We've talked about inspirational Entertaining Serving Pieces for really informal dinner parties; where seating doesn't seem too relevant. However, seating is a whole different story when it comes to formal dinner parties and that's where place cards come in.
Place Cards are a great way to not only inform your guests as to where they are sitting for the evening, but if you do it just right; they serve as a piece of memorabilia for them to remember your party by. There are so many different ways to do place cards, but our personal favorites are when they're DIY.
We found some inspirational place cards from the hospitality queen, Martha Stewart. Our favorite Party Place Card she had up for offering are the Fabric Flowers. They're super simple, yet really pack a punch on the plate. Due to the fact that you can choose whichever fabric you want, the possibilities are endless!
The Travelers Tags are also adorable; but not suited for every party (obviously not everyone has chairs that would allow for hanging tags).
What do you do for Place Cards at your formal dinner parties?
(Images: MarthaStewart.com)
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what an adorable idea for place cards!!!
I DIY's placecards for my wedding that would fit in this group:
http://www.projectwedding.com/wiki/show/diy-hanging-placecards
It was easy and fun!
I actually have supplies to make placecards sitting on my desk right now since we'll be hosting a Thanksgiving themed dinner party this weekend.
Last year I used office supply tags folded in half for the two dinners we hosted...here are links to both sets I made...
http://noragriffin.typepad.com/photos/some_other_crafty_stuff/img_1130-copy.html
http://noragriffin.typepad.com/photos/some_other_crafty_stuff/img_1258-copy.html
I love this idea! People always feel more special to have a place reserved just for them. They know they are expected, but a designated place to be makes them feel wanted.
I have always made my own luggage tags out of whatever iconography or typeset art I was into at the moment.
http://bit.ly/1O0lI4
I like assigned places very much for the reasons Matthew Hambrick said. (It's also fun because if you make a regular practice of it, it's not too suspicious when you set people up.)
Plus they're a way to sneak in extra table decorations - pine cones for the holidays, Peeps in the spring. Those cheapie school Valentines are fun. A cork on a fork.
I saw little reusable ceramic ones at the chefsresource Web site that you write on with a dry erase pen. I'm sure you can find them anywhere, but that's where I saw them first.
Relatedly, it can be fun to provide a menu so people can anticipate/pace themselves.