Welcome Fall with an Easy Party Table!

Fall officially begins in less than a month, but once August comes to an end I have to admit I get a little excited thinking about autumn entertaining and decorating!  If you feel like I do but aren’t ready to break out the jack-o-lanterns, you can add fall touches to your home or party gradually with hints of the new season! One of my favorite ways to celebrate autumn is to serve up some unexpected treats for family and friends…and today I’d like to share some fun ways to bring the outdoors in with a woodland themed table with a pretty twist!  Make sure you check out the easy DIY that can give any party a wow factor, and you might spy a recipe too!  So get ready to rejoice in a new season…

welcome fall with “woodland in white”!

when the first crisp breezes blow i get so excited for fall to arrive!  and i don’t feel like we’re losing the warm temperatures for good just yet since it seems like we often have a long autumn to enjoy!  i love being outside most any time of year, and what i love best about fall is how the new colors of the season seem to softly reveal themselves into the landscape with hints of yellows and browns mixed in with the hues of late summer!  the inspiration for this dessert buffet came from the new signs of fall and the natural beauty of the great outdoors!

the first thing that i created was the backdrop for my buffet…can you believe that this is paper?  you can find wonderful party products at Oriental Trading like this faux paneling that was much easier to use behind my goodies than the real deal!  it was really simple to attach a section with some painters tape so i wouldn’t damage the wall removing it later!  my husband actually asked me where i got the piece of wood…this is how real it looks!

get festive with a balloon garland…

i had never actually created a balloon arch or garland before but after recently sharing a tutorial i decided to give it a try!  it was much easier than i had ever anticipated and with just a little bit of time invested, a balloon arch can take any celebration over the top!  i started with white balloons and a long section of fishing line on a large needle…

it’s simply like threading a garland of popcorn…just push the needle through the end of the balloon below the knot.

keep stringing them onto the filament until you get the length and thickness you want…

and don’t worry about little gaps, you can fill these in later (after hanging it) with extra balloons by using a low temp glue gun.  i also found that double sided tape worked just as well!   when i was ready to hang the garland i attached a section of filament over a command strip at each corner.  it was easy to slide the balloons around a bit to make an area of line that will fit over the hook.

now is the time to add your extra balloons and then you can also include silk or fresh flowers & foliage to fill any remaining gaps…just use care inserting them so not to pop any balloons! but if you do, just shift them around a bit or add another and you’ll never notice!  and with this large assortment from Oriental Trading, you can repair plenty of “oops” as well as have enough leftover to make more garlands for other parties! (it took approximately 55 balloons to make this garland out of the 200 in the package!)

fall inspired treats!

the best part of decorating a treat buffet is…the treats!  you can keep it simple and still wow your guests by displaying some of the munchies in individual serving containers!

i love the simple white treat boxes for grab-and-go munching!  and for a nature-inspired table you can easily add more natural elements by displaying your treats on something unexpected like a piece of craft wood!  remember that crafting items don’t always need to be used for crafting…like the “platter” or the sweet little trees shown above!

simple, handwritten food labels look anything but ordinary when displayed in these darling birch log place card holders!  i will definitely be using these again on my Thanksgiving table!

a little party DIY…

don’t have a cake topper?…you can effortlessly create your own so it will perfectly match your party decorations!  this whimsical drip cake is crowned with nothing more than silk flowers and leaves popped on top…it doesn’t get any easier than that to create a custom cake top!

and off to the right of the cake are some woodland cupcakes perched up on a DIY dessert stand…

a birch pillar makes a wonderful base to hold a small platter of treats!  and matching beverage/dessert napkins are a wonderful compliment to this nature inspired table!  what’s even better is that i can reuse these items for all sorts of parties…like Christmas perhaps?

fall fun in the kitchen…

a fall woodland party needs plenty of goodies you might find on a stroll…so how about serving up some easy and delicious peanut butter pine cones?

check out how simple and fun it is to make these mouthwatering treats!

mix in a bowl:

1/2 C. peanut butter

1/4 C. Nutella

3 T. butter, softened

1C. powdered sugar

you will also need pretzel sticks and 3 C. chocolate chex cereal (this recipe serves 6)

mold some of the peanut butter mix around a pretzel stick until you have a cone shape. then place it in a cupcake paper…

using the chocolate chex pieces, start inserting them into the peanut butter cone from the bottom working your way to the top, trying not to be too perfect…you want it to look natural!  break pieces of cereal in half to decorate the top.  this will help to keep your pine cone in a pyramid shape…and you can eat all the ones that don’t break properly!

now you have a yummy treat that resembles a pretty little pine cone…and serving them in the cake liner makes it much easier for guests to pick up!

i really love the way Oriental Trading has so many unexpected goodies within the pages of their catalog and website!  you can create endless themes for any celebration…and gathering friends and family together is the best reason have a party!  fall is coming~get inspired by nature and…

celebrate a new season decorated in woodland whites!

samples seen in this post have been provided by Oriental Trading for me to review.  all opinions and ideas are my own.