Food

To be honest, I care way more about the decor and games than I do about the food – there I said it! I want get togethers/parties to be fun but I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I love the process of decorating and creating the perfect setup with fun details.

For most parties, I make a trip to Sams Club for the food. They have so many ready made options that are so good, so I don’t feel guilty about not cooking homemade recipes.

The List

Here are the items I grabbed! I added details to all the store bought things to make them extra. I’m always a little extra!

• guacamole (ready made)
• tortilla chips
• mini quiches
• crossiant dough
• lil smokies
• cake
• gatorade
• plates
• plastic forks
• nutter butter cookies
• pudding cups
• white chocolate melts

Presentation

So I took all this food and added my own spin on it all to make it football themed. Presentation is everything!

Guacamole

I poured the gaucamole in a rectangle pan, added sour cream yard lines, and tomotaoes for the footfall players. The crowd surrounding the field was tortilla chips!

Drinks

Gatorade is a fav here so I grabbed that, added black & white striped wrapping paper and a whistle to look like referees!

Savory Food

The mini quiches from Sams Club are my go to party food so I jusat added little footabll themed cupckaes toppers (from Party City). I made little kolaches that you can add mustard or ketchup laces to make look like footballs.

Sweets

I bought a football cake from Sams Club THE END! Chocolate pudding cups with painted laces are another fun addition. Nutter butter cookies are a fav, so I just added white chocolate, black icing, and candy eyes to make them look like mini refs!

Decor

The food was mainly the decor but I did add a few extra things to make it all mesh! I added more of the striped wrapping paper to the table as a runner. I then added black crfat paper on top of that. I grabbed little faux grass squares from Amazon to look like turf and add to the ambiance The little plastic field goal from Party City was a cute addition as well as the cute wooden foorball banner from Hobby Lobby.

Why not create some printables for the drinks and napkins to tie the football theme together? I just bought red and yellow napkins for the “flags” and added the drink lable to the field goal with the referee drinks!

Games

We always play cornhole, but I made up a cute (free) game with balloons – called HUT HUT HIKE! Set a timer for 1 minute and see how many balloons you can “hike” into the basket. I modified it for younger ages and just had them throw it in. The ballons kind of go wherever they want!

Here’s a link to how the game looks in person:

https://youtube.com/shorts/K34RV0ymUn8

Hope this helps give you some ideas to take your next tailgate/football party to the next level. Food made fabulous by just adding details! Happy Fall Y’all!

The post Football Tailgate Party appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Materials

• heart containers that open (could also do paper hearts)
• strips of paper
• pencil/marker
• ribbon
• branch

How to

1. Write things you love on the strips of paper.

2. Put one or more in each heart container. I used plastic hearts that open but you could also write directly on paper hearts!

3. Add ribbon to each heart.

4. Hang on branch in a pot.

And that is seriously it! Seems so simple because it is! It doubles as a great writing activity for littles ones as well (which my teacher heart loves). Happy crafting!

The post Valentine’s Tree appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Materials

• FREE printables (see below)
• bags
• scissors
• stapler
• tape
• gumballs/gum/sixlets

How to – Option 1

There are two versions of this. The first one is the more involved one but also super unique and fun!

1. Print this printable.

2. Cut out the area indicated as well as the border.

2. Place in bag.

3. Turn over and add gumballs or sixlets to top. Fold over top of bag slightly and staple.

4. Fold bag at top of printable and tape down.

5. Turn over and see the gumballs peeking through the gumball machine! I actually ended up adding some staples to the back side of the bag to hold them in the middle of the bag better. See quick video HERE.

How to – Option 2

1. Print this printable and cut along border.

2. Place in bag and add your choice of candy. Fold over top of bag and tape to back. That’s it!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope this was helpful and maybe made your life easier! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Not ready to make this but want to save for later? Pin this to Pinterest!

The post Gumball Machine Valentines – Part 2 appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Materials

• plastic ball ornaments
• red paper cups
• mini gumballs or sixlets
• scissors
• glue
• pencil
• exacto knife
• “I chews you” printable (see below)

How to

1. Cut some of the rim off the cup – up to you how much

2. Take metal hanger out of the top of the ornament. Turn ornament upside down on the bottom of the cup. Trace.

3. Cut circle out with the Exacto knife.

4. Fill ornament half way with either gumballs or sixlets (gum might not be appropriate for younger children)

5. Place hole of ornament into hole of cup.

6. Attach metal hanger back to ornament (will do this inside the cup). Mine felt very secure but if you are worried you can add some hot glue before you put metal hanger back on for extra reinforcement.

