Backyard tent party ideas are thriving ones whether you are looking for a Bohemian, classic, or rustic-themed party, having the best backyard tent party will help you bring your vision to life.

Decorative Backyard Tent Party Ideas

You can make your tent cozy by adding picture-perfect decor like lanterns, real flowers, or inexpensive, beautiful furniture. But how do you make every decor piece stand out?

We will explain everything to make things easier as you keep on reading.

A List of Ideas for Your Backyard Tent Party

1. Provide a Pleasant Entry

The first impressions for your backyard party matter; you can make the place magnificent by getting a floral decor for a show-stopping entrance or hiring a decorator who is a professional when it comes to create a grand entrance for you. 

An entrance at a tent party gives the attendees a welcoming feeling and separates the outside and the party venue, it is what will give value to the person invited. Besides, it is the first thing the visitors will see as they arrive, creating an excellent first impression. 

Pleasant Party Entrance

– Features

A grand entrance creates an unforgettable first impression. It also gives your guests a welcoming feeling and draws their attention to the party venue, which is what you want.

Your choice of decor pieces will depend on your taste and preference; you can go for live plants, flowers, or ribbons. You can even add a carpet that would give the party a nice grounding color, which could be a vintage rug, or even a long red carpet if you want to go beyond expectation.

Alternatively, you can use the same materials to decorate the tent’s inside if you want less drama. All in all, ensure the decor pieces match.

2. Match the Props to the Right Colors 

An advantage of having a tent wedding or birthday party is there are no restrictions on the decor. However, this can also be a disadvantage as most hosts mix and match inappropriate colors, reducing the aesthetics.

This would mean to add some props with this significant shade of your choice. The props can be, for instance, candles, plant pots, table covers, chair decoration props… all these should have a matching theme. 

Ensure you choose decor pieces that match your party theme. For example, if it’s a wedding, you can hang ribbons or flowers of your color themes, which would often be pastel colors or even some white props.

Note that the color hues can influence moods and ambiance, so you must decide the right colors. Also, ensure the seat and table covers to match your color theme for aesthetics. 

Colorful Props for Party

Decor pieces are expensive. Find affordable pieces from your local store if you are on a budget. Remember, this is a one-day event, but you must make the tent look incredible. 

– Advantages

Choosing a color theme for your party helps you combine all party elements. It also creates a professional impression and allows the host to add some fun to the party.

Bright colors brighten your guests’ spirits making the party funnier, and they add aesthetics. In addition, you can even go for a style that will be a theme of colors and even structure, which could be polka dots, or stripes, and the whole theme should be matching to this.

– Disadvantages

Having a color-themed party may at times discourage guests from attending. It happens if there are requirements for the attendees to have a dress code. Deciding a color theme also narrows down your choice of decor pieces, and options to select some props due to the mismatch, and finding the right one may be, at times, a bit over the budget.

3. Placing the Right Furniture 

Besides the entrance, your visitors will notice the furniture. Therefore, you should get elegant, comfortable seats for the guests at your outdoor party.

Also, since it is an outdoor setting, you can always make sure that you buy waterproof and sunproof furniture for durability. However, don’t spend everything on the seats; buy inexpensive sofas or chairs or rent them. 

– Features

The type of furniture you buy depends on your taste and preference and your event’s theme. For example, you can have rustic seats and tables for an informal tent party like a wedding reception. You can also choose a Bohemian style if you don’t want texture and color restrictions. 

Right Furniture for Party

Furniture can be expensive, but do not break the bank with costly ones for a one-day event. Search for ‘tent birthday party near me’ and hire party chairs, and make arrangements to rent them.

You can also buy affordable outdoor furniture from your local store. You must be careful that they have a waterproof and sunproof material to avoid weather elements damage.

Not only that, but you can even go for some cheaper options and go for simple chairs, and decorate them with some tulle, or some mesh, and add ribbons and style them. 

4. Add a Dance Floor

Music is essential at a party, and one of the ways to enjoy it is by dancing. A dancing floor will encourage your guests to show their dancing skills as they interact. This breaks boredom and makes the party more enjoyable.

If you invite a live band to your wedding tent or birthday party, they will also use the dance floor to perform.

The space can be as ample as you want it to be, depending on the size of the tent and the number of guests. Make sure that no furniture is near the dance floor to distract your visitors and avoid accidents.

– Creating a Dance Floor

What you must do is to ensure that the tent ground is safe for dancing. You can flatten it before putting the tents up and cover all the holes, and this will fix the state of the ground and make it less rigid to avoid any trembling. 

