Gather your best gals and celebrate friendship together this Valentine's Day with a Cactus Inspired Galentine's Party! Adding a few personal touches goes a long way in letting them know how much they mean to you. Bright colors with a touch of whimsy are sure to bring cheer to your fiesta with your besties!
Photo Credit: Moments by Maredith
Decorations + Backdrop
Have you ever found an item and thought "that would be so fun for a party!"? I'm fully guilty of doing just that, and once I saw the too cute for words Cactus Ring Toss Game, I was a goner. I just knew it would be the perfect addition to this year's Galentine's Party. I couldn't get over his sweet smile and the hearts in place of desert blooms. He added just the right amount of whimsy to our party décor.
I love finding new and unexpected ways to use balloons, and am dying of cuteness over the Balloon Cactus Wall Art we created for this party. It made a huge statement and really helped set the tone for the theme – bright and cheerful! The best part is it doubles as a photo booth backdrop. Once the desserts have been devoured, the table can be moved out of the way and you and your gals can snap selfies to your heart's content.
Colorful and Whimsical Table Decor
The jumping off point for our table décor was the DIY Unfinished Wood Planter Box that was dressed up with a few Unfinished Wood Mini Hearts, which were painted in bright colors to coordinate with our theme. We filled the planter box with live cacti and added neon aquarium rocks for a pop of color. The most adorable mini wooden pennants were cut from thin wood and painted with the catch phrase of our theme "Stuck With Me" – a reminder to all my gal pals that I'm there for them through thick and thin. The pennants were finished off with a bit of pom-pom trim, because let's face it, everything looks better with little pom-poms!
The wooden planter was flanked with Mini Cactus Pinata Decorations. They looked extra festive with a hot pink painted wood mini heart and nestled in their purple pots. Notice the pom-pom trim? I couldn't resist creating another wooden pennant for a little extra charm. And take a peek at that table runner. I dyed a boring white runner bright green, then added hot pink cactus "needles". Little details like this really take parties up a notch in my book.
I adore dressing up the backs of chairs for parties, and this party was no different. I cut cactus shapes from Bright Foam Sheets and then painted on needles. The middle chair received a DIY Unfinished Wood Heart Ornament, which was painted to coordinate. They were secured to the chairs with – you guessed it – pom-pom trim!
Personalized Place Settings
Layering the Hot Pink Square Paper Dessert Plate atop the Teal Lagoon Square Dinner Paper Plate adds extra dimension to the table, and the Amethyst Plastic Forks pop off the Yellow Dinner Napkins. Yummy Strawberry Limeade was served in Cactus Plastic Margarita Glasses. Sitting them on top of DIY Ceramic Heart Tiles turned coasters added the perfect pop of color underneath. I just love the little lime green cactus needles that were added to them.
Each place setting also contained a live cactus potted in a DIY Ceramic Mini Flowerpot, which had an adorable "Galentine You're Stuck With Me" tag created by Jen T. by Design. Next to the potted cactus was a DIY Mini Clay Cactus Photo Holder that held a photo of one of the guests. These little cuties also served as party favors for my gal pals to take home and insert photos from the party.
Sweet Treats
My favorite part of any party is the dessert; whose isn't? I love creating a few food crafts that help carry over the theme. I created chocolate cactus lollipops and added them to store-bought cupcakes that were covered in Sprinklefetti from The Baker's Party Shop. They looked right at home in the DIY Ceramic Mini Flowerpots.
Lime flavored macarons received "needles" with the help of a little royal icing. They looked darling sitting upon the fancied up ceramic heart tiles.
Beautifully hand-painted cactus sugar cookies from Say Anything Bakery sat atop a drip cake she created, and a healthy dose of Sprinklefetti from The Baker's Party Shop covered the bottom portion. The cake was so gorgeous I almost felt guilty cutting it!
Nothing was safe from pom-pom trim for this party, and that included my cake stand, serving tray, and little cupcake pots. The adorable sugar cookie, which touted our theme's motto even received a little pom-pom trim!
The dessert table décor was finished off with a DIY cactus and heart banner that I put together using the Bright Foam Sheets and DIY Unfinished Wood Heart Ornaments.
I hope you found some ideas to help you create a Cactus Inspired Galentine's Party for your besties! Be sure to check out the DIY Mini Clay Cactus Photo Holders, steps to create your own Balloon Cactus Wall Art and my delicious Strawberry Limeade recipe.
