I'm usually not a fan of early Christmas decorating, but I saw this sign and I needed a little JOY in my day and it all sort of snowballed. A friend helped me “test setup” my Christmas day display.
I'm generally terrible at tablescapes and food presentation. Now that we're fully-immersed in home renovations, though, I can see myself starting to geek out over all this stuff. Knocking everything out and starting over with a blank slate makes you really appreciate the little details!
One of the hurdles in tablescapes, for me, is that I grew up attending fancy holiday dinners at my grandma's house. I'm used to seeing people bust out the tiny forks and matching salt shakers. Sorry guys, there is just no way I'm getting a separate china set for every season, and I know I'll just never come close to those childhood memories. I've come to realize, though, that my own white ceramic plates can actually go a long way with the right additions. When it comes to decorating for the holidays, sometimes less is more. Don't stress about putting together a Christmas tablescape with a ton of decorations, five sets of plates, three different forks, and two different types of glasses. This is one area where you can create a simple, yet beautiful look without a lot of effort or money!
Supplies:
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Roll of Christmas Themed Wrapping Paper
- Christmas or Natural Themed Garland
- Vintage Tool Caddy
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Joy Sign (available at Target or Amazon alternate)
- Assortment of Wooden Reindeer Statues (Target dollar section or Amazon alternate)
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Reindeer mini pillow (Target dollar section or Amazon alternate)
Instead of pulling out the fancy linen, use Christmas wrapping paper to decorate your table. If you have a really wide table, you may want to run the wrapping paper over the table a second time to make sure every inch of the table is covered. Not only is this a great way to decorate, it's easy on the clean-up process. Instead of dropping linen into the washer, you can just roll this up and toss it.
For the center of the table, use a simple Christmas garland. If your garland is not long enough, try filling it with green leaves, cranberries, and pinecones.
Add a few wooden reindeer statues throughout the garland to add a little intrigue.
Set the table. Place plaid Christmas chargers at each place setting. Place a white dinner plate on top of the charger, followed by a red and white (or other Christmas themed) cloth napkin. Set a white bowl on top.
Add your silverware and crystal glasses to each place setting.
Do you set out an ornate Christmas tablescape each year, or do you tend to “wing it?”