Frugal, fast, and festive! - Table coverings and other random party ideas

Do you want to protect your table tops during parties at work or home on the cheap?  You could use thin plastic table coverings from the dollar store.  Or, grab a roll of gift wrapping (readily available on this wall) and quickly cover multiple areas like I do.

Coffee table treats in the living room with clear solo cups for guests to make their own snack mix for mingling.

Use 'donut' loops of painters tape (for delicate surfaces) to secure the gift wrap to your furniture please.  This makes clean up a snap and ensures you don't damage anything (or wreck your nails scrapping scotch tape off your tables).

I found the red and white diagonally striped paper at walmart for $2.50 this season (extending our minty theme).  I covered the tops of several surfaces (dining room table, foyer table, coffee table, entertainment cabinet, buffet, card table, and sideboards) in minutes and still had plenty of paper left to wrap gifts.

Use a wide roll and you can cover your whole dining room table with just one piece.  I wish I had another photo when this table was jam packed with food and the paper was less obnoxious...

You can cover odd shapes by tucking the paper under like I did on our curvy foyer table.

The paper also helped guests find areas with items meant for them; like this picnic basket of party supplies on our cubby-shelving half wall between the dining room and kitchen.  Side note: The bowl with the towel in it was later moved and filled with baked potatoes for our 'make your own' baked potato bar (included fresh chives, sour cream, butter, shredded cheddar, real bacon pieces, chili, etc).

Need something easy and frugal for a group breakfast or brunch?  I didn't get a photo but we setup a 'make your own' yogurt parfait bar on our buffet.  Offer a few types of yogurt (available in large tubs), strawberries, blueberries, sliced bananas, a dozen labeled varieties of granola (we bought about 1/2 cup of each from Whole Foods bulk area - be nice to your cashier!) and there are endless combinations for guests.  These stemmed clear plastic water glasses from Dollar Tree (5 for $1) are the perfect parfait size.

photo source

Ok, now back to the gift wrapping for a minute...  You could also cover tables with gift wrap to add custom decor for birthday parties, baby showers, wedding showers, and more.  For a spring fling at work, I used two rolls of solid yellow and two rolls of Gerber daisy printed paper (all from dollar store) to cover eight standard conference tables.  Then, we scattered several  (50?) flower and veggie seed packets all over the tables; cute conversation starters and useful party favors.  :)

Click here to see some of the parties we'll be mingling at this week.