7. Stand cup up and you made the cutest gumball machine valentine! Glue a heart from the “I chews you” printable. You can write who it’s to/from directly on the cup (back side or even inside).

Here are both versions (using gumballs & sixlets) so you can see the difference!

Now go off and enjoy your outstanding work and all the smiles it will bring! Happy Valentine’s Day!

If you want to save this idea for later please feel free to pin this image!

The post Gumball Machine Valentines appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Here is our video but I will share all the details below…

What You’ll Need

• Clear cups
• instant pudding (and milk to make it)
• oreos
• green sprinkles
• leaf sprinkles (optional)
• candy pumpkins
• mini chalkboard signs (optional)
• chalk (optional)

How to

Usually when I do a blog post about how to make something I take pictures along the way to show you, but forgot to do that with making the video above! It’s very straight forward though. And Maxwell’s video is way more adorable!

1. Make instant pudding and pour into cups. (1 box made 4 for me)

2. Take middles out of oreos. Crush cookie pieces in a ziploc for the “dirt.” Sprinkle the “dirt” on top of the pudding.

3. Sprinkle green sprinkles, then a few leaf sprinkles.

4. Put a few pumpkin candies in your patch.

5. Add a sign! You can also make a sign out of a popsicle stick or straw and add cardstock or paper for the sign part. Or even add a plastic spoon in the pudding and make a little sign for the end of the spoon! Functional too!

Enjoy!

Cutest and yummiest fall treat ever! Who doesn’t love chocolate with cookies and candy on top? The perfect easy fall “& a little bit halloween-ish” (Maxwell’s description in the video) treat that kids can easily help make! I mean look at that happy face! Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY FALL Y’ALL!

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This fall season I ‘ve had the pleasure of working with Bed Bath & Beyond to bring you all that yummy fall goodness in a styled table for those special family moments you’ll spend gathered around the table. #sponsored For our family that just means our immediate family of 5, but I’m making it as special and memorable as possible.

I want to add that I picked out all of these items online and did curbside pickup and it was amazing! They brought all of these items straight to my car and I didn’t have to lift a finger. My world may never go back to normal with curbside pickup being available!

Bee & Willow

Dating back to our wedding, I’ve shopped at Bed Bath & Beyond for all of my adult life. It’s always been a favorite and go to for anything home. I was beyond excited to see Bed Bath & Beyond launch their very first home brand in 2019 called Bee & Willow. A very budget friendly, yet beautiful option! You guys, I love this line! Almost everything for this Fall makeover was from that line because I loved it that much!

Here are the items I used (with links) and I’ll explain next how I come up with table ideas:

Bee & Willow Home Milbrook Cereal Bowl in White 

Bee & Willow Home Milbrook Dinner Bowl in White

Bee & Willow Home Milbrook Mug in White

Bee & Willow Home Milbrook Dinner Plate in White

Bee & Willow Home Autumn Pumpkin-Shaped Round Throw Pillow

Bee & Willow Home Wicker Bread Basket in Grey

Bee & Willow Ava Rug

Bee & Willow Home Wicker Beverage Dispenser Stand in Grey

Brittany 90-Inch Table Runner in Neutral

Bee & Willow Home 6.25-Inch Pumpkin in Grey

Bee & Willow Home Ceramic Pitcher Vase in White

Bee & Willow Home Wicker Charger Plate in Grey

Bee & Willow Home Willow Napkins in Sage (Set of 4)

Bee & Willow Home 1.75-Gallon Clear Bubble Glass Drink Dispenser

Bee & Willow Home Milbrook Bubble Highball Glass

Bee & Willow Home Milbrook Bubble Goblet

Table Planning

Planning is always something I’ve done to keep me sane. It’s no different when it comes to decor. Luckily, I can viusalize things in my mind easily so I don’t have to rely on mood boards or drawing ideas out.

For this specific table I knew I wanted to keep the colors simple. We recently painted our dining room SW Repose Gray and I wanted to use mostly grays, whites, golds, and wood tones to compliment the wall color. With that in mind I set out to find these colors as well as different textures while also incorporating things I already had.

