It was my daddy’s 63rd birthday over the weekend and we celebrated the occasion with a poker-themed party.
My pops is a gambling man. Every time I call him he’s bellied up to the poker table so picking a theme for him was pretty easy.
He’s a high-roller (haha) but I stuck to a tight budget and you can bet I pulled the whole thing off for 15 guests for just over $100 — decorations and food!
I hit the jackpot in the clearance section at Michael’s. All their summer party goods are marked down, including the red and yellow diamond plates and napkins which were actually a part of their seasonal “Circus” party line. I thought the red diamond pattern worked well with the poker motif so I scored – only $3 for 2 packs of plates (12 ct.) an a pack of napkins (24 ct). I bought the playing cards at Dollar Tree – 2 packs for $1 – can’t beat that! I also picked up the table cloth, dessert plates and extra napkins at the Dollar Tree.
I adhered playing cards to the sides square, glass votive holders to hold utensils and used the rest of the deck to scatter across the buffet. Tip: Use a glue stick to glue the cards on – cards peel off easily and the glue washes off with no residue on the glass.
Green plastic table cloths laid across the counter mimicked the look of a gaming table.
Food was kept simple with a few party trays from a local restaurant. You can really keep the price down on catering if you order from the hors d’oeuvre section instead expensive entrees. And whenever possible, pick it up yourself to avoid delivery and service charges.
I dressed up a store-bought cake to match the theme by inserting a couple cards into the frosting. It tied it all together perfectly!
