Dinner parties are a great way to have friends and family members over to your home. If you are looking for more creative ways to serve food than simply putting it on a tray, check out the list below for five DIY serving ideas to create beautiful, innovative DIY table arrangements with items that you probably already have.
1. Mason Jars
Rather than piling food on a serving tray, consider single servings of dishes in small, clear mason jars. Mason jars are readily available at most hardware and home goods stores, and they are also affordable. They are excellent for serving a first course, such as soup or a cold salad. Alternatively, use them to serve dessert by putting either single servings or toppings for ice cream in them so that people can create their own sundaes. You can also give guests mason jars filled with candy or baked goods as party favors.
2. Fruit and Vegetable Bowls
Instead of simply using regular dishware to serve food, consider hollowing out vegetables or fruits and using them as small bowls for salads, soup, or other suitable dishes. Some easy vegetables and fruits to hollow out include bell peppers, avocados, melons, and tomatoes. Consider pairings like a melon with cottage cheese inside or an avocado with tuna fish salad. While guests will still need to use their plate, the homemade bowls will create stunning dishes and add a hint of flavor.
3. Waffle Cones
If you're planning to serve something sweet at the end of your party, try serving it in waffle cones instead of a run-of-the-mill bowl or plate. Even though these are traditionally reserved for scoops of ice cream, waffle cones are an easy, hand-held way for guests to eat their dessert, and they look beautiful when stacked on a tray. Some great ideas for waffle cone fillings include fruit salad, custard, or mini cookies.
4. Six-Pack Condiment Holder
If you're going for a picnic vibe, consider creating condiment and silverware holders out of empty six-pack containers from glass soda bottles or other beverages. You can use each separate compartment to hold an individual item. For example, napkins in one compartment, ketchup and forks in another, and so on. They are not only a cute, visually pleasing ways to carry your meal accessories, but also easy to transport and clean up.
5. Wine Cork Tray
If you're going to end up serving guests from a tray, it can be fun and impressive to spruce up a serving tray using wine corks. To make the tray, you'll need a sheet of acrylic glass cut to the same dimensions as the inner border of your tray. Line the bottom of your tray with the corks, then place the acrylic glass on top -- you're now ready to use your beautiful tray to serve hors d'oeuvres or beverages. You can opt to skip the acrylic glass and simply glue down the corks using a hot glue gun instead. Your cork tray will certainly be a talking point at holiday dinners.