INSPIRATION: Christmas kaleidoscope party favors purchased at Pier 1 several years ago.
Last week I posted “Merry & Bright – Multi-Color Christmas“, a tablescape for six adults, as part of a three-part series on how to create multiple settings using many of the same basic elements. Today we have the kids’ version of that table, something that would be suitable for children probably 7+.
(Click on any photo and then click again to see fine details up close!)
The same bright 90″ x 132″ red tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com covers the table from head to foot.
I always like to break up a profusion of bright color with a little white. Here I use white melamine dinner plates from Target. They are topped with small appetizer plates, also from Target, juxtaposed to show off their shape and color. The appetizer plates are great for serving child-size servings of certain foods.
The kaleidoscope party favor with its fun stripes and playful snowmen brings additional color to the setting.
White casual flatware rests atop fun Christmas tree napkins created by my friend & neighbor, Barbara. For a tutorial on how to make these, click HERE for the video version or HERE for the pictorial version, Tip #31. I first used these terrific napkins during the 2012 Christmas season for “Black Friday Luncheon”. Again…using the same element to create a totally different environment!
Sometimes kids like to pretend they’re “eating fancy” like the adults, so I picked up these great molded plastic stems from Old Time Pottery.
Barbara also created this beautiful quilted runner to complement the napkins! It’s the perfect piece to pull all the parts of the centerpiece together!
What else do Grandmas do but fill the grandkids up with sugar and send them back home? 😉 I made bubble gum balls, Pixy Stix and old-fashioned hard candies a part of the tablescape using brightly colored bowls to display them.
I bought these cool, contemporary lime green vases a couple of years ago at Home Goods. For this kids’ tablescape, they take on a fun look when filled with handfuls of the same wispy multi-color jingle bell thingies used in a more formal setting last week. This time I added a multi-colored jingle bell candy cane to the vase to up its fun quotient. I first used these vases in a springtime tablescape that can be seen HERE.
Santa hats on the dining chairs lend a more kid-friendly look to the dining room. I first used these fun chair cover hats from Dollar Tree during the 2011 Christmas season in “Sugar High Payback”, another kid-friendly tablescape. Just $1 each for these covers that really change the room up! If you don’t know Dollar Tree, you don’t know bargain shopping!!! 🙂
I always like to extend the look of the table to the buffet behind it, so three smaller lime green vases are filled with the jingly thingies. (Honestly…I just don’t know what other name to assign them!) I used three to add balance to the room. For instance, if I use 1 vase on the table, I tend to use two or three on the buffet. Here I used 2 vases on the table, so the buffet gets three. It’s part of that “Rule of Three” when you work in odd numbers. It really does make a difference to the mind’s eye!
The vintage tea cart in the room becomes a bit more kid-friendly with the addition of goodies that no kid can possibly resist!
Bennington the Butler (one of my favorite Bombay Company purchases of all time!) loves to get into the spirit. Here he holds a jingle bell candy cane like the ones on the dining table vases. This helps to extend the theme to the outer parts of the room. Bennington’s Santa hat mimics those on the chairs.
This idea came to me as I sorted through the scads of ribbon rolls in my ribbon room. It’s a very simple idea and can be done with fancy satin ribbons like this or with less expensive but equally fun lengths of curling ribbon. If you opt for the curling ribbon, be sure to curl some and leave some straight for a more 3-D look. Decorating with ribbon is a fast, inexpensive way to bring color, texture and movement to a room!
Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Bennington, our faithful butler Geoffrey dons a fun Santa hat and offers treats to young guests as they arrive.
I didn’t post a photo of last week’s skinny Christmas tree in the corner of the dining room, but notice that the gold wire trees seen in last week’s post have now transferred from the buffet to the base of this tree with candles added for more shimmer at night. The addition of the tiny Nativity scene keeps it all within the reason for the season.
I added to the tree these beautiful Hallmark ornaments from over the years that are a treasured part of our collection.
These fun Pier 1 ornaments from several years ago rest beautifully in the same mercury glass-lined votive holders used on the buffet last week. Notice how they take on a much more playful look as assembled here.
In a few days I’ll post the 3rd and final tablescape from this series. I think you’ll like the new look it takes on! Meanwhile, please be sure to join Susan for “Tablescape Thursday” and Cuisine Kathleen for “Let’s Dish!” where there’s a fun “magazine copycat” challenge going on this week!
