Garden Party Decorations

It's finally starting to feel like Spring with the sun shining and colour starting to pop up everywhere in the garden. In our house at this time of year we have to start planning ahead for May as we have three birthdays to celebrate on three consecutive weekends. Three birthdays means three parties to organise, three lots of presents to buy and three birthday cakes to make (and eat!). 

The first birthday will be my step-daughter's 21^st and this year we're having a party at home in the garden. Of course, it all depends if the weather is good and living in the north west of England this is definitely not guaranteed. I think we'll have a contingency plan in case the worst happens, there's nothing worse than a barbecue in the rain!
We want to make the occasion feel like a celebration and not just a regular barbecue in the garden. To make it feel a bit more like a party I'm going to add few decorations to the patio area and some party accessories to the outdoor table. I think a bit of colour and some little touches will make all the difference. I've been searching for some inspiration and here are my favourites!

1. Truly Scrumptious Floral Paper Bunting

Bunting is very versatile and instantly adds a splash of colour to a room or garden. I love this floral paper bunting it's bright colours will really add a pretty touch to our patio area. It could be tied up inside a gazebo or garden umbrella, or you could have it hanging across the garden attached to branches, hanging basket hooks etc.

2. Truly Scrumptious Floral Paper Lantern Set

I love this lantern set, it includes three different sized lanterns each in a different design. They'll look perfect hung with the Floral Fiesta Honeycombs (at the front of the main picture at the top of the page). You could tie them to branches, hang them from your garden umbrella, or just anywhere you feel needs a splash of colour.

3. Floral Fiesta Paper Straws

These Floral Fiesta straws match the paper lanterns and bunting so will look great with the whole set together. I can just imagine sipping a summer cocktail with one of these!

4. Eddingtons Straws

I really like these striped straws too, they remind me of parties I went to when I was a child! I love the traditional style of them, they'll look great on the table in some vintage jars. They're only £1.99 for a pack of 25 which is a bargain! I think the kids at the party will love drinking ice cold lemonade with one of these!

5. Glasses and Bowls

Every summer party needs these colourful glasses and bowls which are £7 each from The Boot Room, Bristol (www.bootroombristol.com). I love the retro style of them, so much nicer than the flimsy plastic cups from the supermarket we usually use for barbecues!

6. Butterfly Glass Percher Cards

I love these laser cut butterfly glass perchers (£7.50 for a pack of ten) what a lovely idea! They are very delicate and will look pretty on a Champagne flute when raising a glass to the birthday girl. For a more formal party, you can also use them as place cards, just order them with only one half laser cut and the rest left blank for you to write the name on. They also come in heart and hummingbird designs too and have a while range of matching items including this lovely laser cut bunting.

So that's the accessories sorted! I now need to find some cocktail recipes and some delicious barbecue recipes, any ideas?