Dance Floor in Backyard

On the other hand, you must also, avoid putting up the dancing floor in a rocky area to prevent injuries. If you are using a raised deck, avoid overloading it to minimize the risks of structural damage and injuries. 

– Decorating Needs

You can make the dance floor more special by creating signs and fun decorations to show it is a dance floor.

These signs are available online, and you can also DIY them. Let your guests enjoy dancing on the sand if you are hosting a beach wedding. Furthermore, you can even add some lights, if the dance floor is translucent and this will make it look more aesthetic, and even encouraging.

You can show them more concern by offering some sandals, so that the dancers would be feeling relief when they get tired.

5. Add Lighting

One of the backyard tent party ideas you cannot go wrong with is lighting up the space. You can choose many lighting ideas depending on your taste and preference and the type of outdoor event you host. 

– Features

Brighten your teepee tent using lanterns, string lights, cotton candy, LED lights, or Tiki torches. These come in different sizes, shapes, and styles, so choose what suits your type of party best, and they would feature a significant mood to go with the theme and the idea in your mind of how you want the party to seem like. 

You can also decorate with fairy lights, but you must accompany them with brighter lights since they are not bright, which means they would lighten up but with the help of others, they will show classiness. There are even some string lights that you can light, and they are basically lightbulbs but arranged together.

Decorative Lighting in a Party

The Christmas lights on your Christmas tree will look nice and boost your guests’ moods. Other ways to add safety while maintaining aesthetics include installing chandeliers, candles, and globe lights. 

– Advantages 

Tent party lighting allows you to enjoy the party, even at night. It also adds safety and security for the guests in the tent as it scares thieves and burglars away.

Besides, string lights, fairy lights, and Christmas lights increase the curb appeal of the backyard party. They will even make the place look more exciting, and feel cozy, as they would take pictures with good lighting.

– Disadvantages

Some light fixtures are expensive to buy and install, and others are unavailable in local stores. Also, some tent party lighting fixtures like lanterns can cause fires. Tents are flammable and have fabrics that can catch fire fast, and you need to take precariousness for this matter.

6. Add Plants as Decoration

Including an outdoor feel in your backyard party is a perfect way to make your guests feel welcome. You can decorate the tent poles by wrapping them in a voluminous garland of greenery or placing indoor plants in lovely pots at the corners of the tent. 

– Advantages

The advantage is you can invite the outdoors to your tent party is by placing bouquets in beautiful vases at the center of the table.

White Roses Plants for Decoration

Get other hanging plants like Pothos, Clematis, or Grape Ivy. Besides adding an outdoor feel to your tent, these plants also increase oxygen circulation and aesthetics. 

– Disadvantages

Indoor plants and vases can be expensive at times. Some party hosts don’t know how to take care of plants, so the flowers and Pothos could die after the party if they haven’t been taken care of. Besides, some plants attract insects and other tiny animals, which can cause discomfort to your visitors.

7. Place a Separate Tent for Cake Cutting

Whether you are hosting an end-of-year party, a wedding, or a birthday party, you need a cake for the event. A separate tent for the cake cutting will be an added expense and will need more space, but it is necessary. 

The reason why this would be significant is that a cake-cutting tent makes the event more intimate and memorable. Everything required to eat the cake should be at the tent, including the drinks, plates, and knives. Depending on the event’s theme, you can also decorate this tent to your liking. 

In addition, when you place a separate tent, it will give more value to the reason of the celebration. In other words, the party, the gathering and the dancing is placed in one tent, but to have more value of the reason why one is celebrating, will be provided by this tent’s presence.

Separate Tent for Cake Cutting

– Decorating Needs

A cake tent may be smaller than a regular tent, and you can buy or rent it. You can decorate the small tent with colorful balloons that match your color theme and include lights to increase aesthetics. 

You can also add birthday or wedding banners in the tent to signify the reason for the ceremony. In addition, it is also possible to have different types of accessories that you can add to this place, like confetti poppers, or themed hats, or even flower crowns to the ones getting into the cake cutting station.

8. Set the Party Near a Pool or Ocean

Have you ever experienced the cool breeze from a water body? If your backyard faces a lake, an ocean, or a pool nearby, set the tent facing the pool’s direction. Your guests will never forget that cool breeze. 

Besides, pictures near a water body look incredible, which means that you can ensure you get a good photographer. However, water bodies can be dangerous to children and adults who don’t know how to swim, so ensure you put a fence around them to minimize movements. 

