backyard dinner party Archives - Home With Holly J

Fourth of July Party Tablescape Ideas

Holly Jolley — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 17:35:54 +0000

Sharing all my Fourth of July Party Tablescape Ideas here. Get all the sources, recipes and how to make a stars and stripes flag cake.
Fourth of July Party Tablescape Ideas
Hosting a Fourth of July or Patriotic Gathering
The Menu
The Table Decorations
Serving Pieces
Stars and Stripes Cake
Pin For Later
Shop the Look

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Fourth of July Party Tablescape Ideas

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday besides Christmas. I absolutely love decorating with red, white, and blue and celebrating with friends and family. I’m sharing my Fourth of July Party Tablescape Ideas and all the details of how I set it all up.

I actually set up and photographed two different versions of this table because I was asked to be on a local TV station to share my scones and honey butter recipe and a patriotic tablescape. We taped the show three weeks before so I had to create it twice! I’m sharing all the photos of both set ups so you can see a few different variations here.

Me with Amanda Jones, the co-host of The Place on Fox 13 SLC, Utah.

I am very patriotic and my country means a great deal to me. I have always had this love of country and I think it’s only grown stronger as the years have gone by and after being a military family. I’m proud to be an American and will always honor my flag and country. I am grateful for those that have sacrificed their lives for my freedom. I take that to heart. I am also grateful for those men, women, and families that are serving our country now.

The first version of this tablescape that I set up for the TV segment on Fox 13 The Place in SLC, Utah.

My Grandmas Jolley’s Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie. Recipe linked below.

Some of my Favorite Items I used for this tablescape.

I’ll link the sources at the bottom of the post.

Hosting a Fourth of July or Patriotic Gathering

When hosting a Fourth of July party I like to set up a tablescape that has some fun decorations as well as all the yummy food I’m going to serve. Since this was a backyard party, I set up the tablescape with all the food and drink indoors because we don’ have any shaded areas in our backyard.

The second version of this tablescape and all the food that I prepared for our Fourth of July celebration.

The Menu

Barbecuing is a tradition in our house on the Fourth of July and my husband and sons all like to use the grill and smoker. I plan the side dishes around the meats we are barbecuing. I’ll try to share some of these recipes soon! I’ve linked the ones I have shared already.

Baby Back and St. Louis Style Ribs

My Favorite Baked Bean Recipe

Watermelon (cut into star shapes)

Potato Chips

Stars and Stripes Cake

Chocolate Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

Mason Jar Strawberry Trifles

Starwberry Cream Cheese Pie

Scones and Honey Butter

Bottled Shirley Temple Sodas

Lemon Water

The Table Decorations

When setting a food and dessert table I always have a focal point using a centerpiece with some type of decoration. In this table the focal point was the centerpiece I made using a galvinized tin can filled with faux peonies, blueberries, and sage greenery. To add a touch of red, white, and blue, I added a few flags into the centerpiece and set it on top of an old vintage crate at the far end of the table.

I like using different things like crates and cake stands to add different heights when displaying decorations and the food.

I used a rustic wood flag sign in the center of the table to set other items on. This was a great way to add some color to the middle section of the table and incorporate another flag into the decor.

The wood flag sign has wood supports on the underside which worked even better because the sign set up off the table an inch or so. If you have a flag sign you want to use for this on your table, just put some wood or something underneath it to lift it up a bit. This will make it look a little nicer. In these photos you can see the supports under the flag.

I set the drinks in an rustic red tray with star cut outs and the straws in a Rae Dunn mug that said military mom. I’m the proud mom of a US Marine, an airman in the US Airforce and I was an army wife for six years.

I also found some cute little signs on etsy and in some local shops that you can see here.

Serving Pieces

Get creative with your serving pieces and ways to display your food. Some of my favorite items are my polish pottery serving dishes that I collected years ago when my husband was serving in the US Army. Many of the army wives collected polish pottery and I certainly did my share of collecting. If you want to find this pattern google Polish Pottery Stars Pattern and you’ll find some things online. One of my favorite pieces is this big rectangular baking dish that I made my Stars and Stripes cake in.

I used all my red, white, and blue dishes and checkered napkins and set them in different parts of the table. They are useful parts of the decor!

