The dinner party finally happened and it was fantastic. We invited our dear friends from our neighborhood and from church – their attendance made the party so much fun and a huge success. The original idea was a Downton Abbey luncheon with my gals, but the costumes weren’t as easy to come by as I had hoped. So, after some research, I determined I could still honor my love of Downton Abbey by focusing on the 1920s period. There are awesome costumes on Amazon for both ladies and gentlemen.

My only regret is not having more photos of the party in action. After Italian themed appetizers and dinner, we played Bunco and it was fun seeing our guests competitive sides come out. Our guests brought dessert and wine and dressed to the nines. There are some details that I’m excited to share because you can use them at any event or get-together.

Having some party starters helps guest to warm up to the festivities while they visit and mingle. I love making non-alcoholic spritzers with a fun garnish. The garnish is square ice cubes with a raspberry and then topped with a lemon rind wrapped around a fresh raspberry. We also prepared three appetizers, slow cooker bourbon meatballs, caprese bites, and crackers with spinach artichoke dip.

This vintage cabinet was the perfect place to set up wine and water for our guests to help themselves. I pulled out the top drawer and created a work surface on top of the drawer with a cutting board. With just a few decorative touches, like a free branch from outside, the vignette was set and easily available right across from the dining tables.

There are a few party details that can be done ahead of time to make your party extra special. I made butter pats for the rolls in the shape of roses by using a silicone chocolate mold. All you do is soften a stick of butter, use a knife to fill the rose mold, and then freeze it. The rose-shaped butter will pop out and you can keep in the freezer until it’s time to plate the food.

To add a little flavor to the water dispenser, I cut some lemons and added them to large ice cube molds and just popped them into the dispenser right before guests started to arrive. The spritzers also had fun ice cubes as mentioned before, The ice cube tray is awesome and also stores the cubes.

I also printed some name tents to label the appetizers. Using Canva.com you can easily design and print at home, for free. I created Bunco cards as well so that I could customize how many rounds of the game were to be played. In Downton Abbey style, I also made name cards using acrylic tags, gold leaf, and a feather. Canva.com is my go-to desktop publishing program and it is so user-friendly and comprehensive.

To decorate the party space, I selected a few specific vintage items I already owned and repeated them throughout the space. To elevate the spaces, I also added some branches with fairy lights, bits of moss, vintage shutters, and vintage open frames. The repetition was subtle and just kept the space more neutral with interesting detail. For fun, I used a glue gun to attach moss to some chicken wire in the shape of a drum shade. I then gathered some twigs from the yard and used them as accents through the shade. Adding a few fun handmade elements makes any party special and creates a unique party space.

Thanks so much for checking out this post. I hope my dinner party inspires your own. A simple dinner and fun game with cherished friends is always a good idea. Be sure to subscribe if you want more decorating, DIY, and party inspiration and ideas.