Hosts planning impromptu outdoor parties for the holiday weekend might understandably be tempted to make a Target or Walmart run for last-minute supplies. But a Saturday or Sunday morning trip to the local flea market could yield a more interesting, equally affordable bounty of supplies for your Labor Day garden party. Here are a few of my favorite flea market staples for outdoor entertaining:
• Let's face it: eating with plastic utensils pretty much stinks, and the new biodegradable versions, while obviously preferable for environmental reasons, are even less sturdy than their eco-unfriendly cousins. If you like to entertain, keeping a stash of mix-and-match flatware is a worthy pursuit. Flea market vendors (not to mention Salvation Army and other thrift stores) frequently offer bins of silver-plate flatware for cheap. And for a relatively casual outdoor party, lots of different patterns look cute mixed together.
• Okay, I know you might be a little tired of hearing from me about the glories of blue mason jars. But the truth is, they're great for garden parties: as candle holders, vases, or even drinking glasses. They've got a lovely rustic vibe without being too "country-kitsch."
• Flea markets often turn up an abundance of old copper bowls, kettles, pitchers and the like. You can polish them up for a cleaner look, or leave them oxidized so they blend in with your casual garden table. I like to use them for flowers (of course) and as serving pieces (cleaned well and lined with leaves or other garnish).
• Flea market linens — in the form of dish towels, handkerchiefs, raw textiles, or any of the above — make perfect napkins at outdoor parties, where lap eating is the norm. Again, a mix-and-match approach is nice, especially if you're going that direction with the flatware and/or the containers for your florals. Inexpensive linens like these can also be cut up to make pretty fabric flag banners to hang around the garden.
• I've had a lot of luck finding candle hurricanes at flea markets, and these are a must for any evening outdoor party when there's even the slightest breeze. (Thrift stores are another good source for these.)
The possibilities are endless… old soda crates can be used for stacking napkins; discarded terracotta pots, filled with sand, make great candle holders; old cake stands are perfect for serving cheese or hors d'oeuvres (or cake!). Got any favorites of your own? Please add them below!
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Beautiful alternatives! It's worth washing and storing these items rather than have endless paper/plastic cups, plates, and utensils fill the trash.
These are all great. I am a big fan of an eclectic mix of silverplate flatware. Vintage baskets are also great when lined with vintage linens to hold bread and rolls.
I'm not sure why you'd need dedicated flatware for outdoor use, but I do love the mix-and-matchiness of flea market finds.
Country style -- not for me. I prefer sleeker, more minimalist dining accessories. (But then, I don't do garden parties, either, now that I think of it -- so maybe that's a "country style" thing, too...)
Please tell me those aren't artificial flower petals in that last photo. One puff of a breeze or someone casually walking through them and they'll be all over the landscape with no chance of getting them all cleaned up. Why does this stuff exist!
I "found" a full SILVER service set in my boyfriend's garage (well, he just happened to mention them in a passing conversation). They belonged to his mother but no one in the family wanted them! I couldn't believe we had been surviving on 4 crappy Ikea forks for a year and half, borrowing forks from friends in order to have dinner parties and here was an entire set of sterling silver utensils (including fish forks - okay, we've never used them, but STILL)! Luckily, I managed to convince him to use them, on the understanding that we didn't have to treat them like differently from normal utensils (he didn't want to have anything else to upkeep, which I understand). Today they are not as polished as they were before, but still so much nicer to eat with then what we were using before.
Flea market are an awesome source of inspirations and great place to get in touch with local designer and artisans. We recently visited Brooklyn Flea, probably one of the best flea market I have ever been to. Not just because of their kimchee burger either!
http://www.ezarchitecture.com/blog/dream-closet-brooklyn-flea-marke/
I love love love this. Makes me wish I lived in the country and had garden parties and had enough money to decorate for them. Thanks for the ideas though.
am into that wild flower in a tiny vase! love it.
Living in VA I see blue mason jars all the time. I have a small collection that I love but I find it absurd how widely the price ranges. Mine I bought for $2-3 a pop. I see them in the under $5 range every so often, but more often it's $6-12 or even more!