Nautical Themed Buffet for Dad

Host a nautical themed Picnic buffet with coastal and beach vibes for Father’s Day. Thrifted decor and easy menu ideas will make your party special.

Summer has officially started, which means Father’s Day is right around the corner! If the man in your life enjoys the ocean, the beach or anything coastal, I’ve got a fun way you can celebrate him and make him feel special. This Nautical Themed Buffet for Dad combines vintage and thrifted finds along with an easy menu idea. I hope these creative ideas inspire you!

I’m joining my Pinterest Challenge friends today to give you all kinds of great Father’s Day buffet ideas! Thanks to Cindy at County Road 407 for coming up with creative themes to inspire us each month. We all love a good decor challenge and sending a variety of ideas your way!

If you just came from County Road 407, didn’t you love Cindy’s Father’s Day buffet ideas? She just has a way of making us all smile:) I’ll have the rest of the Father’s Day buffet ideas at the end.

Pinterest Challenge Inspo Pic

Our inspiration photo this month comes from Giggle Living. Lori set a simple and whimsical picnic buffet for Father’s Day. Such a fun way to celebrate summer. Here are the ideas I loved and wanted to incorporate.

• vintage white buffet to serve, outside
• blue and white fabric garland
• vintage wooden crate serving pieces
• individual serving cups with trail mix
• sandwiches in serving bags
• hostas and white flowers clipped from the yard
• galvanized metal

This was a fun one to design around. Let’s see how my version turned out!

Nautical Themed Buffet for Dad

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Style Your Picnic Buffet Tablescape on a Vintage Furniture Piece

This challenge was a great excuse to scrub up my latest garage sale find. Another big piece of furniture was definitely not needed, but I couldn’t go home without this $35 find! I will find a place for it in our home:) But for now, it’s going to get set up out on the porch for this Father’s Day buffet challenge.

It was really grungy. I scrubbed it outside and inside with my favorite gentle cleanser (find it HERE), hosed it off, and let it dry in the sun. It will be getting a good sanding soon and I’ll be stripping the top. But the aqua insides and original hardware-I fell in love with it!

Coastal Tablescape Nautical Themed Buffet

My daughter recently came back from a trip to California and gifted me a cute, rustic wooden sailboat. I also just picked up a fun lighthouse for $1 at a garage sale. The blue and white garland reminded me I’d made many feet of striped bunting for Big Boy’s grad party years ago. The combo of these got me on the coastal, nautical theme for this Father’s Day picnic buffet challenge.

Use Beach Themed Accessories

Once I landed on the coastal, beach theme, I gathered accessories that fit into the theme. I’ve got plenty to choose from around my house, but if you hit the thrift store, having a theme in mind makes shopping so much easier!

• woven baskets
• shells
• rope
• driftwood

Yes, go ahead and decorate the front of your vintage furniture, too! I strung the striped garland across and hung my Sentimental DIY Seashell Wreath from a handle. Adding decor to the front of the buffet adds a festive touch to the whole display.

Thrifted and Vintage Serving Pieces

The inspiration pic features old wooden crates and galvanized pieces as serving pieces. I chose wooden and galvanized pieces that had a masculine vibe. An old metal tool caddy, a cigar box, old thermoses and a vintage ammo crate are great pieces to serve food in, especially outside where it can be windy.

An old blue scale looked a little nautical to me and vintage blue books with adventure-filled titles help add texture and build interesting layers.

An Easy and Fun Picnic Menu

An individually served picnic-friendly menu can be assembled ahead of time and doesn’t need to be hard. Grinder hoagie sandwiches are wrapped in kraft paper and tied with string. They look cute standing in an old wooden ammo crate.

Goldfish crackers were added to trail mix for a beachy touch; serve in paper cups for ease. Scandinavian Swimmers from Trader Joe’s are our families newest favorite. Bagged chips and vintage pop bottles that can be filled with our favorite Cucumber Lime Punch is picnic friendly.

Add Foliage and Candlelight

The finishing touches are what make a welcoming picnic buffet seem special. A mini lantern keeps real candlelight safe from the wind. Freshly cut hostas, ferns and flowering bushes from the yard provide un un-fussy green touch to the scene.

Old quilt remnants used as a runner add a punch of color and also brought in another triangle-themed shape to give the nautical vibe. (yes, look for the triangle and diamond shapes throughout;)

Nautical Themed Picnic Buffet

This coastal, beach themed nautical themed picnic buffet would be fun for Father’s Day, or any ocean loving party. You can easily pull all the elements together with thrifted and vintage finds. And making the menu easy and fun is perfect for summer living!

For more of our Pinterest Challenge posts, see HERE (there’s a wide variety to choose from;)

Next up on this month’s Pinterest challenge is French Ethereal. Barb’s military tribute with dogs is such a creative idea!

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Pin, share, and enjoy the rest of the inspiration

Father’s Day Picnic Buffet Ideas

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