If you'd enjoy entertaining outside on a patio or deck but have limited table space, make an easy and inexpensive outdoor table with a couple of sawhorses and a hollow-core door. A hollow-core door is portable, sturdy and easy to decorate to match the theme of any party. Your guests will never know what it's made of (figure A).
A hollow-core door makes a great tabletop because it's table size and lightweight. A 3/4" piece of plywood is another option, but it's heavier than a hollow-core door and probably not a good choice if you're setting up by yourself. Set the door on two wooden sawhorses, available for about $10 each. Choose metal sawhorses if you need the flexibility of a choice of heights. They're more expensive than wooden ones but can be set at bar height if you need to set up an extra bar outside, and they fold up compactly when not in use. Hang sheets of fabric or rented table skirts around the edge of the table to hide the sawhorses. Three sets of $3 faux-bamboo blinds tacked to the edge of our table serve as a perfect table skirt for our party's South Pacific theme. Let the table skirt open to the back so you can hide extra party supplies underneath (figure B).
Top the table with yards of fabric to serve as a tablecloth. We used cocoa-grass floor mats for a table covering to fit our Tahitian theme. Use baskets to serve fruit and snacks and to hold napkins and utensils--they look great and hold a lot. And for a real conversation piece, try something totally different for holding beverages. We served punch from a new plastic aquarium complete with plastic fish (figure C).
Candlelight adds a lovely touch to any outdoor party. An inverted terra-cotta pot provides an natural base for a fat candle (figure D). Coconut-shell candles are perfect for a Tahitian-theme party (figure E).
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