What do you do to make your outdoor dining warm & inviting?

[cat lover]

What do you decorate your patio or picnic table with that is easy and inexpensive for your outdoor dining?:confused:

I like to use a centerpiece of fresh fruit and/or summer veggies. Take several terra cotta pots and put on a platter and fill them with the fresh produce. Also fill the patter with the produce. Makes a nice inviting centerpiece that is also edible!:)

[oochiegoo]

What a great idea. I'll have to do that. Thanks!

What I do? I really don't...but I hope to get lots of ideas here. Great start of a thread!

[cat lover]

Another thing we do is to use old fashioned wooden crates that used to carry 6 packs of sodas. We use one for plates, one for napkins, and one full of flower pots with the utensils in them. Simply place a glass vase with fresh flowers in it inside each crate. Makes it easy to contain everything and just gives it the outdoorsy feel!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

We like to go to the river. Flowing water is always warm. The park by the river has a place for children to play so that the adults can chit chat.

[cat lover]

That sounds like fun! When the boys were little we usedto go to a near by park that had a large creek running right through the paly ground. Oh boy does that bring back memories!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I bet it does. It does for us.

[cat lover]

This is a cute edible decoration from hgtv



Flowerpot Dessert


small lead-free flowerpots
cookies (your choice)
ice cream (your choice)
plastic bag
spoon
large straw
delicate stemmed flowers (tulips, daisies or camellias)



Boil the lead-free flowerpots for 20 minutes. Let cool, then freeze until ready to serve. Crumble some cookies and place in the bottom of the frozen flowerpot.
Fill the frozen flowerpot with your favorite ice cream. Be sure not to pack it too tightly. Crunch a cookie or two in a plastic bag with a spoon, and sprinkle on top of the ice cream to resemble dirt. Be sure to grind into a fine consistency.
Insert a large straw in the middle of the dessert, and then place a long-stem flower--such as a tulip, daisy or camellia--into the straw to complete the flowerpot illusion.

[cat lover]

This is a cute way to decorate your tables outside or even inside; this is from Family Circle

Napkin Themes

Dress up your table for summer parties with starfish, butterflies, and daisies.


Fleur du Jour

Serve up a splendid display of napkins wrapped in a ring of daisies.
Here's how: Cut ribbon into 14-inch lengths. Using silk daisies, trim stems close to the flower's head. Lightly mark the halfway point on ribbon. Working from center, adhere two daisies on either side. To create fan, start from the bottom and fold napkin accordion style. Tie at the middle with daisy chain.


Natural Wonders


Bring the day at the beach indoors with raffia-tied sand dollar table linens.
Here's how: Roll napkin. Choose a sand dollar with four holes. With the shell facing you, weave a 24-inch piece of raffia through the top right hole and pull it across the back and through the top left hole. Lay the shell on the front of the napkin, crisscrossing the raffia in the back. Pull the ends of the raffia through their respective side's remaining holes, and knot in the back.


Sweet Treats

Add a punch of color (and sugar) to the kids' get-together by tucking bright lollipops into their napkins.
Here's how: Fold the napkin diagonally in half. With the straight side facing you, fold the napkin toward the point three times. Cut 22-inch-long ribbons (we chose ginghams and polka dots), tie them in a bow, and insert a sucker.


Good on Paper

Make paper napkins a conversation piece at your ****tail party by stamping them with a trio of starfish.
Here's how: Choose a 1-inch stamp to allow for the most versatility -- you can do a grouping, a border, or a smattering of the pattern. Press the stamp firmly onto a complementary inkpad color and then onto your napkins.


Flights of Fancy


Transform a plain setting with beautiful butterflies and a band of faux grass.
Here's how: Roll napkin. Cut glassine paper into 7-inch lengths that are each 2 inches wide. Sporadically fray and trim the paper to make it resemble grass. Layer pieces on top of one another, wrap around napkin, and fasten with a brad. Glue butterfly onto the center.


Fruit Plate

Turn solid white into a delicious delight with green apple stamps.
Here's how: Fold napkin in half. Cut the apple in half. Use the side with the stem attached as your stamp. Place a paper towel under the first layer of your napkin. Using acrylic craft paint, brush a healthy coating onto the apple. Press it onto the napkin, holding the stem down with your fingers.

[cat lover]

I am in the process of designing an outdoor kitchen. We will build a deck approximately 11 x 16 with one section having a closed and roofed area just large enough to put a stove with a 5th burner for a griddle into that we are changing to run on propane. Then when it is not being used it can be closed up out of the weather. We will have a table and chair set with a patio umbrella or a removable pop up cover for the whole deck. and a small wheeled cart with a removable tray top for serving on. I'm deciding on a outdoor fireplace on one corner also. I think this will be a very inviting outdoor eating area that will be used in all sorts of weather. Haven't come up with a "theme" yet , but since we are in the woods we already some what have a theme I guess! LOL We also already have an "outdoor" sink we designed several years ago that is on wheels that we just hook up to the garden hose.

What ideas do you have or have you already done something similiar like this you can share?

