Turn Old Wine Corks Into Name Cards For Your Next Dinner Party

You may want to hang onto the corks from your wine bottles. Wine corks can be repurposed as crafty name tags, and your guests will marvel at your hostessing prowess and creative ingenuity. Name cards are a simple and easy way to elevate place settings and create ambiance for dinner parties.

To convert a wine cork into a place setting, stick cardboard paper into a small cut you make in the cork with a knife. The clean corks can be placed vertically or horizontally on top of plates or to the side of each guest's setting. Wine corks can also be used to place organic materials like reeds and flowers and other trinkets like stones and tags that can complement the overall theme of the event you're hosting. Make name cards in advance to help indicate the seating chart you've planned or organize a DIY station for guests to make their own cork placeholders for the evening.

To bring a bit of storytelling fun into your evening, keep the cork that is presented to you the next time you dine and share memories from the occasion. For an icebreaker activity, particularly among guests who may not know each other, ask each guest to arrive with their own wine cork — instead of a dish — and encourage your friends to have a story to share about the bottle that the cork came from. 

Whether you decide to use uniform designs or embrace a more haphazard approach, using corks as part of your table setting can be adjusted depending on the event itself and the number of attendees present. Wine cork labels can be used to designate dietary preferences on grazing tables or label dishes as part of larger buffet spreads. After you have lined your tables with butter candles and have created a Martha-Stewart-inspired centerpiece, you will have built an aesthetic environment that warrants photos ready for your guests' Instagram feeds.