Custom crossword puzzle; via Martha Stewart

A custom crossword puzzle would be a perfect way to create discussion at a bridal luncheon, or wedding or baby shower. Try Variety Games or Puzzle Maker for customizable templates.

"Fun Facts" card; via Style Me Pretty; photo by Olive Juice

Even listing some fun facts about the bride and groom or guests of honor at a party can be a great way to start chatter around the table. This card is adorable!

Question-prompting guest book; via Martha Stewart

Create your own thought-provoking guest book that guests can sign and pass around the table.

DIY fortune cookies; via Once Wed

I love these DIY fortune cookies found on Once Wed. Create a series of “fortunes” or best wishes and insert them into the folded fortune-cookie-look-a-like and encourage guests to share their wishes around the table.

Paper Leaves of Thanks; via Martha Stewart

With Thanksgiving coming up it’s a perfect opportunity to create some interactivity around the table through having guests share what they are thankful for. Even just writing little thoughts on these simple but pretty paper leaves could be fun.

What’s your fun idea for making your special occasion dinner table interactive?

Baking for Good is an “online bake sale that supports great causes.”  They offer a variety of treats, ranging from cookies to bars to granola and they all look delicious. Their margarita shortbread, for example, is calling my name.

margarita shortbread from Baking for Good

They even offer gift packs and suites of themed iced sugar cookies. The cookies would be fabulous for a party, a baby or wedding shower, or an engagement party.

iced wedding-themed cookies

How fabulous would it be to share with guests that each bite they take of their sweet treat goes to an even sweeter cause like First Book (one of my favorite non-profits) or The American Cancer Society.

Here’s to all the charitable sweet tooths out there!

We came up with a vintage French market theme, evoking strolls through an outdoor market in France — with old world finds, rustic elegance, and a touch of “chic.” Burlap, accented with light pink and grey tones along with pewter and silver serving pieces, created a cohesive design.

custom-made burlap "baby girl" banner

shower invitation, designed by SugarB Designs

table setting

One of the hosts made extraordinary lemon-lime shortbread cookies and expertly decorated them. Custom tags coordinating with the stationery suite were attached to each cookie, serving as place cards.

place setting; custom cookie and tag serve as place cards

French macarons were the centerpiece of the event. Caramel and raspberry macarons from Adour were showcased on a silver three-tiered tray for guests to enjoy.

French macarons: the inspiration for the party

The menu was entirely homemade (with the exception of the macarons!) and included petit fours with pink flourishes, chocolate truffles, tuna-stuffed baguette, miniature quiches in pate brisee, black forest ham and brie tea sandwiches, and other delights.

assorted savory bites

miniature quiche

chocolate and buttercream petit fours

Each menu item was labeled with a tag to help guests more easily identify what they wanted.

custom food labels

As guests made their way around the buffet table, a pianist played children’s nursery songs softly in the background — how appropriate!

entertainment during the party

A small book that matched the theme was created so that the gifts could be recorded during the party. The guest of honor was given a gift bag at the end of the party that contained the record, additional macarons, custom thank you notes matching the stationery suite, and a special hand-decorated cookie.

record of gifts

Pink. Pink. And more pink! Pink floral arrangements anchored the tables and even the sparkling lemonade was pink! The arrangements included French tulips and the lemonade was… yes… French!

pink floral arrangements anchored the tables

tulips and other pink flowers

Sparkling pink lemonade

Countless thanks to SugarB Studio, who created the fabulous stationery suite, and to Katie McMurry, photographer, for the amazing photos! Tres bien!

Congratulations, again, to our dear friend and her new family!

I absolutely A-D-O-R-E this clever non-floral centerpiece idea (created by Orla Kiely and photographed by Ngoc Minh Ngo) featured on Rachael’s website,  Every Day with Rachael Ray. Wouldn’t this be fabulous decor for a shower, birthday, or even at a pre-party for a bachelorette outing?

Non-floral centerpiece idea from Every Day with Rachael Ray

If you’ve been hit by the cupcake craze and are planning on serving them at your wedding or next event, why not embellish the cupcakes with special toppers to give your event an even more customized appeal?

Here are a few cupcake toppers that I love (check out the captions for sources and click on the photo to take you there); they’d be fabulous for a wedding, shower, birthday, retirement party, anniversary… you name it!

Paper Flower Cupcake Toppers from Millalove on Etsy

Retro Cupcake Pennant Template from Vintage Glam Weddings

Mini Cupcake Topper Pinwhirls

wedding cupcake toppers by Etsy's goosegrease

Printable Bright Baby Cupcake Toppers for Baby Shower - DIY by The TomKat Studio

Creature Comforts DIY Cupcake Toppers

Little Birdie Cupcake Toppers from TheCupcakeGirls on Etsy

Custom Table Numbers

While the idea of using frames to display table numbers at weddings is not a new one, I love how My DIY Wedding Day finds a way to make it fresh — and easy!

Simply find frames that complement your tablescape, choose a decorative paper (think wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, etc) that reinforces your color scheme and overall design, affix a printed table number (using the same font as your other wedding stationery) and voila! Simple. Elegant.

The idea could be used equally well at a rehearsal dinner, bridesmaids luncheon, or shower.

Thanks, My DIY Wedding Day!