[cat lover]

Now that summer is winding down a little and the nights are getting shorter; does anyone have any special lightning you use to decorate your out door eating area? I've thought of adding some rope lights to a couple of places. They would give some "light"without being too over bearing; a nice romantic theme! How about your ideas?

[Bilby]

I've never thought to put on a centre peice on the table it's usually the sugar pot and milk jug or sauces for all to use.
I might just do something (besides the streamers etc) up for ds1 b-day coming up soon.

[cat lover]

We just recently had some friends over that we reconnected with after 30 years! I had a luncheon and we ate outside on the picnic tables to enjoy the fall weather. I crated a "centerpeice" for it out of mini pumpkins and gourds and placed them on a mat I made of real fall leaves. I hot glued leaves that were turning into fall colors but still not dried onto a piece of poster board just large enough to make the "base" for the pumpkins and gourds. I added some fallen acorns and pine cones to it also. I only did that to keep them from blowing away. It made a nice fall center piece that is still on the table. It should last until we have a frost!

[Bilby]

Mmmm any ideas for a 16yro boy .... I guess he likes cars, computers and the like so I might just see what's around that will compliment the cake I will make .... food for thought cat lover, food for thought!

[cat lover]

you might take a trip to the car shop (someplace that sells decorations for in cars as well as car parts and etc.) I don't know what you have there we have a place called Pep Boys that I would recommneded here for some ideas. Maybe they have a web site you could look at? You could use a tire rim (clean of course) to stack paper plates on, a console holder that holds your cups in the car could serve as a silverware holder. You could make name tags to look like license plates.

If you add computer to the theme and have a lap top you could put a Happy Birthday Screen Saver on it to play. I'll have to "think" on this one some more~~~ anybody else have some ideas?

[Bilby]

Wow thanks for the heads up, I hadn't really thought about what I was going to do at all but I'm looking forward to seeing what I can come up with now using your input, thanks for that :)

[cat lover]

No problem, let me know what else you might end up with! Sounds like it will be fun just looking!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Bilby, were you asking a question about a birthday party for a 16 yr old boy? Boy, 16 sure is at that in-between age. I wasn't sure who you were asking and if you were asking.

Is he too young for a good ol' fashioned worm and dirt cake? "Boys will be boys" as the saying goes. Do you have this saying in your country Bilby? There is a recipe for dirt and worm cupcakes. Let me know if this sounds inviting and I will furnish the recipe. It involves chocolate and gummi worms. Boys love it! Pinatas are also fun, for ALL ages. Take him back to his childhood, one last time. This may be his last chance. But, I don't know his poersonality.

[cat lover]

This idea is from BH&G!

To create a fall centerpiece using gorgeous green vegetables. Stretch two sturdy rubber bands around a white pillar candle, then insert vegetable stalks of fresh green beans and asparagus underneath the band. Cover the bands with a circle of satin ribbon and decorate the platter with a few white mums and coffee berry sprigs. Doesn't last long, but a beautiful centerpiece for a fall meal!

[Bilby]

DeBora
I was asking no one in particular, I wasn't planning on doing much it's only family that has a few younger neices, and his girlfriend. I'll take any and all suggestions. Reading some of the ideas here just made me think "why not" do something a bit better, they aren't kids very long.
For Sunday 22Oct
So far I've decided on his birthday cake, that will be blue (vanilla cake with blue colouring) with I thought either choc (road) or green (grass) icing and I'll pop a matchbox car on top. I'll have to see what his fave car is as right now he is sitting there watching the Bathurst V8 car race.
Food wise I asked what he'd like for lunch he said pizza, but I think the adults may like something more/extra, those veges are sounding good.
On the 19 his birth day, I might make up some fun cupcakes with something horrible like your worms in them, I'll make his fave dinner that night.

[cat lover]

Tried to make lunch something different the other day for DH hoping it would take his mijnd off helath issues. Kind of cool out, but not our regular cold winter yet. I lit up the chiminea, and fixed us a picnic lunch of hot foods to eat on the deck next to the chiminea going. I fixed some hot coffee in a thermos, another one of hot soup, and some sandwiches. I put a tablecloth diagonally on the table, votive candles on tray with creek rock surrounding them. It was diferent and nice and quiet no phone, no TV and anything else. It didn't last too long, but was a nice "winter picnic".

[DeBora4BobbyL]

Bilby, sounds like you will have a fun cake!

[happy6]

Brrrr to cold for a barbeque in January.:confused: In the Summer I use lots of candles on our deck and table. On the table cut flowers from the garden or a fresh fruit tree made of strawberries....the tree is sitting on colored ice cubes made of fruit juice or food coloring. The grandkids get a kick out of the ice, they put it in their ice tea with the stawberries......

[cat lover]

I really like the colored ice cube thing! Never thought of that, thanks for sharing!

[Bilby]

It's summer here in Australia from Dec to March.
We are having a barbie for dinner tonight, sausages, chops, hash browns and a big tossed salad, easy but nice.
Of course we always put on our party lights with lots of colours.

DS2 is 12 on 6th Feb so another party coming up, we are having a sleepover, oh yay! LOL