It’s the season for entertaining, so why not make your guests feel extra special with their own lead story custom placemats.
They’re budget-friendly and only take a few minutes to put together once you’ve added the star factor.
And when the party is done, they can take them home as gifts.
Okay, before we get to the tutorial be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
What you need
You’ll need a few empty beer boxes (any thick cardboard will also do), spray paint, mod podge, and a story ;-) But I’ll get to the story in a bit.
Let’s get those beer boxes ready first.
Making Lead Story Custom Placemats
Cut the sides off the beer boxes and spray or paint the back with whatever color spray paint you have on hand to hide the writing.
While you wait for the paint to dry, hop onto your computer to create a story. That’s what makes these placemats so special. Each guest features as the hero of the lead story in an old-style printed newspaper.
Tips For Writing The Lead Story
Use the third person, for example, he said, or she did and try to capture your guest’s personality. You only need about 150 words and a photo. You can even include a quote from someone they know well, to fill up the space. I found this lovely PowerPoint template that makes it so easy to convert what you’ve written into an old-style newspaper article.
For these custom placemats, I wrote a news article for each of my kids. My Dinosaur-loving son, Calin is super intelligent (I’m his mom and I’m really not biased). When he’s not playing strategy games on his laptop, he’s researching weird facts about things most people haven’t even heard of. He’s off to Canada to study Psychology in a few days, and this momma is feeling all kinds of mixed emotions at the moment :-(
My daughter, Talea J, is a mermaid. Her biggest dream is to marry meet Micheal Phelps and qualify for the 2024 Olympic games. She trains between 4 and 6 hours every day, and she’s well on her way to achieving her dreams.
Finishing Off The Lead Story Placemats
After typing up the articles, I just printed them out and mod podged them onto the front, unpainted side of the cardboard.
And to add to the old-world look, I applied some crackle glaze after the mod podged had dried. To make those cracks really pop you can apply a homemade stain over the top. To make the stain, mix some Burnt Umber oil paint and turps in a small bowl.
The mixture should be quite runny. Apply the stain with a paintbrush and then rub it in with a kitchen towel.
The lead story custom placemats fit perfectly with our low-key decor style too.
And they’re a huge amount of fun to make, and your guests can take them home after the party too.
We’ve made some for everyone and had quite a few chuckles making up stories about our guests.
My mom’s newspaper story involves a strip club and a python, but I think she’d kill me if I put it on the blog. Let’s just say strip clubs will never be the same again ;-)
We made those Christmas crackers last year, and we’ll be reusing them again this year ;-)
If you like the idea of making lead story custom placemats, don’t forget to pin it for later.
What are your plans for making your guests feel like superstars during this festive season? I’d love to hear all about it.
Oh before I forget, if you’d like to make something similar or prefer to buy rather than DIY, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more unique DIY and craft ideas for you ;-)
Or if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, then perhaps these will appeal.
Sending love and blessings as always.
Last update on 2026-04-15 / Source Amazon Affiliates
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