Today, I am sharing with you some practical ways to host gatherings within a budget. I’ll also include some cool ways to promote the #insteading philosophy – a lifestyle where one actively choses to grow, nurture, upcycle and beautify their surroundings with available materials, instead of purchasing new.

My daughter, Shannyn Darlyn, made this custom wall bunting on her Circut. Doing it herself saved some money but more importantly gave her an opportunity to be creative and escape from her hectic life for a period of time. “A change is as good as a rest”.

I gathered all the “pink” items from our hoard collection of dishes and will fill them with food or condiments the day of. I purchased the pink basket and swath of dusty-rose fabric from the thrift shop last week. For both, I spent under $8 and I can spray paint the basket later and use the fabric in projects for my soon-to-be-three granddaughters! 

There’s no need for a single-use plastic table cloth and I will not be buying balloons either. So much of the plastic produced these days cannot, or is not, recycled as we are led to believe. It’s little ways to slow down the amount of plastic that enters our homes and then heads to the land fill.

I bought handmade baby shower greeting cards from local artist Heidi at Spring Abbotsford Cards. They are so adorable that our daughter-in-law, Kaitie, might choose to frame them for the baby’s room. 

The fern is from my plant collection. I’m using it instead of buying flowers that will fade and be discarded at this time of year. The lamp has some bling, which I borrowed from our guest bedroom, and matches the sparkling bunting paper. The wine bottle has a pink label so I kept it out as part of the party decor. 

I also asked if anyone on my local “Buy Nothing” site had a punch bowl that they could lend me for the occasion. Within 10 minutes someone offered me a gorgeous, vintage punch bowl that I will fill with a festive pink beverage!

Another important point when wanting to create a themed atmosphere, is to remove items. We are always keen to add things that will upscale the event. Unfortunately, that can lead over spending, and waste, which isn’t usually necessary. It is essential to remove some household items so that the theme you want has room to stand out.

In our case, Shannyn removed the blue/yellow canvas art that was hanging on the wall. I left all of the neutral coloured pillows but removed all of the dissimilar accent pieces that were scattered around the living and dining room. 

I’m loving every minute of creating and co-hosting this special occasion. It doesn’t feel a like looming amount of work nor will to be a massive expense. The atmosphere will be welcoming, joyful and hygge. We don’t need to go all-out or over-the-top to show our appreciation to people. And using our imaginations everyday, in little ways, is a fulfilling way to live. ❤️