With holiday gatherings on the horizon we thought it would be fun to put together a bunch of easy DIY place card holders. And because it’s the holidays…and you might be short on both time and money…all of these ideas come together quickly and are inexpensive!
Before we get started…every name you see as the name card themselves was simply printed out of the family printer onto cardstock using a pretty font. You can always write these names by hand if you would like.
Now, onto the place card holders!
This first place card holder is a small wreath purchased at a craft store for 99 cents and we simply laid the name card on top.
Next we have something for the Thanksgivng table. This is a chalkboard clip that can be found at a variety of craft stores…and big box stores in their wedding/craft sections. (Or I found similar ones HERE on Amazon…it is a package of 12 for 9.99.)
All we did here was write the name on the chalk board and then slip an index card with a writing prompt into the clip. Ours is for thanksgiving but you can easily change the prompt to be things like “What do you want for Christmas?”, “What was the best thing that happened this year?” etc etc etc…and then these cards can be read at dinner, hung in a central location, saved to be read the next year.
It is a great place card holder for both children and adults alike.
And speaking of children…this next place card holder is just for them!
Its a Pilgrim Hat colored pencil (or crayon) holder! We often wrap the kids table with butcher paper that they can color on while they wait for dinner to be served. The kids love it and it keeps them busy while all the food is finishing up!
*For a tutorial on how to make these hats you can click HERE. Also…to change these into a Christmas motif simply change the colors from black to red and add a black band of ribbon underneath the button and BAM! It’s a Santa colored pencil holder.
Ok here is one that is more for the grown ups….
A simple brown paper card wrapped around a napkin with ribbon…and then to add a little something special we slid in a sprig of rosemary. Not only does it look elegant it makes your napkin smell divine!
(Elizabeth found these napkins HERE.)
For this next placecard holder all you need is a sack of apples and some toothpicks!
All we did here was grab an apple, cut our name tag into the shape of a leaf and attached it to the apple using a toothpick!
(Actually….for the one in this photo we used a straight pin because my kids used all the toothpicks to build mini log cabins…anyway…don’t use a straight pin…ever…just use a toothpick!)
Alright, next we have two different versions of my favorite place card holder for the holidays!
It is a simple notebook…you can buy a pack of 3 at your local Dollar Store…tied up with ribbon and some instructions.
Here’s what you do with these. Each book has a name on the cover. And each guest gets a pen when they arrive to dinner. Then as everyone is mingling they get to go around to each book and write inside why they are thankful for the person whose name is on the cover. They can write as much or as little as they would like. They can write in everyone’s book or no one’s book. And the don’t have to sign their names if they don’t want to. The books remain out all evening and then are collected by the owners at the end of the night to take with them.
I love this activity.
However…if you are unsure of participation…you can always try this:
Same kind of notebook…tied up with instructions….but the only person who writes in this book is the owner. They write what they are thankful for this year. Then…if you live at my house…all the books are collected and put away until next year when they come back to be filled out again and the memories of gratitude from the former year are relived.
Need something more simple? Then this one is for you.
Grab a sack of pinecones…anywhere…literally they are everywhere…and stick your name cards on the top of them. Easy Peasy.
And speaking of easy…so is this one.
The name tag is glued to a dowel, that is inserted into a tiny pumpkin and placed on the plate. It’s fun, it’s festive, and your guests can take them home when they leave.
Something else they can take home when they leave is another of my favorite place card holders….
Golden Toy Animals. I love these for kids and adults. They are funny and whimsical and I love them. In fact…I wrote a whole blog post about how to make them HERE. So if these are your jam check out THIS POST to see how easy they are to make.
And finally if all this seems too much…you can always use my list minute go to place card holders….clothes pins.
That’s right clothes pins. I have a box of wooden ones as well as a box of them I have spray painted black and some that I have spray painted gold. They are simple and cute and take two seconds to set out.
See…I promised you that these ideas really were fast, easy, and inexpensive.
Happy Holidays!
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