12 Days of Christmas – Day # 10

CHRISTMAS TABLE SETTING

Day 10–it’s almost over and I’m so sad.  But I’m excited to share our casual “Sweater Weather” Christmas table setting, and to see what beautiful table settings all the other bloggers have shared.  Table settings are so important because when we “break bread” together, that’s when we slow down enough to catch up with each other.  Beautiful table settings encourage conversation and remind us that a meal is special and very different from just eating food.  I can’t wait to snuggle up with my hot cocoa and be inspired!

[bctt tweet=”12 Days of Christmas where beautiful table settings take center stage.” username=”@BlowingAway1990″]

Welcome to the third annual 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop!

Stop by every day from December first through the twelfth for new ideas you can use to make your season brighter!

Meet Your Hosts

They have all been busy as Elves creating, decorating, cooking and crafting tons of new ideas for you to try this holiday season!

Shirley~Intelligent Domestications I Alli~An Alli Event I Michelle~Our Crafty Mom I Marie~DIY Adulation 

Erlene~My Pinterventures I Beverly~Across The Blvd. I Debra~Shoppe No. 5 I Victoria~Dazzle While Frazzled

Megan~C’mon Get Crafty I Michelle~Michelle James Designs I Amanda~Domestically Creative

Deborah~Salvage Sister & Mister I Jeanie~Create & Babble I Sherry~Olives & Okra

Jenny~Cookies Coffee & Crafts I Emily~Domestic Deadline I Bonbon~Farmhouse 40 

Leanna~Of Faeries & Fauna I Pam Larmore~P.S. I Love You Crafts I Kelly~North Country Nest I Marie~The Inspiration Vault

Gail~Purple Hues and Me I Lynne~My Family Thyme I Karen~Dragonfly and Lily Pads I Trisha~Blowing Away Out West

Tomika~Life In Pumps I Rachee~Say it, “Rah-Shay” I Lorrin~Embrace The Perfect Mess 

Serena~The Weekend Jaunts I Terri~Christmas Tree Lane I Jessica~A Southern Mother 

Sam~Raggedy Bits I Cyn~Creative Cynchronicity Valeria~Val Event Gal

Yami~The Latina Next Door I Tania~Little Vintage Cottage

 Lauren~Wonderfully Made I Vanessa~DIY 180 I Kimberly~A Wonderful Thought I Kim~Everyday Parties 

Dru~Polka Dot Poplars 

Sweater Weather Christmas Table Setting

AND EASY STEPS FOR CREATING A THEMED TABLESCAPE

START YOUR CHRISTMAS TABLESCAPE WITH A THEME

“SWEATER WEATHER”

I’m dreaming of sweater weather.  It’s still too warm here in Arizona to wear sweaters, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dress my table in sweaters.  Christmas will always remind me of home (Colorado) and this Sweater Weather Christmas tablescape reminds me of home.  Start your tablescape with a theme.  Possibilities include:  North Pole, Santa’s Coming to Town, O Holy Night (Stars), Let it Snow, etc.  Having a theme will keep your table from looking disjointed, and will keep you from spending money on every cute thing that catches your eye at the kitchen store.  It’s much easier to know where you’re headed with your tablescape before you start shopping.

TABLE CENTERPIECE

Every beautiful table is anchored with a centerpiece.  Some rules to remember when planning your centerpiece:

•  Your centerpiece should be low enough that the guest can see each other over the centerpiece, or tall enough that the centerpiece rests above the guests heads while seated.

• Round tables look best with round centerpieces, square tables with square centerpieces.  For long, rectangular tables your centerpiece should span the length of the table–leaving enough room for the place settings at the head of the table.  Make the centerpiece long and narrow so you can fit the glassware above the plates.

• Candles add ambiance to the table, but be aware of the placement so hands aren’t burned when passing dishes back and forth.

• The centerpiece should set the theme that will be carried through to the place settings.

The Sweater Weather Table centerpiece started with the trees.  The sweater trees were a crazy experiment gone right when I spontaneously started wrapping a cardboard cone with an old sweater. I topped each tree with tassels from an old scarf.  I finished it off the bottom trim and sides with sweater flowers made by gluing circles from old sweaters into flower shapes.  Once I had my sweater cone decorated, I simply popped it on top of a piece of dowel and inserted the other end of the dowel into a square of wood.  I only had to use a power tool for the hole in the center of the wood block.  This project is quirky-cute and super simple.

I  remember travelling with my dad into the mountains to cut our Christmas tree and the wood for our fireplace, and visually added that memory by placing an old truck hauling the Christmas tree next to my sweater trees.  The sweater trees are unusual enough that they needed to be surrounded by some pine boughs in vases to present the feeling of a forest, and give context to the trees.  Here’s the finished centerpiece.

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CONTINUE THE THEME THROUGH TO THE PLACE SETTINGS

You’ve set the theme with the centerpiece, now it’s time to continue it through to the rest of the table.

Here are two great tricks for themed place settings:

•  Place a themed “place card” in the center of the plate over a fabric napkin.  Place cards don’t need to have names on them, and they don’t need to be cards.  You can use a small trinket, like an ornament, wreath or a small wrapped box.  You can also use a leafy sprig or a flower sprig-which look best when wrapped with the napkin using a small ribbon.

• Paper plates!  These fun and inexpensive paper plates from Joann’s Fabrics repeat the centerpiece theme.  Paper plates are a great, inexpensive way to add color, theme and design elements to your table.  There are a wide range of designs to choose from for every holiday and occasion.  Opt for the salad size plate and place it on top of a larger neutral plate and charger.   The place setting will look grand and substantial, and your guest can use the paper plate for their bread plate while eating off the stone dishware.

I hope you enjoyed the ideas on creating a themed table setting and I hope you like my Sweater Weather Christmas table setting.  It’s such an easy way to add a special occasion feel to a meal.  I make sure that I do several Christmas place settings each year because it invokes a magical feeling to the everyday, and because I want Christmastime to feel special.

What do you think?  Are you ready to create a themed table setting?

Be sure to visit our fellow 12 Days of Christmas Bloggers below for even more creative ideas this holiday season!

#LightTheWorld has great suggestions for a small act of kindness each day until Christmas.  We’ve been enjoying turning our thoughts to others for a moment each day.  You can get your printable calendar here.  Today’s video follows.