If current social distancing guidelines are keeping you from gathering at your favorite restaurant, consider hosting a dinner party at your house instead. If you want to step up your dinner party game, be sure to decorate for your dinner party. No matter if you have a theme or simply want to just put out a few extra touches, you should decorate for your next dinner party to add to the ambiance and festive atmosphere.

1- Arrange A Memorable Display

Creating a table that will be as memorable as the meal itself doesn’t have to break your budget. Combine dried foliage with hand-dipped candles and homemade luminaries and table runners to arrange a centerpiece that your guests won’t soon forget. Add place settings so your guests know where to sit. Setting your table with napkins, placemats, flatware, and glassware will help keep everything streamlined and organized and make cleanup easier once dinner is over.

2- Tablecloth & Table Runner

Starting with a piece of linen or muslin, you can create custom table coverings. Use woodblock stamps and fabric paint, personalize your design and color to match the rest of your dinner theme. You can make matching napkins using the same technique. Or, make your own stamp using inspiration from nature, like fallen leaves or the cut half of firm fruit like an apple.

3- Candles & Luminaries

You can turn simple, single-tone taper candles into catching eye-pieces that match the rest of your decor by dipping the ends in tinted wax. Use an assortment of candle holders to display your creations, or make handmade luminaries. Brush balloons with a mixture of colored craft glue and glitter. Once the mixture has dried, pop and discard the balloons, and use the luminaries to display your candles.

4- Flowers

If you can forage for your own greenery, fill glass tumblers and decanters with garden blooms to color your table. Or, make your own crepe-paper flowers in an assortment of vibrant hues if you don’t have access to the real thing.

5- Place Cards

Couple your place cards with your party’s dinner menu for an elegant addition to your table. Pair them with a hand-made paper flower or wrapped napkin for a splash of color. Or, to add a personal touch, print out unique place cards for each guest using a photograph of each person. As a bonus, each guest will get to take their photograph with them as a gift at the end of your dinner party.

6- Coasters

Coasters made from soft leather can be personalized with your dinner party’s theme colors, acting both to add color to your table and to protect your table and glassware. Use the same color paint that you use for your tablecloth to fit your dinner party’s theme and season. You can use the same stamp or design you used for your napkins or tablecloth, or use masking tape to create a color block pattern.

7- Lanterns

Not all that glitters is gold, but your guests don’t need to know that. Use metallic spray paint to decorate plain paper lanterns until they shine. Make sure to arrange your embellished decor in such a way that the light will catch it, making your table look brighter and more inviting in the warm glow.