The colors choices are more obvious, but the reason I chose some items was also for the texture. The plates, bowls, & mugs I chose are a beautiful matte finish but also have heavy lined texture as well. I loved the chunky/heavy look! The pumpkins varied from a faux concrete to fabric bringing in some different feels. The wicker pieces are my fav and timeless. They add a rougher texture to go with the smoother dinnerware and gold flatware (already had). I brought in the gray color with the napkins, rug, & pumpkins. THIS RUG is the most beautiful and soft rug! The pictures online don’t even do it justice. The white lines in the design are raised and give it amazing depth and are so so soft! I’m so very impressed with the quality!

To get that warm and cozy feeling, I wanted to add all things fall. I added fall leaves, acorns, apple cider, bread, cakes, and all the things that make it feel like Fall.

The Process

1.Runner – I always start with a runner (or two layered) to bring in some color or break up all the wood from the table.

2. Placemat/Charger – sometimes I use both, sometimes just one. In this case the wicker chargers were such a statement piece alone, I just used them.

3. Plates/bowls – LAYER. I think that is the one thing I love most. Layering plates and bowls together to give each place setting dimension.

4. Napkins – color usually gets added with napkins and these had gray leaves which were perfect for a simple Fall look. My go to is to place the napkins in between plates/bowls, but napkin holders are another fun option.

5. Decor piece – most people probably don’t do this but I think this is what makes each place setting fallish and unique! I added gold pears & apples to some place settings and white pumpkins to the others. It’s ok to mix it up – they don’t all need to be the same!

6. Flatware – Love that it adds a metal element and to bring in some warmer fall tones I went with gold.

7. Glasses – I chose to have two – one for water and one for apple cider or coffee. I mixed glass goblets with the chunky white mugs.

8. Table decor – this is my favorite part! For this table I chose to use a pitcher for a vase (as well as an actual vase) with some fall stems and used my beverage serving dispenser as the centerpiece. I start with the taller items first! I filled the beverage dispenser with our favorite fall drink – apple cider! I sprinkled pumpkins, smaller dessert plates, acorns, and candles around to give it more of that cozy fall feel.

9. Room decor – I added a few pumpkins, falls stems, pillows, and a bread basket to the buffet table as well as a Fall wall sign to tie it all together.

Make Memories!

Fall is all about making memories with loved ones from Halloween, to Thanksgiving, to Christmas. A cozy welcoming table is the perfect place to do that. I enjoy making our house feel like a home for the holidays and I will hands down be checking out Bed Bath & Beyond for that in the future! Christmas is right around the corner and I can’t wait to create this feeling again with a Christmas table.

I promise you the extra work to create a holiday table is worth it and your family will remember that feeling they had when they enjoyed their holiday meals there with you.

Happy fall and enjoy the time with your loved ones this holiday season. If nothing else, 2020 will make us all cherish family moments and hug each other a little tighter. Big squeezes friends!

The post Fall Table Styling with Bed Bath & Beyond appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Years ago when we were new to our neighborhood, someone did this to us and I had no idea who (part of the fun) and we have continued the tradition almost every year (except for those ones when I’m not on top of it)!

Boo baskets are usually done in the month of October and are little bags or baskets you fill with goodies to leave at someone’s door. You can choose to do it to a friend or even a neighbor you don’t know that well! You fill the basket with goodies and attach a note that says “You’ve Been Boo-ed!” You can also opt to leave instructions on how to keep the fun going (my personal favorite) so that the blessings continue. The idea is that the person you are boo-ing does not know who you are. We love doing it at night (less probability of getting seen). You knock on their door, leave the basket, and get out of sight as fast as you can (the part that the kids LOVE)!

Preparing Your Basket

1. Find a bag or basket to gather treats in. Here are a few ideas:

You’ve Been Booed bag

You’ve Been Booed Box

Pumpkin Bucket

Reusuable Bag

2. Gather treats! This can be as simple as some baked goods, little $1 spot toys for little ones, candy, drinks (sharing a grown up version too), or really anything you think would be fun. Here are the things we included. I boo-ed my good friends this year, so I made a baskets for the kids and one for the mamas!

