With warm summer days just ahead, consider a garden party with an Impressionist theme.  First, search the internet or books for favorite impressionist art by Monet, Renoir, and others of the era and use their motifs as starting points for decorating your party.

Begin by purchasing impressionist art note cards in 10 packs and insert photocopied party invitations on complementary colored paper.

How to Dress

Ladies and gents could be requested to wear Impressionist garb. Inexpensive straw or fabric hats and visors work...the host can make hat gifts in the color theme of the party adding a glued-on corsage pin available from craft stores.  Ladies can wear skirts or culottes.  Unbuttoned shirt collars, neck-tied bandanas and vests for the guys are optional and look very much the part.

Setting the Stage

• For tablecloths, you can't miss with starched white linen, battenburg or other lace with an undercloth in one of the party colors, impressionistic prints, provencal fabrics, toile, bold stripes, or impressionist paper plates and napkins.
• Bright pastels work best for napkins. Make silk flower corsage napkin rings using florist tape on wire to wrap utensils and napkin.
• Spread picnic blankets on the lawn, rent market umbrellas with wind-resistant stands and add inexpensive silk floral garlands to the edges of the umbrella spokes with fish line ties that won't damage the umbrellas. 
• Spray 99 cent store bundt pans in your party colors.  Fill with 4" inch pots of annual flowers and foliage, then slip over the umbrella poles for extra color.

• Fill sheer, colorful squares of tulle fabric or inexpensive starched lace napkins with Jordan almonds, nuts, or no-melt wrapped candies for table favors.
• Cut strips of tulle in your party colors in 8 ft by 1 ft lengths, roll the short ends in toward the center forming a roll, and tie this roll into a bow on the backs of chairs.
• Spray inexpensive one quart metal watering cans in party colors and pop in 12-inch high bunches of country flowers for table arrangement.
• Turn clean terra cotta pots and saucers (12" diameter and larger) upside down and drape beautiful cloth napkins over them to use as food tray stands for the serving table.
• A corsage and tulle bow around porch columns and door knobs make a welcoming statement for your guests.
• Colorful pitchers of beverages and wine bottles are perfect for refreshments.
• Finger foods are a must, so have plenty of napkins on hand. 
• If you wish to add impressionist music, select some dreamy songs of Ravel or Debussey. French impressionist music continued to develop in the work of Maurice Ravel, Delius, Respighi and de Falla.  If this music fails to amuse the guests, well, Impressionism will have to give way to rock and country!