Table Decor on a Dime: Relief Society Dinner

One of our favorite ways to decorate the tables for our Relief Society dinners is with inexpensive runners.  Sometimes we buy colored plastic table cloths from the dollar store and cut them in four lengthwise strips.   This time I found some pretty brown wrapping paper (the color of the burlap runner that I liked) at the dollar store.  I unrolled the paper and used a rotary cutter and mat to cut it straight down the center.  The total cost: $5 (for 9 large tables and 2 small tables).  We put it over white table paper (not sure if that's what it's really called).  The wrapping paper was also used to make stitched envelopes for the invitations.

Keeping with the wheat theme (wheat is on the Relief Society logo and is a part of it's history), I filled mini pails with wheat to give as favors so they could go home and grow wheat grass of their own.  You can find the pails at Dollar Tree in the wedding section.  They were three for a dollar and included the white ribbon--a really good deal!   Each pail held 1/3 cup of wheat.  (You can buy the wheat at Winco in the bulk food bin section.)

The little craft bags are from JoAnns and were $1.50 for 100 bags.  These bags are a great size for favors!  I want to go back and buy more so I can have them on hand to fill with candy, add a printable topper, and then use any time I need a little treat for something.

I made the flowers with a shape from the Silhouette online store.  The three layers of petals are stapled together in the center.  I covered the staple with a circle of green vinyl (cut with my Silhouette).  The flowers are attached to the pail with blue Fun-tac.  Sticky dots would have worked really well too.

Last minute I made up some directions to hand out on how to grow the wheat grass.  If you'd like to print it, I've uploaded it to Google Docs here.  I'm in no way an expert on growing wheat grass, but this might help you get started.

As a little thank you, I filled a few of the buckets with M&M's  for the girls who helped watch the young children during our activity.  I think I'll make up more of them for Easter treats too!

For each of the tables I used Wordle to make up photo cards with each of the ladies names in our Relief Society on them as well as our theme  (Learning and Growing Together), placed them back to back, and then clipped clothespins onto them to stand them up.  This clever idea was found at  Foutch Coutch.

The cake was purchased, leaving us with one less thing to worry about making!

We served Hawaiian Haystacks, fruit kabobs, and of course the chocolate cake.  It was all delicious!  I wanted to take a picture to show you how the color of the food stood out against the colors on the table, but I didn't have the guts to whip out my camera in the middle of dinner and take a picture of my plate, I seriously thought about it though! :)  You can kind of see the bright colors in this picture.  The blank spot on the table was where the crock pots of chicken gravy were placed.

What you see in the background is the set-up for the wacky game that we made up and played called "Whose Game Is It Anyway?".  I might just tell you about that too, it was a hoot!

Here's another look at the wheat grass.  I wanted it to look natural with the daisies and had planned it all out so it would be the perfect height for the dinner (read about the practice run here), then last minute it was necessary to push the date back two days. Wheat grass can grow pretty tall in just 2 days.  With a little trimming though, I managed to keep the growth under control while maintaining a natural look.  Even though it was taller than I imagined it would be, we could still easily see over the top of it and I don't think there's such a thing as too much green.  Am I right?

By growing our own wheat grass, making the planter boxes, and shopping at dollar stores, we were able to reach our goal of creating a space where we felt like we stepped right into Spring for the night.  It was really wonderful!

Are you getting sick of hearing about wheat grass yet?  I've got a couple more ideas to share, so if your over wheat grass, hang in there, I'll be moving on to other things soon. :)

Wheat grass centerpieces, and growing wheat grass on a paper towel.

How to grow wheat grass and make a planter box from a cedar fence slat.

Today's Fabulous Find...Dollar Store Table Decor

Linking up to:  Lil' Luna  Creations By Kara