Re: BEFORE THE PARTY.
When Merrill hears a out the party, she will be trying to help by putting flowers she's gathered in... places. She knows this is something fancy people do! She has a vague idea of what a table setting should look like, so she's placing flowers in the middle of each table, arranging and rearranging them, and then finally moves on to put leftover flowers in other places around the room.
To also be fancy, she made a flower crown and is wearing it.