on the floor, nor can we have any three-legged races. (HAHA!! Now that would be fun!!!)

If y'all have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share them. I did think of red-checked table cloths and purchased them already. But how else can I decorate (with a small budget, please) to make it nice for all the ladies??

I do have the guest speaker all lined up for the night. Shhh. Don't tell any of the ladies, but our beloved pastor is going to be the speaker!!! He's the most talented, most godly, most HANDSOME pastor I've ever met!! (Please see my profile in the "About Me" section on the right.)

I look forward to any help/advice y'all can give!! :)

Thank you in advance!!!

Photo found here.

18 comments:

*carrie* said...

Mrs. U,

This sounds like a fun theme!

The only idea that popped into my head was for centerpieces. You could use camping-style mugs (they're metal and have little white flecks--they're often red, blue or black) as small vases for little flowers.

Happy planning!

Anonymous said...

We did a similar theme for our daugher's wedding (http://mariaelkins.com/thewedding/). Like you, our goal was low cost and fun. Here are some of the things we did.

Think about baskets. The thrift store near us sells baskets anywhere from 39 cents to 69 cents. Line them with a variety of fabrics. Pick a single color (maybe red) but choose a wide variety of prints, which will provide continuity but also variety. Or, use a variety of white linen napkins. Use the baskets everywhere, from serving food to holding utensils and centerpieces.

Include lots of flowers, either from the garden or inexpensive carnations or fantasy tissue paper flowers. Use mason jars for vases. Tie a ribbon or raffia around the top and arrange your flowers in a loose, carefree manner.

Borrow a bunch of silk trees and cluster them to give the space an outdoor feeling.

Serve lemonade and ice tea out of large glass jars like gallon-size cookie jars. Serve all finger foods, maybe on red paper plates (I saw some that looked like watermelon - they would be cute).

Anonymous said...

Mason jars with flowers for the center pieces or they are also fun to use as drinking glasses. Tin pails are fun to decorate with - they come in all sorts of sizes. You could use the small ones to hold the napkins and utensils. We have also used pie tins for the plates.

I remember a dessert we once had that was in a flower pot - vanilla ice cream topped with oreo cookie crumbs to look like dirt and a paper flower stuck in it - too cute.

Fun theme! Enjoy

Lynn said...

Red and white check paper/plastic tablecloths. Plastic/glass pitchers filled with daisies for centerpieces.

Borrow a few picnic baskets for decorations. Maybe even fill them with flowers.

How about a red wagon with a picnic basket, thermos and a large blanket for a 'display'

I like the idea of glass pitchers of tea and lemonade.

'Ants' might be wimsically displayed somewhere?

Food could be pretty sandwiches, potatoe salad, watermelon and chocolate chip cookies or brownies.

Peggy said...

The picnic theme sounds wonderful! Everyone has given you great ideals. Wish I were your neighbor as I have several vintage picnic baskets and a vintage gallon drink thermos you could borrow. Hope you post photos! Thanks for visiting my blog

Anonymous said...

Hi Mrs. U!

That sure does sound like fun! I am thinking maybe you could sit on the floor after all. Lay out some tattered blankets around the room. And if you think it would be fun, you could get some black construction paper and cut out some good sized ants! (Yes, I'm serious. :)) Place a few on each blanket for laughs and rejoice that they aren't real!

You could serve fried chicken and potato salad and iced tea or whatever your favorite picnic beverage is from, possibly, a picnic table set up in your kitchen (if you have room). The guests could help themselves and find their own blanket space.

Alternatively, you could locate some picnic baskets, fill them with picnic food and supplies, and set one on each blanket (with an ant on top.)

Well, whatever you decide, I hope you have a good time!

JanH

Anonymous said...

Most of my ideas have already been mentioned: borrowing picnic baskets to use as centerpieces, flowers in jars or centerpieces, etc. It would be fun to find some small plastic ants to scatter around the tables!