Tub of Cookies

Ghost Cookie

Pumpkin Cookie

Mummy Cookie

Frankenstein Cookie

3. Attach tags and printables (optional – but helps keep the process going). Below are FREE tags and printables. I included my website link on the Instructions printable so that the next person can print out everything they need or can even BOO multiple people! There is even an adult version that says “You’ve Been Boozed!” You can include you favorite booze!

The printables include instructions for keeping the BOOing process going as well as a sign to put on a door/window to let others know a house has already been BOO-ed.

FREE PRINTABLES

4. Deliver & ENJOY! Your thoughtful basket will make someone’s day! It always brightens ours!

Have a SPOOKtacular time and please tag me or send me a message on my Instagram @tablefor5please if you do this!

The post Boo Baskets appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Mummy Door

Materials

1. Plastic black table cloth (black craft paper could work too) to use as the dark background of the door.

2. This can be done with various materials – gauze fabric, cheesecloth, medical gauze, crepe paper – but I chose something I could grab easily (crepe paper streamers).

3. Tape. I had masking tape on hand but painter’s tape is suggested as well.

4. Eyes. Walmart had these huge googly eyes I grabbed one day while shopping for something else, but I’ve also seen paper plates used like this one I found on Pinterest by Party City:

How To

1. Wrap the door with the black table cloth. My door is a dark brown, so I chose to only wrap the glass part.

2. Start taping crate paper strands across the door. I found it faster to precut the strips and tear pieces of tape off the roll ahead of time. I had the door open because I had to tape on the sides of the door. This way when the door is closed no one can see the tape from inside or out!

3. Fill in gaps as necessary. I did leave a space open towards the middle/top for the eyes. That gives the illusion that the mummy is all wrapped up with a tiny space for his eyes to peek through!

3. Add eyes to your open space! Mine came with a sticky pad to put on them, but I also added some extra tape to the back as well.

4. Once complete I took some extra strands of the streamers and added them to make it look like the mummy was coming unraveled a bit. They are just stuck in between some of the layers. Added a rug and some other decor to complete the look!

My Halloween obsessed son came home and I surprised him with this creation. He wanted to pretend he was scared of the mummy, but he absolutely loved it!

Here are some other fun ideas I found from Party City (not sponsored just thought they has cute easy ideas). HERE is a link to their Halloween door ideas.

Hope that gives you some inspiration if you are a Halloween lover as well. This should all be stuff you can pick up at Walmart, Amazon, or even Party City. Thanks for stopping by as always. Have a SPOOKtacular day!

The post Easy Halloween Door Decor appeared first on Table for 5 Please.

Breakfast Charcuterie Board

Supplies

The best part about charcuterie boards is that you can really just about throw anything on them. Here is what I used for this one to help you go shopping:

Non-food

• Cutting board (HERE is my favorite) or tray
• bowls/plates/cupcake liners (use them for bowls to hold small things like sprinkles)

Food

• mini pumpkin waffle maker & skeleton mini waffle maker
• donut holes/donuts
• croissants
• poptarts
• mini muffins
• bisquick (& ingredients you put in it)
• pumpkin spice marshmallows
• pumpkin cookies (got ours at HEB)
• Halloween oreos
• edible googly eyes
• sprinkles
• mini chocolate chips
• syrup (we did have syrup but I forgot to put it in the container for the pic!)
• whipped cream (I chose to not put this on the tray but you could)
• cinnamon roll tube

The Process

1. First, it’s a good idea to put all your things that need to be put in bowls on first. I spread the bowls out on the board. You can even put things in bowls that don’t necessarily need to go in one just to make it more decorative. You can also use small plates and they take up more room if you need to spread things out!

2. Next, I like to take the bigger items and lay them out. I tend to have them touching some or all of the bowls/plates. In this case my bigger items were pumpkin waffles, cinnamon roll skeletons (more on that in a sec), croissants, muffins, & poptarts. I group like items together and spread out the color. These are all the same color so I just grouped them.

3. Fill in the spaces left with smaller items. In my case it was cookies and donut holes. I wanted the orange things to not all be together so I just made several small “orange groupings.”

