Expert: Phyllis Cambria - PartyPlansPlus.com - 2/12/2004

Question
Hi,
It's a 40th wedding anniversary party held in a banquet/meeting room at a lodge for 60-70 people. There will actually be casino gaming tables there. I'm trying to keep it fun but elegant at the same time. And cheap.

I've perused web sites for casino decor and have used some products (card suit cut outs, larger for wall hangings, smaller to scatter on tables) and ideas (I am making 2 ft x 2 ft dice to stack on the floor). There will be a purchased banner and nicer quality balloons. King and Queen of Hearts is the main visual theme and have made a couple posters.

Colors: Black, red, silver.
Tables: White table cloth, black topper, red napkins, white tall candle in glass hurricane type holder surrounded by red tulle with those little white lights.

There will be a cake table and a gift table and a table outside the door to greet guests with guest book and dinner cards and such. These need decor.

I'm a little crafty, so can make simple things.

**I just found out: The chairs in the room are a pale GREEN! Augh! Priced covers, too expensive.

After-Christmas sales made me buy:
**Red felt Christmas tree skirts for the material that I know I can make into SOMEthing -- but what?

**Red and silver tinsel (each color separate). It's hanging from a band across their top edge -- could hang on wall somehow. It's the somehow I'm stuck with.  Geometric shapes?!  :/

**Lights -- the little Christmas kind, two smaller sets of red and lots of the white.

**I'm stuck mostly with wall hangings -- a poster by itself is just too plain/stark. They need to be set off somehow. (There are three so far.)

I seem to have exhausted my ideas -- such as they were.

I don't have ANY silver going on.

Thanks for any ideas!

pat


Answer
Hi Pat!

First wish the happy couple well!

We have a total casino party plan on my site at:
http://partyplansplus.com/partyplans/casino.htm

Check it out, it might give you some good ideas.

As for your specifics.

You can put silver candles into your centerpiece arrangements.  You can tie wide silver ribbons onto the chair. Dot the knot of each chair tie with a playing card affixed with a double-side tape or hot glue.

Another idea would be to rim the black table cloth's edge with silver ribbon.

You also could tie the red napkins with the silver ribbon and affix the playing card.   Don't worry, with all of the other decor, the chairs will more or less disappear.

The red and silver tinsel can be attached to the front of the buffet and gift tables to set it apart from the dining tables and also used to address the front of the bandstand or behind your band or dj, if applicable.

You can glue the red felt to cardboard, then draw and cut out oversized playing card suits -- club, spades, diamonds, hearts.  Then spread those around the room.  Or cover both sides of the cardboard and dangle the suits over the tops of the dining tables, buffet tables or playing tables.

Use the twinkle lights on the banisters if there are some or just to surround the game-playing tables.  Run it up and down the walls.  "Write" out the guests of honor's names in the lights.  Basically, the more flashing lights, the better.

As for your posters, mount them onto black poster board to make a frame for it so it's not just so plain.  You also could make a "frame" from playing card backs.  You can find playing cards inexpensively in dollar stores and use them all over the place.  The same thing with dice.

When you read my casino plan, you'll find lots of ideas.

By the way, if you found my answer helpful, I hope you'll sign up for our FREE newsletter. You can find it on my site at:
http://www.PartyPlansPlus.com

You also might find my book -- THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO THROWING A GREAT PARTY -- (co-written with Patty Sachs) useful.  There are thousands of other great tips you'll find for a lifetime's worth of entertaining! :)

Hope that helps.  Have fun!  And please don't forget to rate me. :)

Phyllis Cambria
Co-author with Patty Sachs of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party"
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