One of the most popular sites at lots of parties is, of course, the sweetie table. Who could resist beautifully arranged glass jars of marshmallows, or tiered trays of yummy cookies? No matter what age the birthday child, sweetie tables will go down a storm.
But what makes a fantastic sweetie table? You would imagine that it would be very difficult to lay out bon bons and lollipops in a displeasing fashion. They will be gone in 5 minutes, you might say, so what is the point of putting effort into presentation?
The thing that ties a great party together is just that. Presentation. It is the first thing your guests see when they walk through the door – the first impression of the event itself. As party planners, we see presentation as one of our most important jobs. Learn our sweetie table secrets here, and discover how our chief stylists arrange food in gorgeous, on theme displays.
STAY ON THEME
One of the most important rules with a sweetie table is to stay on theme. Themes are what get our children excited! Whether your child is into Frozen, Star Wars or Little Red Riding Hood, it is important that this is communicated through your display.
This doesn’t mean to say that you need expensive, branded crockery and table cloths. Consider your colour scheme. For example, if we were styling a Peppa Pig party, we would use pinks and greens. The finishing touches make the table. For Frozen, why not sprinkle a little icing sugar on your table, to look like freshly fallen snow?
USE LEVELS
For a child, hands down, the most exciting thing about a sweetie table is pretty obvious. The sweets. Your display needs to show these off, in all of their glory! We like to use levels to make the most of our tables. This stunning display from Catch My Party perfectly illustrates how using different heights of display can draw attention into a birthday cake centrepiece.
Think about layering trays on blocks to create a step up display of cookies or cupcakes. Cake stands also work beautifully, as add height and intricacy to your display. You could even purchase themed level blocks, such as mini hay bales, or buckets. Simply place a plate or tray on top of such items, and you are ready to go!
PICK ‘N’ MIX
Variety is the spice of life! It is the same with a sweetie table! Think about using lots of different textures and sizes. Marshmallows are beautifully soft, and look gorgeous in a glass jar. Smarties and coloured candies look wonderful in trays. Chocolate bars in themed wrapping paper are very tempting, and stack very neatly.
You don’t even have to stick to candy! We like to mix things up, and add in an array of gorgeous cupcakes, cookies and cake pops too. This gives guests a lots of choice, and the different sized sweets sit beautifully next to each other.
KEEP IT OLD SCHOOL
Vintage and antique jars look the best. We love our sweetie tables to have a little nostalgia, and remind us too of being children, eyes wide in old candy stores.
You can pick up a range of gorgeous jars and display bottles on ebay or amazon. They come very cheaply, and can be used in the home after all of those delicious sweets are gone. We fill ours with clear glass baubles and the occasional tea light – they make a beautiful display piece throughout the whole year.
GOODIE BAGS
With all that choice, little ones are going to need something to keep their sweeties safe! Don’t forget goodie bags! Many favour the traditional candy stripe paper bags and also offer ribbon wrapped silver tongs to keep guest’s hands from getting sticky.
In the past, we have often thought about how we can in-cooperate the theme here too, and have used miniature buckets, little jam jars and tiny popcorn holders too. The top tip here here is if you use a smaller container, the kids won’t be able to over stuff, and your table will last a lot longer.
MAKE YOUR OWN SWEETS
If you’re feeling really brave, consider making your own sweets! Our favourite recipe book is ‘Sweets Made Simple’ by Miss Hope and Mr Greenwood.
You can see our book review here, and discover how we found making delights like peanut butter fudge and raspberry swirl marshmallows. Your guests will be so impressed by your home made sweets, you may just get talked into making more.
OUR SWEET SHOPPING LIST
Here we have popped together a list of all the deliciousness that we think works wonderfully on a sweetie table. Enjoy –
- Marshmallows (of course!)
- Popcorn
- Cupcakes
- Cake Pops
- Jelly Worms
- Themed Cookies
- Mini Themed Chocolate Bars
- Small Round Sweets (mini chocolate footballs, bon bons, etc)
- Foam Bananas
- Foam Shrimps
- Macaroons
- Mini Meringues
The general rule of thumb is as follows – if it is bite sized or smaller it will work! Arrange around the birthday cake to draw focus to the larger cake as a centrepiece.
Now, good luck trying to think of anything other than candy for the next hour.
