Citrus Dinner Party

My mom recently asked me to help her with a dinner party for her co-workers.  They are school teachers and the end of the year has been a bit hectic and a few staff changes prompted them to get together for a relaxing evening surrounded by friends.  I used the beautiful backyard with a stunning Koi pond as my inspiration and decided on a simple, yet elegant citrus theme for this outdoor citrus dinner party.

The dessert table was simple and featured orange creamsicle cupcakes, orange sherbet cups, mini cheesecakes, citrus candies and citrus flavored soda.  I wanted to use my favorite cake stand as the focal point, but didn’t need any more sweets so I piled oranges on top with a few green leaves to incorporate the citrus theme.  I loved the free Mother’s Day printables from Amanda’s Parties to Go and used the orange and lime green elements from the package to dress up the desserts and decor.

Although this was a potluck style dinner I still wanted it to feel intimate and special so I set the table with my white china, silver and water goblets.  I borrowed the green burlap from the host and used it as the table cloth (and runner on the dessert table.)  I had orange napkins left over from Halloween so I wrapped them with small doilies, tied with twine and a green leaf to add a pop of color to each place setting.

For a simple centerpiece I filled vases and bowls with oranges and limes.  I took my white candles and wrapped them with burlap, orange paper and then used the patterned paper from the Mother’s Day package to make little tags for each one.

I had lots of fun putting this citrus dinner party together (in less than 48 hours) and the ladies had a wonderful evening enjoying each others company.

I love the idea of regularly hosting dinner parties to entertain friends, do you host dinner parties?  What’s your favorite idea, theme or dinner you’ve hosted with friends?