PATRIOTIC GREEN PLANT CENTERPIECE
What You'll Need:
- green plant (ivy is nice)
- flag decorations
- Dad's memorabilia or photos
Choose one beautiful green plant with trailing branches such as an ivy. Place it in the center of the table (in a basket, cache pot, or even a soup tureen). Insert a few miniature flags into the plant, or use bows made in flag colors and designs.
Tip: Decorate the length of the table with mementos of Dad's time in the armed service -- medals, photos, even letters home.
JOURNEY THROUGH TIME CENTERPIECE
What You'll Need:
- several pairs of shoes in graduated sizes
- flats of sod or trays of sand
- Dad's memorabilia or photos
Set a long flats of sod along the length of your table. (This is best at an outdoor picnic where dirt and moisture won't damage the tabletop.) Place a pair of baby shoes at one end. Next add toddler shoes, teenage sneakers, wingtips, etc. to show the passages in Dad's life along the length of the table. If the inside of the shoes are unattractive fill with smooth rocks, bark chips, or Spanish moss. At the end, next to the largest pair of Dad's shoes, place a pair of tiny baby shoes, indicating the event of fatherhood.
Tips: Adding framed photos will be a fun addition to this table. Use inexpensive plastic holders and color photocopies of your photos. Use trays of sand instead of the sod if desired, or stretch out a length of sheet moss. Use your kids shoes, or look for graduated sizes of shoes at a thrift store or garage sales. Clean and deodorize them, or the meal will be one to remember for the wrong reasons!