Whether or not July 1 falls during the week or on the weekend, Canada Day always marks the first official long weekend of summer. It's a great time to spend with friends and family, relaxing outside, eating, drinking and just generally taking it easy. So you may think decorating for a Canada Day event isn't necessary, but entertaining in stylish, simple way doesn't require much -- just a little attention to detail. Event planner and guest blogger Marla Brown shows you how.
Chair Treatment
Bring inside comforts outdoors. Use inexpensive pillows and pashminas to dress up your outdoor chairs. We alternated the pashminas in black and white around the table and popped them with the funky black and white pillows.
Casual Linen and Lighting
We ran two red pashminas width-wise between the table and the glass top for a clean look and fabulous pop of colour. Then we added three simple hanging lanterns in a square shape instead of the typical round from the overhead umbrella for a chic look.
Cocktail Napkins
Have fun with your napkins for extra “oomph.” Use two different patterns for contrast. Tip – have your cocktail napkins match the pillows and pashminas in the black and white on your chairs to tie in the whole look. We did these fabulous little linen cocktail napkins but paper napkins are perfect too.
Flowers
Go with a high and a low arrangement but keep it simple. We took three low and long glass vases and cut the mums super short in a hedge. Then, we took all three vases and put them together to make a larger square. Simple and stunning. For the taller arrangement take a large glass vase, carefully add some river rocks to hide the store bought orchid plant.
Think Drinks: Goblets and Tureens
As always, our mantra is simple and chic. We found these amazing tureens and filled them with red and white sangria. This is a refreshing outdoor cocktail anyone can enjoy; you can also serve non-alcoholic punch. We grouped the two tureens together for extra impact on the table and to create a bar area space separate from the food area on the same table. The swanky red goblets really pop the table. Keep it chic and group all the glasses together in a hammered silver tray, or just right on your table.
Did Someone Say Poof?
We had so much fun making these black and white "poofs" I cannot even stand it! Ashley, our in-house crafter, made these in a flash. It took her approximately five minutes a poof. We purchased different patterns of black and white tissue paper and made large and small tissue poofs to place in an accent area by the cocktail table. Fun, easy and they will be the talk of the party. See how to make pom poms big and small!