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.