Get tips to host an amazing low country boil get-together your friends and family will love. Style a casual but beautiful tablescape.
Have you ever been to or hosted a low country boil get-together?
Do you know what a low country boil is?
Well, my family calls it a shrimp boil but it’s the same thing!
My brother-in-law prepares a low country boil every year when my family vacations together in the OBX.
Otherwise known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Which by the way, is the best place to vacation ever!
We’ve spent a week there every summer for the past 16 years.
I’ll have to write a blog post about that someday!
But let’s get back to this post!
Just wait until Saturday when we share the menu for this party!
It’s amazing!!
And if you don’t know already, you’ll learn exactly what a low country boil is.
Ok…I’ll give you a hint…shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage, potatoes!
And that’s it…I’m not telling you anything else…yet!
Do you love to entertain?
Yes!?!
Oh…good us too!
Since you love to entertain like Anne & I, you’ll love our monthly virtual supper club posts.
Every month we get together with our friends Stacy, Rachel, Jen, and Michele and share our tablescapes and recipes on our blogs.
It’s so fun to see what everyone in our group comes up with each month.
There’s so much talent and creativity with this bunch of bloggers.
And to add even more inspiration, we now have a guest host join us each month too!
We’re thrilled to welcome Regina from Saved by Salvage this month.
She loves a good thrift find and is so talented at giving things new life.
Regina has the same hanging basket from Target as me (so I knew I liked her right then!) and you should see how she transformed it!
This month our virtual supper club is featuring low country boil tablescape ideas today and delicious recipes for things to serve at your new shrimp boil or cookout.
Get the links to our previous tablescapes for even more inspiration at the end of this post.
If you’re joining us from Jen at Midwest Life & Style or if you’re new to our blog…
Hey there & welcome!
We’re AnnMarie (wearing white jeans) and Anne (wearing white jeans), the two moms behind this blog.
Haha! Gotcha!!
Seriously, though AnnMarie has darker hair…Anne has lighter. 🙂
We work together to share simple and budget-friendly ideas for decorating, recipes, DIY projects, and tips for life with older teens (and beyond!).
You can read more about us and our families here.
And we would love to learn more about you! Be sure to say “hi” in the comments below and tell me where you’re visiting from.
But that’s enough about us…let’s talk more about this month’s theme… and my colorful low country tablescape!
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How to Style a Table for a Low Country Boil
I don’t usually decorate with a lot of color in my house.
I like neutrals…neutrals…neutrals.
Now are you singing that TikTok song? LOL
When I started researching low-country boil ideas, I found so many pretty tables with lots of color.
I’ll be honest with you, when we’re at the beach and have our shrimp boil there’s no styling a beautiful tablescape.
We use disposable aluminum pans and sometimes we even throw newspaper over the table.
It’s not fancy but it tastes so good!
Especially at the beach!!
However, styling this tablescape at home allowed me to be more creative.
I had so much fun with this table!
Anne’s son just graduated from NC State.
She and his other roommate’s moms threw a party for the graduates.
And guess what…it was a low country boil!
Anne shared a few of the tips from their gathering and one was to use a plastic tablecloth or layers to protect the table surface.
Since I was using a fun red and white checkered fabric tablecloth, I decided to add a Kraft paper runner on top of the tablecloth to protect the table.
S2M Tip: Use a plastic disposable table cloth under fabric table cover to protect table
How to Set Place Settings for a Shrimp Boil
I found these super cute little metal colanders to serve our low country boil in.
There are a lot of juices so using a colander allows the extra juice to drain.
I set the colanders on a disposable blue plastic plate.
The higher sides of the plastic plate catch any extra liquids from the meal.
And the blue gives each place setting a pop of color.
Under the plastic plates, I used my galvanized metal chargers which add more stability to the disposable plates.
S2M Tip: Use disposable plastic plates because they’re stronger than paper, catch any extra liquids, and allow for easy clean up.
I wrapped the silverware in a striped white & blue napkin.
Then I tucked the flatware and cloth napkin in a small red tin pail.
Styling the utensils like this not only looks great…it adds more red and blue color to the table.
Even if you’re serving beer or wine with dinner, you want to give your guest water too.
I added a bottle of sparkling water with a glass mug next to each place setting.
Then, I just popped in a colorful straw!
Where Do Guests Peel Shrimp
You want to provide containers for shrimp parts that don’t get eaten for your guests.
I found these cute galvanized buckets for a great price and knew they’d be perfect for our low country boil table.
On the chalkboard label, you could write anything you want like…welcome, enjoy, yum, trash, shrimp tails, nasty stuff. LOL!
Be creative!
How to Decorate Low Country Boil Centerpiece
I wanted to keep the middle of the table uncluttered.
A big beautiful centerpiece wouldn’t work well for this type of dinner party.
You need lots of room for food.
Because let’s face it, this party is all about the food!
A low country boil is a bit messy so having extra napkins handy is a good idea.
I used a bushel basket in the middle of the table and filled it with more blue & white striped napkins.
On either side of the bushel basket, I styled a small square wood riser with mason jars.
The larger Ball mason jar is used as a vase for some pretty flowers.
Can you believe these aren’t real?
Well, maybe you could tell since I left the paper wrapped around the stems when I put them in the jar.
Oh, and there’s no water in the vase, so…
LOL!
But still, I think they look pretty darn good!
In the little mason jar, I added a clear glass-filled votive candle.
I also added a few more candles around the table.
Candles are always a great idea when styling a tablescape.
But putting the candles and flowers in mason jars it coordinates with the casual vibe of the low country boil party.
Don’t forget to add a bit of décor to any sideboards or buffet tables you have in the room where you’re entertaining.
Normally, I’d host a party like this outdoors but it was raining, so we moved everything inside.
You may have to be flexible, especially with the weather, because we have no control over it.
I really love how everything came together for this vibrant tablescape.
The colors are amazing for a casual get-together with family or friends.
I hope you got some great ideas to host your own low country boil get-together this summer!
Be sure to check out the other bloggers below for even more inspiration.
Click on any image to shop items from this post
More Low Country Boil Tablescape Ideas from Our Friends
Next up on the tour is our friend Rachel from The Pond’s Farmhouse.
Wait until you see how she styled her outdoor table!
Be sure to click each of the blog names below the photos to get even more inspiration for your low-country boil table.
If you’re a blogger and you’d like to join our virtual dinner club for a month leave us a comment below or contact us here.
All our previous tablescape ideas just click the link for even more inspiration:
If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me or leave a comment!
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