– Advantages

Tent parties near a pool, an ocean, or a lake provide a romantic panoramic view. It is a beautiful backdrop for pictures and videos, making the event more memorable.

Party Near a Pool

Water bodies also offer a perfect atmosphere for weddings and birthday parties, allowing attendees to have a less complicated dress code. 

– Disadvantages

While backyard tent weddings and parties provide an incredible view, these areas have unpredictable climatic conditions.

Rains and hurricanes can disrupt your event, forcing you to end the baby shower earlier than intended. On the other hand, you may also face some storm or strong wind that would shake the place, making the invitees uncomfortable. 

9. Decorate the Food Area

Your cake tent should not serve as the food area! You can enhance your party theme by separating the event and food areas. Decorate the tables with your party color theme cloth, and get centerpieces for more aesthetics.

If kids are at the party, be picky with the centerpieces you place on the table. Little kids are explorers, and they can break expensive decor pieces. If you use balloons, ensure you clip them on something firm as a way to be solid, so they don’t blow away. 

Food Area Decoration with Flowers

– Characteristics

Food is vital at every party as it gives your guests the energy to continue with the celebrations. Having a separate buffet area causes people to relax, congregate around the tables, and take some time off from partying. 

This would be significant to each reason for celebration, and the reason is that sometimes the even will cater some finger-food, white other times, you can host a buffet, and adding theme to either one of them will brighten up the place, and make the food look more decedent. 

Kids will require kid-sized tables and seats, so you must make sure they have a separate feeding area. You can get disposable plates and tablecloths that match your event’s color, and keep an eye on the little guests.

10. Get the Right Tent

Most party hosts worry more about decorating the tent even before getting the tent. Your tent style will determine how the decor turns out. When choosing a tent type, consider your type of party, the number of attendees, and your preference. 

– Options

You can get a magnificent tent by searching for tent birthday party rentals near you. Whether you select a marquee or concession tent, ensure you consider the weather. Sometimes sunny mornings turn to rainy evenings even without thick clouds. 

Another common tent type to decide is a sailcloth tent. It has a waterproof fabric and is strong enough to protect you from other weather elements. Besides, sailcloth tents are lightweight and warm, allowing natural light to glow during the day, which means if it’s a spring day, it would be fine, if of course the weather doesn’t forecast any rain ahead.

Lighting in a Tent

Nonetheless, you may also rent a Victorian tent if you are holding a large party like a wedding or a big corporate event.

It has a high pitch which gives it a classy look, and you can decorate it using a fabric of your theme colors. Doing so, you must make sure that you also decorate the lines for aesthetics concerning the theme of choice.

– Characteristics

Check the surface of the ground you will have your party event. This is important because pole tents cannot be installed on a concrete floor, and you can ensure the tent size is proportional to the number of party attendees. Do not forget to consider the weather, if hurricane predictions exist, get a sturdy tent to withstand the climate. 

11. Decorating the Exterior

The exterior of your backyard tent can make a difference. You can decorate it with bunting and banners. If it’s a kid’s birthday, you can print a special message like a “Happy Birthday” written on a banner. Create the template and print the paper from the computer. You can also choose a paper shape for creativity. 

Exterior Decoration of a House

– Features

If you are decorating with fabric, ensure you adhere to party colors, adding more aesthetics to the party. When you are using the material, you may create a pennant and tie it from one tree to the other, and around the sides, you can use greenery to decorate the outdoors to include some vibrancy. 

The tent’s exterior is the first thing your guests see when they get to the party. The exterior decorations can boost or kill your attendees’ mood, so they must look nice. You can match the exterior’s decorations with the entrances, but don’t overdo it.

12. Add a Toys’ Table

If there will be kids amongst your guests, ensure you get something to keep them busy. You can get exciting toys like kites, balloons, and dolls to distract them throughout the event. You can also install wind toys like windsocks.

– Characteristics

Besides acting like toys, windsocks and kites add movement and color as the wind flies them. You can personalize the kites and windsocks with a special message for the newlyweds or the birthday boy or girl.

Another excellent idea for decorating a tent that will leave the entertained is having pinwheels. Ensure you choose pinwheels that match your decor and stick them into the backyard. They create a beautiful backyard tent party decoration when the wind spins them. 

Billiard Table at Backyard

You can also add a water source for the kids to play as you add a table. This includes getting a kiddy pool or water table for a summer party. 

– Features

Get colorful beach balls or ducks for the kids to play in the water. However, you must make sure that they are supervised since water accidents are fatal. 

