13 Harvest Party Ideas From HGTV Magazine

Fire up the fall fun: it's time for a harvest party. We've got easy fall decor DIYs, cool hosting tips and seasonal hacks that'll make your fall get-together extra autumnal.

October 25, 2021

By: Caroline Alkire

From: HGTV Magazine

Related To:

It's Time to Party

When the leaves turn orange, we gear up to celebrate the only way we know how — with a harvest party. Want to throw your own? We'll give you a tour full of fun fall ideas, showing off decor tips, DIYs and seasonal hacks from HGTV Magazine as we go. Stop one: the front porch. Pumpkins of all shapes and sizes lead guests up the stairs. Other welcoming touches include a fall-friendly door mat and a tiered golden table decorated with chrysanthemums and gourds. Finally, cool door decor: magnolia leaves made into a wreath (get the full how-to below). So, come on in. More seasonal surprises await.

get the how-to: How-to: DIY Painted Magnolia Leaf Wreath

From: HGTV Magazine

DIY IT: Paper Napkin Pumpkins

If you want a pumpkin-filled porch with some color, try this DIY trick.

Supplies: paper luncheon napkins in various colors and patterns; acrylic craft paint; decoupage glue (matte finish); acrylic sealer

Here's How:

1. Tape off the stems of artificial pumpkins with painter’s tape and paint the pumpkins with white craft paint. Let dry.
2. Open a napkin pattern-side up and cut out each flower or yellow squiggly line.
3. As you cut, the layers will separate. Keep only the top printed one.
4. Attach the shapes to the pumpkins with decoupage glue with a matte finish; let dry. If they’ll be outdoors, spray on acrylic sealer.

From: HGTV Magazine

A Corny-Cool Porch

Or, nix the pumpkins and welcome guests with a front door fit for a cornfield. Designer Natassja Conway wrapped the front door of her home in Powell, Ohio, with stretchy gauze fabric from JoAnn and stuck on googly eyes using Command strips. “The 9-foot-tall cornstalks were a challenge to stuff into our car at the nursery,” she says, “but easy to lean in the corners!”

see more: 5 Outdoor Halloween Decorating Ideas So Cute They're Scary

From: HGTV Magazine

Entry Details

In the foyer, you'll find seasonal coolness. Greet guests with golden taper candles and mini personalized pumpkins arranged on a cake plate. A festive FYI: those sparkly pumpkins are perfect for place settings (check out how to DIY them below).

get the how-to: How to DIY Mini Pumpkin Place Cards

From: HGTV Magazine

A Layered Look

Stop three: the dining room. If you're sitting down to eat, a tablescape as chic as Modern Glam blogger Ashley Luengo's might be in order. Ashley used chalkboard paper (available at craft stores) as place mats, then layered in buffalo-check plates and rose gold flatware. The best part: the personalized settings. Ashley wrote out guests’ names with a chalk pencil (“It’s easier to use than regular chalk!").

see more: Our Favorite Fall Decorating Ideas

From: HGTV Magazine

Grab and Go Snacks

Looking for a less-personal tablescape? Create a sweet buffet around an autumnal centerpiece. To recreate this look from HGTV Magazine, grab fall fruits and veggies from the grocery store and make them look fancy atop seeded eucalyptus. Here, editors wrapped strips of copper tape around glass candleholders, then nestled in gold acorns to bring the bling.

see more: 14 Ways to Get Your Tablescape All Set For the Holidays

From: HGTV Magazine

DIY IT: Leather Wrapped Vases

Perfect for a buffet! Fill them with outdoor decor (like sticks or flowers) or put them to work — smaller vases are also great for holding silverware and snacks. Nestled into your tablescape, they add instant harvest party vibes.

Supplies: raw edge 1-inch wide leather trim in mustard yellow, red and orange; clear tape; embroidery floss and needle

Here's How:.

