Spring and Summer bring out the plant and garden bug in almost everyone! I thought it would be fun to come up with a party theme that combines my love for wine & paint parties with the idea of planting and succulents. Succulents are super fun, can be very creative, and, bonus, hard to kill.
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So this party theme is called: Sips & Succulents. It’s basically a planting party, but with drinks! Lol. Check out some great tips for hosting your own plant and sip party below. And, you can check out my Sips & Succulents Party Pack too! Plus, I’ll link all the goods at the bottom.
Planning
For a plant and sip party, you must have a workable area to be planting. Although you could plant your succulents inside, having multiple people at your party only increases the risk of a mess. So, I would probably stick to the outdoors with this party theme. That being said, it really is going to depend on your region too. If it’s over 100 degrees outside, that’s probably going to outweigh the idea of cleaning up a mess. You can see the area I had this party in the “before” picture below.
If you do decide to have your party inside, consider laying a tarp down under your table. This way you can roll it up and just take the fallen dirt outside! You can get a tarp at a sporting goods store, or Amazon, I’m sure.
Alternatively, if you still want it to be outside, and your area is super hot, try having it as a brunch. You could have it earlier in the day or even close to sunset. Just make sure you have adequate lighting. Or, do a dual inside/outside party. This works especially well if you have a backyard. You can do the planting outside but have the inside available for eating/drinking/cooling off.
Party Decorations
The Table
The table is where you’ll be hosting most of the party. One way I like to change up the traditional party table cloth is by wrapping the table. You read that right, gift wrap your table! For this party, I kept it natural and used a brown kraft paper. I bought a roll, which made it super easy to slide across the table. At the ends, you can see, I folded it to create a clean line. To attach it, I simply used scotch tape, or packing tape.
To jazz it up a little bit, I bought a lime green streamer (since party colors are yellow and green). I taped this down on the ends across the table to give it a more polished look. It’s a quick way to create a simple table covering! And, the best thing is, when the party is over, you just tear it off and throw it away!
For the centerpiece, I used a couple different things. I found this Better Homes & Gardens three bucket set at Walmart. It was perfect for this party. I filled the buckets with soil for planting. Here is a version of this three bucket system you can get on Amazon. I also found a little decorative sign that says “bloom”. This was a clearance find at Party City, but you can find great centerpieces at Target or even The Dollar Tree too!
To finish off the table, you want to set up your party attendees with their supplies. Make sure you have pots, gloves, succulents and don’t forget their party favor! You can get most of these things at your local hardware store or gardening store. See the links at the bottom of the post for shopping ideas.
The Banner & Ambience
The banner I used, I made. It comes in the Sips & Succulents Party Pack (more info below). But, you can print any combination of letters and numbers that you want. Of course, I think it’s super cute to spell out “sips & succulents”. The banner comes in green and yellow, so you can choose your favorite.
As for the other decorations, I used a green tissue ball. You can get these at a party store, Walmart or on Amazon here. They just need to be unpackaged, scrunched/fluffed and hung up! I used a green and white twine to hang them.
You can add balloons if you want, there are some really cute cactus balloon options on Amazon. You can see them below.
The Food Station
Since I had my party outside, I used the area by the community BBQ to display my food. But, before you add the food to your table, or whatever, wrap that puppy too! Use that kraft or wrapping paper and put a layer down under your food.
Party Food & Drink
Food: Cheese & Crackers
What is the perfect food to have at a wine theme party? Uh, cheese! Since we are busting out the prosecco for this party, cheese and crackers seemed like a perfect compliment. My party strengths do not lie in the kitchen. So, I purchased my cheese already cut. It also came with a gouda cheese dip, which was amazing. I got it at my grocery store, Smith’s (Kroger).
The serving tray I used has been in my house FOREVER. But, I got it at Crate & Barrel a long time ago. It’s perfect for serving things that need to be separated. This one is very similar to mine and would get the job done! So, let’s be real. Just because you’re hosting a party, doesn’t mean you have to slave away making food. If you don’t like to cook or bake, just buy it!
Finally, to finish it off, I found some food flags at Party City. They are super cute and say things like “Dig In”. I mean, how perfect is that for our planting party! I found them at Party City. They even match our kraft paper tablecloth. I love it when things come together like that! It’s a small detail, but it really helps the cohesiveness of the party design.
These plates were super cute. I got them at Hobby Lobby. They’re real plates, not paper, but they do require a hand wash, FYI.
Food: “Dirt” Cupcakes
I can’t take credit for these either. I totally bought them at Walmart. They came just like you see them. But, it’s easy to replicate. If you’re a baker, make your chocolate cupcakes and set three or four aside. Frost the rest of them. Then use your set aside cupcakes and crumble them up. Use the cake crumbles and sprinkle across the top of the frosted cupcakes for your “dirt” look.
Food: Succulent Chocolates
Ok, we’ve finally come to a party food that I actually made! These are super duper easy to make. (Hence me making them!) You just need a few things: the candy mold, green chocolate melts, a knife and a refrigerator.
- Melt the chocolate as directed on the package
- Then pour the melted chocolate into the mold
- Overfill it slightly, but not too much
- Shake the mold a bit to make sure the chocolate fills in all the cracks
- Use a knife to slide across the top of the mold, to ensure they are flat on the bottom and remove any excess
- Pop them in the fridge for an hour or until hardened
- Push the bottom of the mold and gently pop out the chocolates!