Mini Waffle Maker Idea

Since we have two waffle makers I decided to do one set of waffles and one set of cinnamon rolls. To make cinnamon rolls in the mini waffle maker you need to buy a tube of cinnamon rolls (the icing comes with it and you can see it is on the charcuterie board in the container it came it). Separate the cinnamon roll dough into individual rolls. Place one dough roll in the mini waffle maker and close! I had to hold my lid down to keep it flattened. It’s pretty much done when the timer goes off (these waffle makers have a little light that turns off when they are done)., but always use your judgement. Top with icing when you are ready to eat!

It’s really that easy! Stay tuned for my Halloween movie night themed board coming soon! We love a good movie night and I think my kids secretly love it for the treats! Have you seen our “candy concessions” in our media room?

Here is a little video of us making the waffles/cinnamon rolls and putting the board together…

Movie Night Charcuterie Board

As you saw above, we love having fun treats in our media room for special occasions like movie nights. A movie night charcuterie board seemed like a fun idea for my son’s 7th birthday so I gathered some fav treats! Here’s some things I used:

Supplies

• Cutting board or tray to arrange treats on. HERE is the one I used from Target
• bowls to put small candy in (THIS adorable ghost one was fun to make the popcorn come out of)
• popcorn (used 2 types on ours – regular and caramel)
• cheese balls
• veggie ghost & bats
• chocolate covered pretzels (forgot to put these on!)
• m&ms
• reeses pieces
• pretzels (found Halloween ones)
• kit kats
• eyeball gumballs
• eyeball gummies
• holiday brownies
• bone candy
• orange starbursts
• spider cookies (made with oreos, pretzels sticks, and edible candy eyes)
• pretzels rods (found THESE candy covered ones)

The Process

See above for the process since it will be the same. Start with bowls, then larger items, them fill in with other items.

I did add wax paper to the bottom of the tray I used since it was not food safe. I loved how big THIS tray was and that it had handles so I could carry it (unlike a charcuterie board).

Here’s a short video of the process too…

Individual Movie Baskets

Instead of everyone sharing from the same tray, individual basket options are also a great idea. I grabbed THESE food baskets, THESE food liners, and THESE small paper cups from Target.

These work well so each kid has their own stuff (no fighting) and germs are contained to their basket. Might be a little easier to eat out of these while watching a movie too. You could also add THESE fun drink cups, especially if it’s for a birthday party.

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1. Choose you color scheme.

I went with some warm traditional colors this year. Make sure you choose different textures too. My selection is a mix of old and new things to me. I reuse a lot when doing tablescapes. Here is what I grabbed to start.

2. Table runner

Layering a place setting makes it stand out and gives it that professional look. Layering is just that. Layers can include tablerunners, placemats, chargers, plates (different sizes), bowls, napkins, decor for plates, cups, silverware, napkin rings, napkin holders, etc. Chose any combination that works for you. Sharing the order I chose for this table (and most of my tables). Usually table runners go horizontally down the table, but dare to try something different! This table has 3 short vertical runners, instead of 1 long runner.

3. Placemat

I don’t always use a placemat but I love the extra layer it adds, so if I have something that works with my theme, I use one. These placemats add chunky natural texture too!

4. Charger

This is similar to a placemat but smaller. Sometimes I omit the placemat and just use a charger. These chargers add the warm color I’m going for while bringing in a different texture – metal!

5. Plates

Plates are something I always reuse. I have some basic colors (white & black mostly) to layer. I will sometimes buy a cute salad plate to put on top but usually add color with napkins or a fun decorative piece to go on top.

6. Bowls

Bowls were added in this case, but often times I add another smaller plate on top. I just thought it’d be fun to add more height with the bowls.

7. Napkins/Plate Decor

Many times I add the napkin laid flat in between the plates but to add more height and visual interest I decided to try something a bit different. I put the decor and napkins in the bowl. The decor I used was some metal leaves and some vase viller (pumpkins & acorns) from Target.

8. Cups

Copper was my go to color and since I already had these cups I added them. Love the bold pop of color! Glass cups or even mason jars would be good as well.

9. Stems

Adding stems or foliage is always good for color and height!

10. Centerpiece

This could also double as stems depending on how you want to style your table. I like both!

Adding a sign or coordinating pillows or decor around the tablescape is always a good idea if you have it!

All done! Enjoy the beauty!

Video tutorial

Here is a video tutorial of the process and a little tour of the finished product. Enjoy!

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