Tinsel Palm Tree Party Decorations

I recently threw an engagement party for my daughter and her fiancé and the palm trees were such an area of fascination. I decided I should probably make a video, so make sure you find my video on how to host a jazz themed party but this video will take you through the entire process of how to create an inexpensive show, stopping, very large, tinsel palm trees that can be converted into string lights for your yard.

Hi, I’m Bethany Baldwin, and I’m a huge fan of decorating with things that can be reused, but especially re-purposed. Facebook marketplace is chock-full of things people are trying to sell that they used at a party but this is a project that you can re-purpose, what you invested in which is much greater return.

I happened to have a craft booth tent that got mangled by the wind which ended my outdoor festival selling career, but I kept the polls and even though my husband probably wouldn’t say he was thankful I did. I am thankful now. You can purchase PVC pipe or metal poles. My poles ended up being 8 foot and 10 foot long. You just have to make sure that whatever you purchase is hollow because you’re going to bend the palm branches and push them into the top, and I do wish that my pipes were a little bit wider, but I managed to make it work. A 1 inch diameter would have been ideal.

Then I went and bought some plastic flower pots that both matched my farmhouse, and the theme of the party. When you pick pots, think like a designer. So many planters and pots look like a fake version of the real thing and it’s better to get something that’s just a simple solid color or that Isn’t cheesy looking. I think classy and high-end on a low budget. My pots were $18 each.  They were pretty small because the lights I will be hanging are light weight.  If you plan to hang glass bulbs or larger patio bulbs, get bigger pots and get ceramic or something heavier.

Then my wonderful husband used two bags of cement and a level to make the poles free standing. There are lots of tutorial videos with instructions and options for these kinds of patio lights. We chose to leave our poles removable so that we can store them better. I’m not a fan of leaving things out through the winter to just deteriorate and die.

I spray painted the polls black to match the pots. I know palm trees are brown, but the jazz theme party was more modern and classy so I wasn’t going for authenticity. But if you’re having a luau or something really fun, you can paint the palm tree base any color you want. It would be really cute to do pink palm trees and then after your party go ahead and spray paint the poles back to whatever color matches your home decor.

Then I purchased this very hard to find wire, as there are many kinds of wire in the hardware store, 12 gauge galvanized utility wire, so ask someone where to find this specific wire, because this is exactly what you need!

With the help of my kids, we cut the wires into 6 foot lengths (and make sure you wear safety goggles) and you’ll need some hefty wire cutters. Spend a second to straighten them out a little bit so they are easier to handle when you attach the tinsel garland.

You’ll need to purchase tinsel garland, not a curtain and not the table length but the garland that is about 1 foot in length. Again, I picked a champagne gold color because that was the theme of the party we made these for. This is going to be your focal point for whatever party you’re having because they are so fun so don’t be afraid to go bold with this because it’s already an over the top party decoration, so just go all in!

We tried to just use the sticky side of the tinsel, and not use a hot glue gun to put the tinsel on the wire, and the morning of the party we not only realized that all of the tinsel had unstuck and it was now sticking to the other tinsel on the other palm tree branches that we had bunched together. I was on the verge of tears. So you’ll need a hot glue gun and I recommend putting it on low because you are going to need to pinch this together and you don’t want to burn your fingers. Don’t put too long of a bead of hot glue to ensure you have time to fold the tinsel over where it is supposed to be before the glue cools. And leave a little extra garland at the ends and fold them over and secure with glue so the wire isn’t sticking out and the tree won’t hurt anyone.

I remember a six year old boy came up to me at the party and in total sincerity said, “How did you pay for all of this?”  It was so adorable and I continued to explain to him that it was just really cheap tinsel ordered from Amazon and that it would all be going in the dumpster at the end of the night. Guilt free.

Don’t forget to find my video on how to host a jazz club themed party!

~Bethany