It seems so easy. You buy the pretty things. You place the pretty things. Your party has picture perfect scenery as a result. Hanging party decor is not that easy, but I have a few tips that can help!
As someone who has felt extremely confused about why my decor wasn't "nailing it" during party setup. Life hack: there are a lot of variations due to humidity, temperature, and surface placement that affect your decor placement that are often outside of your control! These are some of the best tips of the trade that I've accumulated over the years to help you overcome those often unforeseen obstacles.
Tip #1:
It's important to note before any party whether there are rules regarding hanging party decor. Some venues have rules regarding adhesives, holes, paint chips, or general fear of imperfections. This will massively change your process for securing decor and, as a result, affect the amount of time you'll be investing into the decorative process.
Interior Placements
We're going to start with interior decor placements first. Why? Because hanging party decor indoors is generally more predictable... and climate control is one of the best things to ever happen to party hosts or hostesses.
Some venues or homeowners / hosts will make requests regarding holes in the wall. It's very important that you adhere to those requests. In those situations, you can sometimes find workarounds. For instance, often if you're hanging in a residential home there's a pre-existing hole or nail that's being used for perfectly centered decor. If you can, utilize what's already in place to minimize the total damage incurred while hanging decor.
If you can't find a pre-existing nail or support, you have a few options for hanging items on the wall:
- Use fishing line to hang items on the walls from blinds or curtains
- Use command hooks (I linked my favorites) if there are no attachment points that can be manipulated with fishing line for a true no-damage option. Be sure to clean the wall before placing the hooks for your best chance of a zero damage removal afterwards.
- If it's ok to do so... sometimes even thumb tacks can get the job done!
Exterior Placements
This is where things get tricky. You'll need extra support for any and all decor that's being placed outside to account for wind, heat, or surfaces that are not decor friendly.
Hanging Party Decor on Wood Siding or Columns
The easiest option to work with outdoors! You can typically use command hooks & fishing line like I shared above to secure your decor- if there aren't pre-existing nails to use instead. I'll always recommend using existing infrastructure when hanging decor, for the easiest breakdown process afterwards.
In the example below, a bit of fishing line secured everything really nicely by taking advantage of the wooden infrastructure of this gazebo.
If you're hanging balloons, inflatables, or anything really thin be sure to check that the wood is sanded with no sharp or splintering edges that could potentially damage the decor.
Hanging Party Decor on Brick Walls
You're going to want to use brick clips for any decor that goes on brick. Adhesives directly on the bricks & decor become extremely cumbersome to remove, and command hooks won't stay due to the texture.
Hanging Party Decor on Vinyl Siding
This one can be hit or miss. If the siding doesn't have a lot of texture, you can use a run of the mill command hook. This is my favorite command hook for hanging decor. Be sure to use something like goo gone afterwards. That will minimize issues during cleanup.
If the vinyl siding has a lot of texture, you might not be as lucky. These vinyl siding hooks have helped me in a pinch on multiple occasions. They're pretty hard to find locally in my area. I recommend ordering them beforehand when possible.
Hanging Party Decor on Windows
When hanging directly on a window, I prefer to use fishing line when possible to tie into the natural window infrastructure. If that's not an option for placement purposes, I've found that these heavy duty suction cups work pretty well.
Hanging Party Decor on Table Placements
When you're in the elements, you're likely going to experience a gust of wind or two! You'll want to secure your table accordingly. I use balloon dots on the corners and center of my tablecloth to make it extra secure on the table. I also use balloon dots to secure the decor, bowls, or food trays for placement.
Depending on whether you're using a tablecloth, or how rough the wind is, you might want to secure the tablecloth as well. For vinyl tablecloths and folding tables, binder clips are an excellent option. If you're using cloth tablecloths, these skirting clips and velcro are magical.
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