Miss Party has to come clean that she is just a little bit addicted to San Pellegrino’s “Limonata”! She splurges occasionally and has one when lunching in a certain cafe with girlfriends. Awhile back, it struck her how cute the bottles the beverage comes in were and, inexplicably, began saving them to use as tiny vases in her windowsills. It must be said that Miss Party does have a fondness for interesting glass bottles and has amassed a rather large coIlection of new and vintage bottles that often show up at her parties as Bottle Bouquets or mini centerpieces. Her recent additions reminded her that she should suggest another party use for small, glass beverage bottles.
If you (or someone you know well enough to ask), happens to enjoy a beverage that uses a small glass bottle such as this one, collect them to recycle as adorable beverage glasses at your next party. It’s quite the party beverage table rage these days as are many things with a vintage or upcycled vibe. You’ve probably seen party pictures all over the internet using some sort of small glass bottle prepped with straws, being used as beverage glasses. In many cases, the bottles were purchased brand new which works when you need a lot of them quickly, but there’s no shame in collecting and recycling your own for the same idea!
Miss Party always wants to encourage Hostesses to make a smaller party ‘footprint’ whenever possible and this idea is the best of both worlds; you’re making an earth-friendly choice, it’s cheap and practical, and it looks great from a design and decor perspective. Each time you collect a bottle, wash it and remove the label, then store it with the others. If you can get yourself in the habit of cleaning them up on the front end, you’ll be all set by party time. Keep collecting until you have enough to cover your next dinner party or could make an impressive display for a beverage table at a larger party.
On party day, set the bottles on a serving tray (for passing or just for display purposes) or line them up in rows on your beverage table. Purchase cute straws in one of your party colors (you can find adorable striped paper straws on Etsy.com), and pop one in each bottle or have a container filled with straws nearby. Just before party time, pre-pour your chosen beverage or have a dispenser-style beverage container next to the bottle display for guests to help themselves.
Another idea, with warm weather coming on, is to offer a refreshing, non-alcoholic drink like Lemonade or Limeade. If you will have a server, have the server pass the bottled drinks as guests arrive. If you go this route, don’t have a refill container of the same beverage at your bar. The idea is specifically intended to be a pre-cursor ‘wet your whistle’ offering; as guests finish their drink, the bottles should be collected and removed from the party space.
However you serve the beverages, consider serving Lemonade, French Lemonade, Limonata (Italian Lemonade), Limeade, Orangeade, Iced Tea, a colorful punch (maybe Sunset/Planter’s Punch?) or even chocolate milk.
Miss Party’s little glass bottles are from San Pellegrino. They bottle their Limonata (lemon soda) and Aranciata (orange soda) beverage in them. The bottles are a perfect fit for a woman or child’s hand, are a reasonable 6.75 fl. oz. size, and have a pleasing pear-shaped, textured exterior. Starbucks’ also uses a really cute ‘milk bottle’ style bottle for it’s pre-bottled Frappucino drinks. Of course, there are lots of other small, glass bottles; none more classic than the pretty green Perrier bottles. If you purchase new glass bottles for this purpose, be absolutely sure they are food-safe, you can not assume it.
This is one DIY project that you get to enjoy along the way! Happy drinking and collecting!
