Label individual drink glasses.
For a smaller outdoor buffet, decorate clear glasses with paper drink labels for each party guest. To get the look as shown here, use pinking shears to cut a band of patterned oilcloth to fit around each glass. Glue or sew a white oilcloth rectangle to the center of the band, then adhere the ends of the band together to fit around the glass. You can write each guest’s name on the glass beforehand, or provide permanent markers on the drink tray so they can do their own.
Tip: The oilcloth band should easily slip over the narrower bottom of a glass and slide upward until it stays snugly in place.
Wrap individual servings.
Add pops of color—and decrease the need for paper plates—by using brightly colored cloth napkins to wrap individual sandwiches on an outdoor buffet tray. Party guests can grab their sandwiches and napkins all at once.
Tip: If you’re serving different types of sandwiches, wrap them in different colored napkins to signify each selection.