Dinner Party Place Card Ideas

Place cards add a personal touch to a dinner party table setting and can serve as the final touch for a decoration scheme. As you design and make place cards, consider materials that relate to your centerpieces that can be used in unique, playful or beautiful ways. An unexpected place card design is a sweet surprise for dinner party guests and can often double as a party favor. Does this Spark an idea?

Twigs and Sprigs

Bring a touch of nature to your dinner party table by using evergreen branches to make place card holders. Find a thin branch that is about one-half of an inch in diameter and cut it into lengths that are slightly longer than your place cards. Glue the pieces together at the ends, and slip your cards into the middle. Accent the holder by tucking a small sprig of needles in front of the place card to the right of the name.

Wire Swirls

For a decorative place card holder, make swirly clips of colored wire. Buy rolls of wire covered in colored plastic or fabric that match the colors of your table decorations. Using a pair of pliers and various round objects, twist the middle of the wire into a pattern of loops and swirls, leaving the end pieces straight for about two inches. Line the place card up so that the swirl pattern is in front and the straight end pieces extend at a perpendicular angle under the card flat along the table. Bend the end pieces up to secure the card.

Paper Heart

For a couples' dinner party or a party around Valentine's Day, create paper heart place cards. Start with strips of paper that are three-quarters of an inch wide and about 11 inches long. Bend the paper in the middle and wrap each end around a pencil and curl it in toward the inside of the bend. When you release the pencil, the paper will naturally curl into a heart shape. Use a calligraphy pen to write the name of each guest on one outside edge of the heart, starting from the bend and working out to the rounded part. At the table, place the heart upside-down with one heart side in a champagne or wine glass and the side with the name facing out.

Herb Pot

Make a combination place card and party favor for a dinner party by using a miniature potted herb plant. Buy plants from a nursery and choose pots that match the decor of your table. Write the name of each guest onto a pot, and plant one herb into each pot. After the party, guests can take their herbs home for replanting.