A note about chocolate – this will melt ASAP if your party is outside and it’s really hot. So, be mindful of where you put your chocolate and the weather!! You don’t want your (not so hard) work to go to waste.
Drink: Citrus Water
This one is fairly simple, so presentation is everything. I used cold water, but if you have warm water, start with ice! Add your water, sliced lemons and sliced limes. This will give you a citrusy water to hydrate while you drink your bubbly. What’s the perfect way to dispense this water? Cactus dispenser! It’s totally on theme and easy for everyone to use. (Not to mention the lemons and limes tie into our colors! See what I did there!)
I got these amazing cactus sippers for people to put their water in and sip on. It’s great for sipping while you’re planting. There’s a straw, so no need to use your dirt-filled hands to pick up a cup. Plus, you can print out the straw flags from the Party Pack and put those on the sippers for extra cute décor. And we can’t have a plant and sip party without sippers!
You can shop these sippers on Amazon here.
Drink: Champagne
Champs! I love prosecco, so that’s my go to. But, you can pick any wine you like! I think a white or a champagne would be the most refreshing and pair nicely with the cheese. To display the wine bottle, I used a giant pot. I got this one at The Dollar Tree. I put the bottle in and filled it with ice.
It should be noted that clay pots are porous. What this means, is they will absorb things. So, as your ice melts, your pot will get wet. And if there is a hole in the bottom of the pot, water will drip through as the ice melts. I would suggest lining your pot with plastic wrap or a garbage bag (cut up of course). But, you can see in my picture above, that the pot will start to absorb that water a look/feel wet.
Party Activities
Planting
Of course, the actual planting! Have some succulents ready for your guests as well as the materials that they’ll need. (Soil, gloves, pots). Let them choose their succulent! Some people already know how to plant succulents, but in case you want some tips:
- I like to use succulent soil mix. You can find it at a hardware store, garden store or on Amazon. It’s got the right mix of materials needed for healthy succulents!
- Make sure you have pots with drainage – we don’t want too much water to hold in the soil.
- Don’t plant them too deeply. Start with a healthy amount of soil.
- Drop the succulent in the pot and lightly pack the soil around it to keep it stable.
- DON’T over water. In fact wait a couple days to water so the roots can adjust before they get all soaked up with water.
- Top with a fun topper like small rocks or pebbles.
- If you’re planting in a bigger pot, you can fill the succulents by planting them close together. Start with bigger ones in the middle and smallers ones around the edges.
You can get succulents at a garden center or a home improvement store. Alternatively, I have an option for you. Fifty Flowers is a company that sells wholesale flowers and plants. They have wholesale succulents in a couple different options.
But, the cool thing about it is these succulents are in their “save the growers” area of the website. What that means is 100% of the proceeds of sales go directly to the farmers that supply the plants in that section. So, you can get your succulents for the party and give some support to the farmers! Oh! And shipping is included too! Here is a sneak peak of the succulents:
Get your wholesale, save the farmers, succulents here.
Photo Props
We can’t have a plant and sip party without photo props. I’m photo prop obsessed. I made some super cute ones for this party. If you don’t want the whole party pack, you can purchase just the Sips & Succulents photo props here.
They’re an instant download. You can get them printed at a Staples or Office Depot. Or, you can print at home! I suggest cardstock, to make them really sturdy. I used skewers from the grocery store as sticks and simply taped them on the back of the photo prop.
You might want to consider having a photo backdrop to liven up your plant and sip party decor and provide a background for the fun photos. Amazon has a super cute option:
Party Favors
As you can see, I kept the kraft paper theme with the party favors too! I got these small kraft paper bags and filled them with all kinds of goodies.
What you’ll need: green crinkle paper, tissues, fake succulent
I put the crinkle paper in the bottom and filled the bag with the other items. Your party favor doesn’t need to be too extensive, because they get to take home their succulent too! So, just find some cute on theme items and pack them in. I got these tissues in a dollar bin at Michael’s Craft Store, and I found the fake succulents there too.
Plant and Sip Party Pack
The Sips & Succulents Party Pack includes everything you need to host this plant and sip party! Well, except the food and drink, and a few physical items of course. The Party Pack includes the following items for instant digital download:
- Banner (2 Colors)
- Photo Props
- Food Tags (2 Colors)
- Gift Tags
- Succulent Care Cards
- Straw Flags
- Stickers (8 Designs)
- Water Bottle Wraps (2 Designs)
- Planting Playlist
You can find the Party Pack in EventOTB’s Etsy shop!
Wrap up
Are you ready for your plant and sip party?! It’s great for almost year-round – maybe not winter- but I’m not judging. You can get your friends together for some food, drinks and creativity. Plus, you can get grounded back in nature. Don’t forget your Party Pack and the materials list to make it all that much easier to host! Any plant and sip ideas I forgot? Comment below and share with everyone! Happy planting!
Links:
Party Pack | Cactus Sippers | Cactus Dispenser | Kraft Paper | Three Bucket Planter | Green Tissue Decorations | Cactus Balloons | Cactus Backdrop | Serving Tray | Succulent Chocolate Mold | Gloves | Succulent Soil | Succulent Photo Props
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