Christmas Dinner with Friends 2017

'Twas a Plaid Christmas that year.

2017

 I chose to tone down the red with some white, antique cutwork placemats. That way the Nikko plaid dinner plate could actually be seen on the table. I topped the dinner plate with a Royal Stafford Joyeux Noel salad plate. Crochet edge napkins were gathered into red velvet bows from Pier One. Community plate Signature forks and Vagabond House shed antler knives.

I chose Mikasa Parklane water goblets and Spanish silver wine glasses. The bold tablecloth needed bold pieces.

The red velvet napkin rings are "stiff" so they retain their shape throughout many uses!

I had made these place card holders in anticipation for this theme a year before. Inexpensive Walmart individual salt shakers, one per person. Discard the tops. Add some faux snow to the shaker. Insert a $Tree wire tree ornament  into the opening of the shaker. Attach with clear glue (keeping the glue out of the snow. Once dry, wrap a ribbon or bias cut plaid fabric around the screw portion of the shaker. The $tree Christmas Tree ornament has a star on top, so i used mini clothes pin to attach the place card to the star. Pretty simple, really. 

I love the lace on the plaid!

I have the sweetest friend who has a wholesale florist shop. He helps me pick out the best combination of flowers. 

 Sterling salt and peppers and candlesticks complete the look.

Monogrammed tea towels tied onto the chairs with red velvet ribbons.

Keeping the red velvet thing going.

Why does photo stitching always make the front look bowed? The buffet decked out with Mackenzie Childs runner.

 A vintage lunch box holds a snowy scene and is watched over by a reindeer with a tartan bow. 

 His mate is on the other side. Instead of candles inside the lanterns, I filled them with trees and fairy lights. 

I love a tree filled with white lights and memories. Do you do a stylized tree? Or one with all the ornaments that make you nostalgic?

 We serve cocktails and apps in the living room. When the theme involves red, the pillows, the dishes, the napkins all play right along.

 The large driftwood nativity is made by a Native American artist and was purchased by my husband in Santa Fe, NM. Happy Birthday to me!!

 'Twas a Christmas to remember!

Christmas Dinner with Friends 2016

Every year we host a Christmas dinner. Each year I try to come up with a different theme or color combinations, use conventional and unconventional Christmas china, and present a different menu. Each year in January the menu, tablescape and decor is set. Next year's theme was chosen while we were in Vail and a trial table has already been pulled together, so I'm way ahead of schedule! 😉

For this year, the theme was rustic; brown with green. I so badly wanted to use magnolia leaves in garlands around the house and on the table. A Williams Sonoma jacquard tablecloth was the first layer and provided the backdrop. 

However, the idea was sparked from this Kim Seybert beaded runner found at Cielo, Santa Fe, years ago. When they were still open. When they had so much eye candy that I could actually feel myself feel faint when entering into the store. It's always a bit sad to know that when we go to Santa Fe, Cielo is no more. Tears flowing! 😭😭😭

I monogrammed the matching napkins to the tablecloth. I just love the addition of a monogram on table linens. 💓 It's all in the details!

Etsy provided the perfect wooden tree slices for napkin rings. A wooden charger is the base for Spode Delamere dinner plates and Noritake Royal Hunt salad plates.

Vagabond stag flatware (natural sheds!), vintage crystal knife rests, Mikasa Parklane iced beverage glasses and Ajka Arabella wine hocks finish out the place settings. 

A recent trip to Bonnes Amies, a delightful store in Plainview, Texas. yielded the wooden tags used for placecards. Some die-cut winter branches, a few beads and handwritten names personalized the tags in a hurry! The name tags rest on some resin antlers sold by the pair as Christmas tree ornaments from Wal-Mart.  

Sterling and not sterling candleholders combine on each end of the table to provide ambient light at the table. A very vintage lace runner that belonged to my grandmother-in-law and then to my mother-in-love ran down the center of the table to break up the mass of brown.

 Lenox Holiday Tartan votive holders add some light at table level. Resin antiqued silver deer gussied up with a double-faced satin ribbon and a small bauble finish the centerpiece.

A silver Revere bowl provided the vessel for the flowers; white roses, alstroemeria, magnolia leaves and pheasant feathers. The arrangement lasted well over a week!

For dinner parties, I like to serve a salad to seated guests and then serve the remainder of the meal buffet style. It certainly breaks up the formality and gets guests up and moving! It's always a nice touch to add a menu to the table. It whets the appetite!

A rustic Christmas dinner indeed. The red touches add the perfect holiday touch to the table. 