Toys in tent parties help to keep the young attendees occupied, which reduces tantrums and restlessness. They are also crucial to kids because they help develop motor, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial skills. Toys also help children socialize effortlessly. 

13. Use Natural Fruits for Ornaments

You can cut your backyard tent party expenses by using natural decor items. The tents are expensive to rent, the food is costly, and you will spend more money decorating. Use natural fruits as ornaments if your budget does not allow you to spend more. 

– Features

You can always go for the simpler option and start to hang some fruits at the corners, and don’t disclose that they are real until the end of the party. 

Natural Apple on Tree

The fruits will look good in the pictures. Your guests will also enjoy collecting and eating fresh bananas and apples at the end of the party, and they could copy your idea at their parties. 

– Drawbacks

While natural fruits can act as ornaments, some guests might not understand their use and eat them before the party ends. Also, failing to tie the fruits on the tent well can cause them to fall, causing injuries to the attendees.

On the other hand, at times, if some of the fruit are ripened more than necessary and they are within other fruit, they would invite some fruit fly. 

14. Sheer Draping 

If you want to seriously wow your guests, use sheer draping in your backyard tent party. You can drape the reception, entrance, food area, or entire tent. Some standard fabric to use is chiffon, organza, or voile. These add aesthetics to your tent and give it a luxurious feel. 

You can also use drapes to hide the poles, walls, and anything you don’t want the visitors to see. To create a warmer space, use floor-to-ceiling panels. If your tent party is near the beach or lake, you can create the illusion of a tent by draping a long wooden structure. It also helps to allow more natural light in the space. 

Sheer Draping in Window

– Advantages

Draping at a wedding draws your guests’ attention to decors like flowers and greenery. Since the drape material is lightweight, it allows natural light into the space, which can lighten up the mood of the attendees. Drapes can also be used to cover poles, and old walls, increasing the aesthetics of the tent party. 

– Disadvantages 

Some draping materials are expensive, adding to the cost of the tent party. Also, getting your color theme fabric for wedding drapes can be challenging, and changing the color according to the ones that you find may, at times, cause a mismatch, and you won’t end up with the result that you wanted in the first place, or it won’t match your vision.

15. Movie Night

Besides weddings, birthday parties, and baby showers, people decorate backyard tent parties for movie nights. When decorating the tent, get comfortable seats for the movie. You can also scatter cushions around the backyard tent for the adults. 

– Characteristics

If you are hosting kids for the movie, ensure you have some sleeping bags and blankets for warmth and coziness. You can add baskets from the living room and balloons for more color. Keep the seats close together to resemble a movie theater, and add snacks like popcorn. 

Movies are more enjoyable on a bigger screen, so set up a DIY movie screen. You can use an office-standard projector to cast the film from a laptop. Ensure you also have other colorful centerpieces, like ticket spools, on a tray to add fun. 

Watching Movies in Backyard

Lastly, get DIY snack cones to hold your guests’ snacks. You can wire pigtail stakes or scrapbook paper to create the cones. And burgers would be perfect if you are looking for more snacks. 

– Drawbacks

Weather changes can disrupt your backyard movie night. Too heavy rains cause water to enter the tent and can make the space too cold for the guests.

Getting the food and snacks can also be expensive, making you stretch beyond your budget, and at times when the seating is not be comfortable, the guests would get tired..

Conclusion

Backyard tent party decorations can affect your guests’ mood during the party, creating a pleasant or a bad mood.

Whatever you choose to decorate your backyard tent party, always remember:

  • You can choose a specific color theme for your party. Ensure you match the primary colors with the right secondary colors to maintain the aesthetics. You should also use these colors in your other decor pieces. 
  • If your backyard faces the ocean or a water body, set the tent overlooking the lake or ocean. The water gives a beautiful backdrop for pictures, and the cool breeze boosts your visitors’ moods. However, keep watch of the kids. 
  • You need a special tent for the cake cutting. Separating the party tent and the cake tent makes the event more special and memorable. 
  • Luckily, there are many ways to brighten up your attendees’ spirits, using string lights, balloons, drapes, or sailcloth tents.

After seeing all the backyard tent party ideas, which one would you like to try for your next event?

References

  • https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/news/risks-playing-and-around-water
  • https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/lighting-crime-and-safety/#:~:text=Outdoor%20lighting%20is%20intended%20to,eyes%20and%20constricts%20our%20pupils.
  • https://economytent.com/what-type-of-tents-are-best-for-specific-events/
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