Stars and Stripes Cake

This cake was really easy to make believe it or not. I’ll be sharing the recipe soon so check back for it or check the desserts section under the recipe tab. I’ll link it here when I’ve added it to this post.

I just sort of made this up and crossed my finger it would turn out. I used a white cake and baked the cakes in sheet cake pans so they were thin. I took one layer and set it inside the polish pottery star baking dish then added a layer of cream cheese filling then another layer of cake. I then did a light layer of butter cream frosting on top and then piped the Stars and Stripes intermixed with the fruit to create the flag. This is a rustic cake and not meant to look perfect. It tasted yummy too!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the details of my patriotic Fourth of July Tablescape. I always look forward to this holiday. Happy Fourth of July and God Bless America!

Happy Independence Day!

Sources are linked below!

XOXO,

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Polish Pottery Sources –

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Simple Lavender Inspired Centerpiece

Holly Jolley — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 12:00:53 +0000

Create a Simple Lavender Inspired Centerpiece

I love entertaining and there is nothing better than a warm summer night in the Pacific Northwest and having my girlfriends over for an outdoor dinner party. I created this simple lavender inspired centerpiece for a dinner party I hosted in my backyard a few weeks back.

For this dinner party, we were celebrating my sweet friend Gina’s birthday. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare so I kept this one simple and sweet. One way to keep it simple is to create a centerpiece out of potted plants that you can purchase at a grocery store.

Choose a Theme or Color Palette

I always choose a theme or pick a color palette based on something I see that inspires me. When I was planning this party, I had gone to Trader Joe’s to see what flowers they had and to shop for ingredients for the food I was planning to make. As soon as I saw these potted lavender plants and the smaller flowering plants in purple and lavender containers, I knew what my theme was going to be. Fresh, locally sourced lavender plants along with some smaller purple and white flowering plants in varying shades were the perfect pairing.

Faux lavender stem options: 14″ Lavender Garden Bush // 15.5″ Lavender Bundle // 18″ Lavender Bush //

I like to choose my color and then I vary the shades of that color, usually using 3 different shades. This also adds depth and character to any tablescape. Here I chose the color lavender for the centerpiece inspiration and then I’ve varied the shades of lavender and purple throughout.

Create Different Heights and Layers

When creating a centerpiece, you want something that is lower to the table so you can see your guests and converse during dinner. I chose two of the taller lavender plants to create some height and then I used the smaller containers of flowers to fill in-between the larger containers.

To add layers into the centerpiece, I added in some rustic candlesticks and some votive candles that were wrapped in burlap. This adds texture and variety to the centerpiece as well as fills in some of the gaps and holes. I also used a long, sheer, ivory colored table runner and I layered everything on top of.

Using a table runner is not required but it adds another layer of color and texture and helps fill up the middle of the table. I always use a corresponding color in the palette I’ve chosen for the table runner. The dinnerware has some cream or ivory shades and it ties in with the dinnerware.

The Place-settings – Lavender and Green

For the place-settings, I chose wicker placemats and wooden napkin rings that matched well with the brownish colors in the dinnerware. I used silver flatware and a solid green napkin that matched the salad plate. I like to stack different plates in different shades and match the napkin to the stack of dishes.

You can see in the dish stack that I also varied the shades of green I used. I did this in the centerpiece and in the dishes and tied them all together with some warmer rustic elements.

I picked the wine I was serving based on the color of the wine bottles. The wine bottles had purple labels so of course, those were the picks for the dinner party! I may be the only person that picks wine based on what the label looks like! My friends all liked the wine so I think it worked out!

I hope this simple lavender inspired centerpiece inspires you to host your own dinner party with your besties! One of the reasons I enjoy hosting these dinner parties is that it creates connections and memories. Life is too short to not connect with the people you care about and I enjoy taking the time to create something warm and inviting for my friends who lift and inspire me each day.

You don’t have to be a professional floral arranger or have any experience with flowers. This is something everyone can do. Just pick a theme or color palette and make a simple centerpiece out of store bought flower pots and be creative! Most importantly, take time to gather and cherish the moments with good friends and good food!

P.S. At the end of the evening, I sent each of the girls home with one of the smaller potted plants as as a little token of my appreciation for their friendship. Your centerpiece can also become a little gift!