Floral Centerpieces on a Budget

P is for Party Planning: Floral Centerpieces on a Budget

When it comes to getting myself in over my head on projects, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  A few months ago, my mom volunteered to provide 18 floral centerpieces for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser.  There was no budget for this project, so keeping costs as low as possible was important.  We combined our creative genius and here is what we came up with:

We thought about using mason jars or even recycled spaghetti jars for a rustic Italian look, but we couldn’t come up with quite the right thing.  My mom found these darling red vases at the dollar store.  For only costing $1 a piece, these vases were nice quality and a fairly substantial weight.  We also thought that these vases could easily be used for other events such as Christmas or Valentine parties in the future. These vases also came in several other colors.  Keep your eye on the dollar store for great vases and glassware at a bargain price.  Total cost of vases was $18 plus tax.

Next for the flowers.  We explored a variety of options – Alstromeria, Sunflowers, a variety of mums.  We settled on Viking Mums that look like miniature sunflowers.  My mom picked them up a few days in advance, trimmed the stems and kept them in a bucket of water in the warm house to let them fully open up before the event.  Their bright sunny color contrasted perfectly with the deep red vases. We were able to fill up all 18 vases using only 5 bunches of the Viking Mums.  Each bunch cost $5.99 for a total cost for flowers of $29.95 plus tax.

The finishing touch was to tie a raffia bow around each vase adding a little rustic charm.  We happened to have enough raffia in our own craft stash to not have to buy any extra, but it is inexpensive to pick up at the craft store.  The total cost for this project was just over $50.  That averages out to be around $2.85 per centerpiece which is really a bargain for a cute little floral arrangement.

The centerpieces were a big hit at the fundraiser and looked darling on the red gingham checked tablecloths. My mom and I enjoyed working on putting these centerpieces together too as it gave us a creative outlet and some much needed girl time.  We were pleased with how they turned out and how little time and money we had to invest in them. We hope to have inspired you that it really is possible to create lovely floral centerpieces on a budget.

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