When it comes to entertaining, I’m pretty informal. I’m all about keeping things easy; lay the dishes out on the counter for everyone to serve themselves buffet style, and pull out the paper plates. However, sometimes you just feel like being a little fancy, even if, as we say in our family; we ain’t fancy.

With Easter coming up and spring family dinners, I wanted to create a very informal, yet still pretty, table setting; that was also budget friendly! When you hop on Pinterest, especially if you don’t already have a ton of beautiful dishes on hand, those settings can get very overwhelming, and also, very expensive, so I had to get a little creative.

Budget Friendly Spring Table Setting Tips

The Dollar Tree Treasures

Where my Dollar Tree fans at?! I love the Dollar Tree for cheap holiday decorations, party supplies and summer pool toys, but some of the other things I find in there surprise me! When we first got married, I registered for this beautiful Pottery Barn set of dishes, that my aunt and uncle so graciously blessed us with. However, 11 years and two babies later – so many of those dishes have been broken. When we moved into our new house, we literally had zero bowls. How one family manages to destroy nearly a whole set of dishes is a mystery to me, but we found ourselves without bowls. Around the same time, I happened to be in the Dollar Tree picking up some pool noodles, when I noted their dishes. I never noticed their dishes before then, but they’re pretty great – and they’re only a $1! I bought several bowls that day, and they’ve been holding strong in our kitchen ever since.

So, since many of my dishes are mismatched and I wanted a consistent, pretty set for the table setting, I went over to the Dollar Tree and picked up these basic white plates. At $1.00 each you can’t go wrong! Of course there are always treasures to be found at yard sales, especially if you’re going for the shabby chic mismatched look.

Everyday Linens

When it came to choosing the linens for the table, I went with a runner and napkins from Hearth and Hand at Target. I wanted to choose linens that were pretty, but not so formal that they couldn’t be used daily. The runner (although a little short for my table) is so neutral and light, it will look pretty on my table all season (I could also see it being pretty in the fall).

The napkins I have not only used on the setting, but I’ve also just been keeping them around the kitchen to use in place of paper towels. Taking a little inspiration from Erica, they’re great for cutting down on paper towel waste around the kitchen, and it doesn’t hurt that they’re a pretty little pop of color!

Blooms From Your Yard

I mentioned in my floral arranging post that I don’t currently have a yard full of fresh flowers – but one day I sure hope to!

Although I didn’t pick the Hydrangeas for this table setting – I did pick the daffodils! Using flowers that grow around your home is a great way to save money and add color! You could also get the most out of your table setting investment by using faux stems!

All in all, this table setting cost me under $50 and made this very non-fancy gal, feel a little fancy. I totally had to google how the table is supposed to be set, and couldn’t find enough spoons in my drawer to complete the settings; but hey, baby steps!

What’s your entertaining style? Are you a seasoned formal pro or casual like me?

-Brooke