Easy Memorial Day Table Decorations and Ideas for a Patriotic Party

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and I am so ready for it! I have been busy creating my Memorial Day table decorations to prepare for the garden party.

Today, three of my blogger friends and I are sharing our styles of Memorial Day table decorations and inspiration for you. We have each written a blog post to share. I am very excited to see what my creative friends have come up with, and I hope you enjoy meeting them.

It is the perfect time of the year to get your family and friends together to celebrate outdoors and has some fun. With summer just around the corner, I wanted to share some party planning tips along with my patriotic Memorial Day table decorations to add to your parties.

Planning will make it an easy and relaxing day for you.

• Make a list of what you want to accomplish for the party, such as food, decorations, games, etc.
• Create a shopping list for the different stores you may need to shop at.
• Make a timeline to work out the process of when you need to accomplish each task.
• Try to do as much as you can ahead, so you can enjoy the day with your family and friends.

This year we will be hosting a dinner party in the planting garden, a lovely, shaded area where we can relax and have a casual dinner.

Create the Perfect Memorial Day Table Decorations

Using my patriotic red, white, and blue theme, I started setting my table using a blue and white checkered tablecloth with red and white checked napkins, both purchased from Amazon.

I have to admit that most of this table was put together from estate sale finds; I am a genuine estate sale junky! Estate sales are a great way to find items you don’t often use at a reasonable price. This way, hubby can’t get upset 🙂

For place settings, I started with a wicker charger, then used a solid red plate topped off with some American Fitzhugh enamelware plates.

I used a mix of two vintage glasses I had and added some fun red and white straws.

I used a large square basket on the bottom of my centerpiece, then layered a picnic basket on top.

You can find a similar basket here.

Fill the picnic basket with three 1-gallon red geraniums (I left them in the container from the store).

Plant a few smaller plants such as a white bacopa and a smaller red geranium, and some red and white striped petunias in some small red clay pots.

I then made a bow that I draped over the geraniums. You can find an excellent bow-making tutorial on my IGTV.

I also picked up some cute, checked stars at the dollar store and put a skewer in them to poke them into the flowerpots for my patriotic Memorial Day table decorations.

I embellished my decor with a cute red stool (estate sale find) some American flags and a cute red and white check throw.

Then, I tied up the napkins with the silverware and placed a personalized white clay star at each place setting. Adding a personal touch makes your guests feel extra special.

How to Make Personalized White Clay Stars for your Memorial Day Place Settings

To make these white clay stars, you will need to purchase Crayola Model Magic in white and a set of imprint letters.

Roll out a piece of clay with a rolling pin on a piece of waxed paper. Use a star cookie cutter to create the tag shape. Using a pencil, make a hole at the top of one of the points of the star.

I then used this stamp set to create names that I imprinted onto the tags to add a special touch to my Memorial Day table decorations.

These do take about three days to dry thoroughly, so give yourself enough time to dry them well.

Patriotic Food for your Memorial Day Table

My gang is all about the food, so we are stepping up our game and serving a wonderful meal this Memorial Day.

Food is not only a treat for the stomach but can also be a treat for the eyes. Here I will share some patriotic food ideas that add to your Memorial Day table decorations.

Charcuterie Board

We will start with a beautiful charcuterie board that everyone can graze on.

Charcuterie is the art of preparing cured or smoked meats. Charcuterie boards are an assortment of meats, cheese, fruits, pickles, jams, and just about anything you want to add.

I enjoy the creativity you can add to these boards, and they look so beautiful.

The remarkable thing about charcuterie boards is that there is no end to the possibilities. Switching up a few ingredients gives you something new and unique every time. Everyone loves at least a few things that are piled high on your board!

Use in-season fruits and veggies to make it easy on yourself and add a few special touches for the holidays. For example, I cut stars out of watermelon for Memorial Day and made skewers that look like sparklers out of blueberries and watermelon. For Christmas, you may want to add some rosemary and cranberries.

Main Course

For our main course, we will be serving smoked chicken, which is my husband’s specialty. Garlic and parmesan creamed potatoes served in small ramekin dishes, and asparagus wrapped in bacon, and carrot pudding will be served on the side.

My husband brined the chicken using a mixture of citrus slices, garlic, rosemary, brown sugar, and chicken stock. The chicken sits in this mixture in the fridge for 36-48 hours, and then he smokes it for approximately 1 hour. Be sure to dry the brine off of the chicken before smoking.

The asparagus was parboiled, wrapped with pre-cooked bacon, and roasted in the oven for about 10 minutes.

I added a simple orange slice and some rosemary for garnish; this always adds to the presentation.

Here is the recipe for the Carrot Pudding. It is so delicious and adds just a touch of sweetness to the plate.

Here is the recipe for Garlic and Parmesan Potatoes; they are sinfully delicious.

Dessert

Dessert is always my favorite, and I never seem to be able to say NO!

Using a special bundt pan makes it look extra pretty, along with some fresh roses from the garden.

We love this easy sherry bundt cake, and it seriously takes about 5 minutes to make it.

Serve it with vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream.

Fun and Games

Of course, a party at our house would not be complete without some fun and games.
We love to play corn toss or ladder golf. We always have an excellent competition going on within our family.

And who doesn’t love a giant lawn dice game?

Wishing you all a beautiful summer with your family!
XO
Wendy