Easy & Cheap Party Decorations

Summer time is party season! The beautiful weather is just aching to have music and grill fumes fill the air. Whats great about outdoor parties is how naturally beautiful everything is, you hardly have to decorate at all. However, sometimes you just need to add a little extra to set apart your seasons big shindig from the regular warm day cook out. 

The one down side about decorating outside is that outdoor decor can be PRICEY! So here are a few  cheap ways I found to add some extra pizazz to your outdoor space while also saving your wallet.  Sometimes, simply adding a table cloth can do so much but other times we need just a bit more going on. 

One of my all time favorite ways to add that extra oomph is with balloons. But not the traditional way balloons are used for parties. I like to glue on some pretty little glitter, just enough to cover the bottom. Then when you hang them over your table you have a whimsical table scape made from nothing but balloons, glue, and glitter! C-H-E-A-P :) 

Another cheap way to add some whimsy glow is with tea lights. I simply saved up some tin cans, poked holes in them, glued on some glitter and placed my tea lights inside. Easy and cheap way to add a nice glow to any table. Fresh flowers and bright foods are amazing to add pops of color too. Thankfully the summer provides lots of natural elements, these daisies and dandelions I picked from the yard, the plates I got from the Dollar Store and well then there is awesome that fabulously fresh fruit! 

Errbody is happy when you can get a pretty and simple table scape :) This pretty girl came over expecting a easy birthday BBQ but luckily I got a little sneaky and added in some pizzaz to her day with all these decor ideas. 

For the food table it's always a plus to display your tasty goodies on pretty platters. And as often as I try and use my beautiful "real" serving pieces sometimes you need something a bit more durable than ceramics. When you need that less valuable piece but still want the pretty look hit up the dollar store for the plastic pieces. For this brownie tray and cake platter I picked up 2 faux silver platters and a set of plastic faux crystal bowls. Then I simply glued the bowls upside down to the bottom of the platter creating a simple, cheap, and pretty serving piece.

I just love outdoor get togethers, and love, even more, being able to make my parties special with out emptying out my wallet! How do you guys prepare for a summer get together?