In my family, I’m the one in charge of making name cards (some people call them “name plates”) for dinner parties. This year, I went with some super easy, quick ideas. These are great for winter holidays or even New Year’s Eve parties.
To make the name card you see above you simply take a piece of white card stock, and punch two holes (the smaller the hole, the better) at the end. Then weave a twig of rosemary* through the holes. You can also make two straight cuts if you don't have a hole puncher, and then slide the rosemary stem through. Remove the green spiky “leaves” at the bottom of the rosemary twig to make it easier to thread through the paper holes.
We used Avery foldable cards from Avery.com to make these. If you want to add a personal touch, you can write a message inside for your guests. If I was using these for New Year’s, I might ask everyone to write one New Year’s resolution inside. It would be fun to keep them and see whose resolutions came true by the next year.
[*If you don’t have rosemary, you can try lavender, thyme, or a dried flower.]
Below is how I plan to use these name cards to make a New Year’s brunch for family and friends. If you're not sure how to set a proper place setting (I seem to always forget), you can check out diagrams on this Buzzfeed post: How To Set A Proper Table. And, stay tuned for the recipe to the gluten-free almond banana bread you see in this photo!
These cards also look good standing upright if you don’t want to tuck them into napkins. And, if you’d like to add a fun message instead of a name, you are sure to put a smile on your guests’ faces.
Here’s another idea, use an old wine cork screw. Just ask an adult to use a straight-edge to make a horizontal slit in a piece of cork, then slide in a name card. I hand wrote the one below for my grandmother, then glued the name plate to some nice scrap Japanese paper I found. If you don’t want the corkscrew to wobble at all, you can glue a small button under the corkscrew.
A special thanks to Su of fitzsu.com for loaning us all the dinnerware in the above photos. Napkins from World Market. Washable Silver & White paper popcorn sac from Urbana Sacs. Card stock and templates from Avery.com. Japanese paper from Paper Source.
A special thanks to interior designer Tracy Sonka Stultz of Sonka-Stultz designs for her expertise on table settings. Make sure to check out the fabulous DIY Hot Cocoa Bar she also helped us with.
Photos above by my uncle, Peter Lin of Coventry Automatik.
Click here to see more name card/party favor ideas on our blog.
Wondermint Kids
Recipes, Crafts, Books & Travel.
Road-tested by kids. Loved by Parents.