Anonymous said...

How about some of those outdoor citronella candles to keep the "mosquitos" away?

:)

Arlene said...

Well, everything I thought of others had already mentioned. Although, you might be able to find some fake squirrels, rabbits, deer, or other animals near a grouping of silk trees.

This sounds like a lot of fun; I hope you'll post pictures!

Anonymous said...

We did a Valentine banquet with a garden theme and borrowed ivy from a lady in the church for decoration. Maybe set up a fan or two for a "breeze" :-)

Paula said...

I love the comments mentioned, from the metal camping mugs which could hold either flowers or utensils to the small baskets that could hold flowers, or you could put apples in them.

Also, the ants idea...you could find a rubber stamp of an ant and use some type of oversize paper or paper placemat, and then use black ink and stamp ants all over your paper to use as placemats.

You've got lots of wonderful ideas to choose from--please show pictures of what you end up doing.

Tammy said...

Everyone has given such great ideas! I have decorated for a fall banquet with mason jars, raffia tied around them, and a votive candle in them. This is a nice way to burn candles, because you don't have to worry about them being lit and having children around (if children will be present).

For a great source of ladies ministry ideas and themed banquets, try this site: click here

Here is the list of themed banquets:
click here

Heather said...

Well you have gotten some great advice. I would add--the Dollar stores might have some baskets. You could use them as center pieces with napkins in them. Whole fruit and vegetables or flowers from someone's gardens could fill them.

Another idea for the centerpieces could be themed paper plates (the watermelon ones would be great) with cookies/brownies etc. on them. Then the centerpieces fill a practical role.

A scrapbook store may have a die-cut of an ant that you could cut out and place around.

Have fun with it!

GiBee said...

Mrs. U -- I would use baskets full of garden flowers or plants, napkins and flatware, even put food in them. They look so country and picnic-y... you can get them at dollar stores, but I'd borrow them from friends...

You can use mason jars to put thick candles in them, or flowers in others.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I have some game ideas. Instead of leaving a large comment I posted them on my site.

Hope your picnic goes well. Would love to see pictures.

Anonymous said...

How fun to host! Mrs. U there is a special surprise for you at my blog check it out!

Chrissy

Heather Anne said...

Mrs. U

I am sure you will have a great time with this theme - it is a great idea! These ladies have given some wonderful suggestions!

You might like to ask one of the men from your church to bring a grill make individual meat loaves on the grill - they are always popular at our picnics. Open the window a bit so the ladies can smell the cooking.

I like to decorate in the ladies room for these types of events - I always hear -'they even made the bathroom pretty' and most ladies feel a bit pampered. In this case you could go with an outhouse theme and cover the doors with brown paper and make 'moon' shaped windows and tie rope handles on the stalls. You could hang fly paper from the ceiling for a true picnic feel and put out wet wipes instead of towels. A wheelbarrow with a few bright mums and some fly swatters in your centerpieces might add a nice touch too.

I wouldn't light any citronella candles since they are not meant for indoors and may cause an allergic reaction for scent sensitive guests.

Have a wonderful time and don't worry if you have a fabulous idea that you don't get to - no one will notice and you can just file it for another time!

St. John's Lutheran - Family Ministry said...

Hi Mrs. U
I too am hosting a Picnic Themed "Rally Day" event in September at our church to kick off the sunday school year. I borrowed some ideas the ladies have left here, and wanted to leave one too. To me nothing says picnic like lemonade or limeade. Bring that idea home by filling some glass vases with whole lemons and limes. Vases are inexpensive at goodwill, or can be borrowed (the more different shaped the better) and the lemons and limes can be bought in bulk from the produce section at sams or costco. To reduce cost even further, you can slice the fruit into wheels and line the inside of the containers with the wheels, filling the middle with tissue paper or news paper to keep the wheels pressed to the glass. top the wheel filled vases with raffia or whols lemons/limes.
Good luck and God Bless!

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