1. Cut a piece of 1 inch wide leather trim long enough to wrap around a glass vase, with the ends meeting perfectly flush. Place a piece of clear tape on the inside seam to hold it together.
2. With embroidery floss in a contrasting color and an embroidery needle, stitch four X’s over the seam.
3. Slide the cuff onto the vase.

From: HGTV Magazine

Monochrome Cool

Here's another fun dining area idea: Spray-paint mismatched thrift store candleholders the same (or a similar) color as tapered candles. If you're feeling extra matchy-matchy, cover mini pumpkins in chalk paint for a chic matte look, then add bright mums.

see more: Fall Decorating Around the House

From: HGTV Magazine

A Rainbow of Pumpkins

Extra painted pumpkins? Bring some into the living room and sprinkle them across your mantel. Or, go all out like A Kailo Chic Life blogger Kara Whitten, who played with the full ROYGBIV spectrum (i.e. nine bright shades of Montana Gold spray paint). “Using an assortment of pumpkin sizes makes the display even more eye-catching,” she says. Some greenery — a faux–magnolia leaf garland — completes her look.

see more: 11 Fall Mantel Decor Ideas Under $50

From: HGTV Magazine

DIY IT: Plastic Fruit + Spray Paint

More stuff to spray paint: plastic fruit (make sure you pick fall-friendly hues). Arrange the fruit in a seasonal basket or oversized bowl, then weave your creation into a tablescape or place it on a coffee table.

Supplies: plastic pears, spray paint

Here's how to spray paint:

1. Tape off the stems of faux pears.
2. Spray-paint them using three shades of one color
3. Remove tape while the paint is still wet. Let dry.

From: HGTV Magazine

Autumnal Drink Station

Don't have a bar cart? Decorate the top of a sideboard with drinks, cups and snacks instead. You can even festive-up shelving with spare glasses and accessories, like designer and Inspired by Charm blogger Michael Wurm Jr. did in his dining room. He created the harvest banner with black gift tags, stick-on foil letters and mini clothespins.

see more: 42 Flavorful Cocktail Recipes Perfect for Fall

From: HGTV Magazine

DIY IT: Wood Grain Coasters

An extra-cozy addition to your bar set-up: wood grain coasters.

Supplies: unfinished poplar squares; rubber stamp in woodgrain; acrylic craft paint (any colors you'd like)

Here's How:

1. Use a pouncer to apply crafts paint to a stamp with a wood-grain pattern. Stamp a wood square. Let dry.
2. Clean the stamp and repeat for each color.

From: HGTV Magazine

Start a Fire

Time to take the party out back, where views of the fall foliage are best. You'll want to make your outdoor space as cozy as possible. First, turn on your fire pit or stoke some flames in your fireplace (get the s'mores skewers ready), then line furniture with plush pillows and warm blankets. Here, designer Brian Patrick Flynn accessorized with two concrete coffee tables, which can be split up for entertaining.

see more: Celebrate Autumn With the Season's Best Porches and Patios

From: HGTV Magazine

Photo By: David A. Land (styled by Elizabeth Demos)

Photo By: Emily Kate Roemer/Studio D

Photo By: HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams

Photo By: Cory Dawson, Cory Dawson, Cory Dawson

Photo By: Ashley Luengo

Photo By: Danielle Daly/Studio D

Photo By: Emily Kate Roemer/Studio D

Photo By: David A. Land (styled by Elizabeth Demos)

Photo By: Kara Whitten

Photo By: Alison Gootee

Photo By: Michael Wurm, Jr.

Photo By: Emily Kate Roemer/Studio D

Photo By: Lisa Romerein

13 Harvest Party Ideas From HGTV Magazine

Related To:

It's Time to Party

DIY IT: Paper Napkin Pumpkins

A Corny-Cool Porch

Entry Details

A Layered Look

Grab and Go Snacks

DIY IT: Leather Wrapped Vases

Monochrome Cool

A Rainbow of Pumpkins

DIY IT: Plastic Fruit + Spray Paint

Autumnal Drink Station

DIY IT: Wood Grain Coasters

Start a Fire

9 Handyman-Approved Supplies You Need

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