Most Eagle courts of honor end with a reception, a chance for guests to grab some food, shake some hands, and offer personal congratulations to the new Eagle Scout. In many ways, planning the reception is a lot easier than planning the ceremony: You don’t need scripts. You don’t need speakers. You simply need some tables, some chairs, and some food–anything from cake and punch to a sit-down dinner.
I can handle the food part, but I’ve always fallen short on decorating the room. I appreciate good decorations; I just can’t create them. That’s why I was glad to hear from a reader named Lynda a few years back.
Lynda’s troop had been selling Trail’s End popcorn for years, and she had accumulated quite a few popcorn tins, which generally feature Scouting themes and scenes. To decorate for a court of honor, she found a way to use these tins as table decorations.
Here’s how: Tie two or three helium-filled balloons together and weight them down with a spoon. Put the spoon down in the popcorn tin, then fill the tin with crumpled tissue paper. Voila! Instant centerpiece.
Lynda said everyone at the court of honor got a kick out of trying to figure out what year each tin came from. And Lynda got a kick out of spending just a few dollars on table decorations.
For more great ideas, check out my ebook, Showtime: 45 Top Tips from EagleBook.com and The Eagle Court of Honor Book; it costs just $2.99 and is available for immediate download from both EagleBook.com and Amazon.com.