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Sunday, September 7, 2008
Speak For Yourself: Do you do patriotic party decorations?
Trust me, I am all for
theme parties (and if costumes are involved, even better). But part of what I like about a theme party is choosing the theme; at Fourth of July parties, it is decided before you send the first
invitation. So then the question becomes, do you go all-out stars-and-stripes-and-Uncle-Sam-hats, or just use some combination of red, white or blue party supplies to set the mood. Or do you skip the patriotic thing altogether and just
focus on the food? I scanned the Independence Day-themed items on
Plumparty.com and found plenty of options for all of the above.
So now, the informal poll: Which of these items would guests most likely find on your Fourth of July table:
The literal and cheap: set of three
stars and stripes snack bowls for $4. You won't be using these again (and they wouldn't hold up even if you wanted to).
Paper napkins in a traditional color, but a fresh, versatile pattern. Could be mixed-and-matched with other tableware if you don't use them all up on the Fourth. $7 for 15
A
colorful plastic pitcher that's just off-theme enough to use year-round without inspiring clearance-rack queries. (And it's Jonathan Adler!) $21
For a few more red or white or blue party accessories on Shine, go here:
A beautiful, blue-and-white tablecloth handmade in Ethiopia
Blue and white retro-inspired Bauer Pottery carafes
Blue recycled-newspaper bowl handmade in Brazil
Classic gingham fabric in red or blue
A subtly patriotic hand-woven table runner
Recycled blue-glass-bottle parfaits—perfect for serving ice cream or fizzy drinks
Related: theme parties, serving bowls, plates, pitcher, patriotic decorations, party foul, party favorites, outdoor entertaining, napkins, fourth of july, entertaining, costume parties
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Posted by Sandi Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:07pm PDT
I am going camping for the holiday weekend and I do decorate my camp site and tent. There are flags, red white and blue candles, red, white and blue tablecloth, plates and utensils and even an Uncle Sam yard stake.
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Posted by Its Our Reality Magazine Wed Jul 2, 2008 7:22pm PDT
There is innumerable amounts of products sold with gimicks for holidays. Wise people do not waste money on things that will be soonafter thrown away. Unless the items will be stored for future use, I say do not purchase them. Instead, find red, white, or blue cups that can be used in a practical manner even outside of the holiday. I mean seriously, money does not grow on trees, so why give it away for worthless one-time-use products that were produced for less than 10% of its price?
ITSOURREALITYMAGAZINE.COM
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Posted by Zoe Wed Jul 2, 2008 10:21pm PDT
Nope, not to proud of our country right now.
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Posted by klojkb Thu Jul 3, 2008 3:32am PDT
I'm reading "John Adams" right now and reading about what the colonists went through to achive our freedom is inspiring. I would love to deck my house out in the traditional red, white, and blue! As an adult studing the fight for independence, I can truly appreciate the struggles they went through for us!
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Posted by Kat Thu Jul 3, 2008 6:55am PDT
According to Zoe who left a comment she isn't "to proud of our country right now". Even though our country is not in a "happy" state right now Independence Day is not about what President Bush has done. It's about the Revelutionary War and what our soldiers did so that we could be a free country. They sacraficied their lives for us to be able to sit here and blog about how Pres. Bush sucks. In other ocuntry's we could not do that and we could be put to death for it. So even though you don't like our country you should still celebrate it for the fact that we have freedom where millions of people don't.
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Posted by Andygirl Thu Jul 3, 2008 10:19am PDT
I am so tired of the old patriotic decorations. boring. so, the last few years I compromised for my annual fete: red and anything with stars. both these things suit me despite the holiday and I have the cutests ----- star candles and citonella red candles with white stars on top. voila: themed and cute and not boring!
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Posted by V-Grrrl Thu Jul 3, 2008 3:41pm PDT
I used to be a person that loved all the matchy, matchy themed stuff.
Now I'm with the commenters that say, Enough. First you buy it, then you either throw it away or store it all year and it's a waste. I'd rather just use the same beautiful dishes I use every other day.
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Posted by J.P. Fri Jul 4, 2008 7:37am PDT
MY THEME TO YOU IS THAT I HAVE A SO IN IRAQ!!!!! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME ? A BIG OLD PARTY ?????
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Posted by springtime Fri Jul 4, 2008 8:24am PDT
Actually, I have some plain red bowls/severs I use at Christmas. They work for the 4th too, so do some plain red candle holders. Then it's just red, white, blue paper goods from the dollar store. I love the 4th, but I'm not going to spend a king's ranson for a family barbecue.
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