So this was our first Christmas at our new home. Our last place was much smaller than this house, so the decorations all "fit", whereas here we have a few years to go before we have enough Christmas stuff to fill all the common areas. Now I love Christmas and I really, really love decorating for Christmas, but I do not like buying new stuff when I don't have to. I used lots of stuff I had on hand to make my little tablescape here.
Now, as I mentioned on Flickr, I don't feel like I was able to really capture how cute this table was, even with my awesome camera. One thing on my to-do list this year is to get better at taking pictures of compositions.
Because we had seven folks to dinner for a table that really only sits six comfortably, I decided to forgo the placemats. I used a cheap-o silver charger that I had on hand (I saw them for sale this year at the WalMart for $1 a piece) as the base. Then I used my china (Noritake Crestwood Platinum) and a salad plate from my mom's china set that she gave me when she moved to Texas. I got the red napkins from Target and had the rando "silver" napkin rings on hand because I love buying random silver napkin rings.
For the centerpiece, I just got down my two red vases (they're usually on top of one of my bookcases, originally from Target like 10 years ago), got out my "silver" candlesticks and popped in red tapers, and then got a large candle holder, popped in a glass with a votive candle inside, then filled it with cranberries. It was inspired by this wine cork candle holder over at the blog Two Twenty-One which I found via Pitnerest. Because everything bright and beautiful is found via Pinterest. :)
The goblets are Libby brand ($5 for 4 at the WalMart), and the cute coasters I've had forever.
Lastly, I made white chair covers for the chairs which will now be there year round. For all you sewists out there, this was relatively quick and easy. It's not a slip cover, so they don't have to fit perfectly (and they don't), so all you have to do is trace the side of your chair to make two side pieces, then measure the length of the entire front and back for one long piece, sew those puppies together and BLAMMO! New chair covers. I made mine white so I can take them and bleach them when necessary.
How about you guys? Do you do the cooking at Christmas? Do you have any fun ways to decorate your table? I'm always looking for ideas!
xoxo,