Cast:

Tablecloth and napkins - Williams Sonoma

Chargers - Pier One Baroque

Dinner plates - Spode Delamere

Salad plates - Noritake Royal Hunt

Flatware - Vagabond House stag flatware (Horchow or Nieman Marcus)

Iced Beverage - Mikasa Parklane

Wine hocks - Ajka Arabella red cut to clear

I pray you had a blessed Christmas and wish you many blessings for the New Year ahead.

Christmas Dinner with Friends 2015

Christmas Dinner with Friends 2015

We love to open our home to acquaintances, friends and family throughout 

the year. However, one of the times I enjoy the most is our yearly 

dinner with friends. I try to choose a different theme each year so that 

the dinner is not only a feast for the tummy,but also a feast for the eyes. 

I do try to plan several years in advance so that should I choose to make any 

purchases,they aren't full price. 

This year's theme was the Night before Christmas. Luck was on my side last year

and I snagged the 'Twas the Night... tablecloth and dessert/salad dishes on sale from

Williams Sonoma.

Last Year's set of plates

This year's set. I sure wish we had a Williams Sonoma near us. I would have purchased

the Nutcracker plates!

I selected a red Thomson dinner plate to pair with the WS 'Twas... dishes. These were placed on

a Jay Imports gold charger. Gold flatware completed the setting.

I found the fun napkins at Home Goods and embroidered them with a big B.

I love to add the personal touch to our table. The color green in the embroidery

was selected from a very dominant green in the tablecloth.

For the life of me, I do not remember from where I purchased this embroidery font.

.

The Fitz and Floyd reindeer (found at an estate sale!) fit perfectly on the table

 as they repeatedthe colors of the tablecloth and kept the conversation 

flowing withtheir cheerful faces. Several years past, I had seen the idea to 

glue ornaments to a mirror as individual vases. I will admit it was

a bit tricky until I came across some circular foam with a center hole

from a CD stack.

 Another theme that paired well with the 'Twas idea, 

was an abundance of ornamental balls. I had them 

strung on the chandelier, in bowls, and outside in planters. 

With a venture of that undertaking, I made several trips

to our local Dollar Tree. You had to be there early to get

the ones with designs on them! Let's say I started in November.

I used a tureen to hold the flower arrangement, which consisted of 

eucalyptus, red roses, green buttons and white mums. An extravagance

that made the table feel sumptuous!

 Our Ajka Arabella wine hocks paired up with the Mikasa Parklane iced teas. Whereas

the clear crystal might have faded into the background, the red pop of the Ajka crystal

added a bit of color on yet another level.

On overhead shot. I just stand on my tippy toes and point down with the camera. 

My canon has a vari-angle lens so I can see the shot before I take it.

Each guest went home with an embroidered stocking. 

I designed and embroidered the free standing fabric 

holly leaves that had wire inserted in the embroidery process.

Not nearly as scary as it sounds. The names were 

embroidered on a ribbon that was knotted and then hand

tacked to the stocking cuff. Filling them was a blast!

In these last photos, you might notice that I decided that the napkins

needed a napkin ring. I love to add table jewelry when it seems to fit.

Thanks for stopping by, I know it's been a while, praying that the year

ahead will afford me more time to be more active on line. A family, still working

full-time, and being a BSF International bible study leader eats up so much of my time.

I would love to be able to spend some time with y'all.

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch

The scoop #203 @ Confessions of a Plate Addict

Tartan for Christmas

I am a sucker for tartan, especially in red. 

Red Stewart is my classic favorite. I think I can thank my mom for that. I had numerous Stewart kilts growing up. I guess they were the thing to have way back then. No, I won't share how long ago that was. 

When I saw the Nikko Tartan, it came home with me without a second thought. 

 And then I succumbed to Lenox Holiday Tartan. Mom had the black plaid placemats. Maybe the love of plaid and tartans is a gene that has been passed down?

I've used the Holiday Tartan for both informal and more formal settings

It appeared for Thanksgiving one year.

I still buy tartan and love to wear it. I've even used gifted tartan as a table runner.

This year, I might just fall pray to Williams Sonoma's tartan chargers....

and their salad/dessert plates. Should I?

Found these here.  Called Harlequin by Dot & Bo... they don't look like harlequin!

Found these here. I should have bought these!

These from Pier One are adorable!!! Small appetizer plates. One can never have too many!

From Ralph Lauren Home. Duke Dessert Plate. Yummy!

Found on Replacements.com, Sasaki tartan plaid dinnerware.

 

 

This wonderful pattern is by Spode, called Glen Lodge Tartan. Found here.

 

From the Williams Sonoma blog.

So do you Tartan for Christmas?