Woman in Real Life

Before I even got around to setting up party decor, I brainstormed around a festive red drink for our party (in honour of the Canadian flag, which is red and white with a maple leaf in the centre). I decided to create one beverage that all ages could consume, a mocktail I suppose. I like a good strawberry mojito myself so I took the standard mojito recipe and turned it into a family-friendly no-jito. All that's missing is the rum...which you could certainly add in for the adults if you like! You can find my Strawberry No-jito recipe at the end of this post.


A red and white colour scheme can be difficult to incorporate into your home or outdoor space. It can definitely conflict with other colours or look tacky if the red is too abundant. I chose to set up our pre-Canada Day party on the deck, on our little black iron dining set. For a neutral backdrop to my table decor, I folded up a twin-size blanket to use as a tablecloth, making sure that the red stripes on the blanket showed at the edge of the table. I got this Texmade blanket for $6 at Giant Tiger and it's really nice and soft. It comes in other colours and it reminds me of a camping blanket. It would look fabulous on matching twin beds at a cottage too.


I cut a few quick and simple projects with my Cricut Explore Air™ to adorn my Canada Day table. I think my favourite is the tiny maple leaf confetti in red and white. This is so easy to make and as a bonus, uses very little cardstock. It's great for using up any red and white cardstock scraps you have leftover from other projects. All you have to do to make this maple leaf confetti is find a maple leaf image on the Internet or select one from the Cricut Design Space images. Size it down so the maple leaf is tiny (mine is 1/2-inch wide) and duplicate it into however many pieces you want. Cut from the red cardstock and then cut again from white cardstock Why are little tiny things so much cuter than their bigger counterparts?

I also cut maple leaves out of white vinyl to put in the middle of the red plastic plates I found at Giant Tiger. If you are looking to create Canada-themed projects with your Cricut or other cutting machine, I also created a Canada Day mantel with a maple leaf garland and framed maple leaf art. Find instructions for those projects in this blog post.


Finally, I cut a maple leaf from red adhesive foil to adorn this sweet glass lantern with rope handle. I filled the lantern with red and white straws - it would also be great for a candle, obviously, or candy or red and/or white flowers.


Speaking of lanterns, I got this big black lantern at Giant Tiger too. I got a nice lantern like this at Christmas but the holiday decor elements were glued inside so I couldn't transition it into another season. This lantern came without interior contents so it will work nicely for any season. I put in a flameless candle, a big seashell and a red gerbera daisy.


Giant Tiger had a few types of these adorable mini camping-themed candle holders too. Naturally I picked out a red one.


To entertain the kids, I added a pack of Canadian flag-themed playing cards to the table, along with red licorice and red Tootsie Pops.


I also got them a packet of Canadian flag temporary tattoos so they can demonstrate their pride on the big day.


For other ideas of patriotic gear to wear on Canada Day, check out my recent projects - a Canada tote bag and a cute Made in Canada tank top.



For easy (and healthy) party food, "decorate" with red fruits such as cherries, raspberries and watermelon.


I saw a bag of radishes at the store and thought they were lovely, so I brought them home as a red decor item.


I put out a red maple leaf fleece throw blanket in case the party went into the evening and the temperature dipped. The adorable moose and maple leaf plastic bin was perfect for popping all of my Canada Day decor into when the party was over.


This family-friendly Strawberry No-jito is delicious and benefits from many healthy, natural ingredients.


The recipe starts with muddling fresh strawberries, freshly squeezed lime juice, mint and a simple syrup made with sugar and water.


Add ice and top with club soda and your sweet and minty drink sensation is ready to go!

12 Canada Day Party Ideas

To summarize, here are the decor, food and activity elements I incorporated into my Canada 150 party:

1. Buy or cut red and/or white fresh flowers, like my red gerbera daisies.
2. Make maple leaf confetti with your Cricut or other cutting machine.
3. Cut a red foil adhesive maple leaf with your Cricut or other cutting machine to adhere to a glass pitcher or jug.
4. Cut white vinyl maple leaves with your Cricut or other cutting machine and adhere to red plastic or paper plates (or cut red maple leaves for white plates).
5. Fill a glass pitcher or candle holder with red and white straws.
6. Serve candy that's also decorative, such as red and white jelly beans, red licorice and red lollipops.
7. Put out Canada-themed playing cards for guests.
8. Have Canada-themed temporary tattoos on hand for the kiddos.
9. Decorate with red fruits and veggies, such as radishes, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and watermelon. (If you have a maple leaf cookie cutter, cut the watermelon with that.)
10. Add a red flower to a lantern.
11. Use a red and white blanket as a tablecloth. Have extra Canada-themed throw blankets on hand if your party runs into the evening and it might get cool.
12. Serve a red mocktail and/or cocktail like my family-friendly Strawberry No-jito (recipe below).

Sourced from Giant Tiger

• black lantern (minus the candle)
• glass candle holder with rope handle
• striped twin blanket (used as tablecloth)
• maple leaf fleece throw blanket
• camping candle holder
• red plastic plates
• moose and maple leaf bucket
• red and white dish cloth
• red and white straws
• Canada playing cards
• Canada temporary tattoos
• raspberries, strawberries, radishes, Twizzlers, Tootsie Pops

Visit my Canadian blogging friends for some additional Canada Day decor and party ideas:



Life is a Party

Personally Andrea

Flourish and Knot

The Learner Observer

Kim Power Style

Woman In Real Life


Will you be holding a patriotic celebration this summer?