More winter and Christmas posts on this site can be found at:
Merry & Bright – Multi-Color Christmas
Christmas Through the Red Door
Pink & Purple Chocolate Christmas
Black Friday Luncheon Tablescape
Winter Dinner
Contemporary Christmas: Fire & Ice
Celebrating the Season
Sugar High Payback
Cranberry Christmas
Cranberry Christmas Squared
Checkered Christmas – A Snowman Theme
Get Me To the Church On Time
Christmas Progressive Dinner 2011
Black, White & Red All Over Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
Warm Metal Christmas
Winter Brunch
After the Hunt – Gentlemen’s Winter Retreat
plus NINE additional posts on a single page under the “WINTER” tab!!!
Tablescapes at Table /Twenty-One 
How can one not smile from ear to ear when they see this table!…the colors are so much fun and I am so enjoying seeing this table of brilliant colors..You have done it again…wowed us with your amazing talent…and I must say that I love the runner from your friend Barbara…and how did I miss those Santa chair covers…they are so cute!…Hope you are feeling better Alycia…think of you often!!!..
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Oh what fun!! May I please sit at the children’s table? Merry Christmas to you and yours! xx
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This is too cute!! My grandkids would feel so special to sit at a setting like this. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!! Thanks so much for your inspiration.
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Dearest Alycia, I am so glad to see you back at your art. Talk about a kid in a “candy store”. This is a child’s dream come true. I have to go over and check out the tutorial for the napkin it is lovely. Love the inspiration of the kaleidoscope and you surely nailed it. Loving the Target dishes and the plastic stemware is perfect for this table.
So glad you’re back.
xoxoGinger
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I want to sit at this table!! Our dollar stores need a serious upgrade because I have never seen those Santa hat chaircovers; I might have to stage a protest!! Parents of kids at this table would be seriously upset when they couldn’t scrape them off the ceiling. Talk about a sugar rush! Love the Hallmark ornaments and tbe butlers on duty. You thought of everything!!
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Hi Alicia, I am so happy to see you back, love the table decoration are so cute.
Blessing
Isora
XOX
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I am so going to throw a 5 year fit if I don’t get to sit at the kids table….and Bennington has to be my date. How cute he is!
Your table is amazing, everyone is going to want to be a kid and sit there and let the kids sit at the grown up table…What fun bright colors, love it!
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L-O-V-E the tree by the way…I used to have all those gorgeous colors years ago but when I moved north to yankee territory they don’t teach you that summer heat and winter freezing ruins ornaments, so I lost 4 large bins, but it’s a great excuse to buy new so I hit thrift stores trying to get my stash back where it used to be…I love your skinny tree! All those wonderful jewel tones make me want to do a mardi gras tree…next year. LOL
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Oh goodness gracious, Alycia, I’ve missed you!! This table is spectacular, fun, colorful and full of whimsy. I think we’d all like to be a kid again and sit at your table. xo
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Alycia, seeing the vintage serving cart that I purchased in the 50’s from Hartzfeld’s at Kansas City’s downtown “Petticoat Lane” (12th & Main) , when you were a baby brings back fond memories of my life with you, your siblings, and your father.
You are so creative!
Love,
Mom
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You are just too much …the colors , the decor, the cheerfulness …this setting screams fun and festive! This was definitely my eye candy for the day!!!! Love it!
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Alycia, I have a major problem. My daughter lives in Denver. She has white dishes and cream dishes and she wants some serving pieces, bowls, etc. with some color. I am at a loss as to how to proceed. I was thinking about melamine to go with her pottery but I just haven’t found anything at Target or Pier 1. There is also the issue of cost of shipping from Dallas. Here is her answer about color – I use a lot of the citron green, and teal (the more blue teal, not green teal). and the watery blue. I have a splash of red-orange. I also use a lot of nature – like wood design, flowers and birds. Does that help or make it worse? Thanks! I guess this was not as easy as the flatware. I love your web site. Found it accidently. Any help you could give me would be gratefully appreciated. Gayle Kesinger, Dallas, TX
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SO adorable, Alycia! I cannot believe those darling Santa hats for the chairbacks were from Dollar Tree! What delightful charm they add to this fun and festive table! Young guests would feel special indeed seated at this amazing table!
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What a fun table! I love those Santa hats on your chairs – and the Butler. My parents have him, too, and he looks so much like my dad!!! He’s part of the family after many years of holding our drinks at the end of the sofa. Love your lime vases and all the colors happening here. I like how you decorate the buffet each time you dress a table. You’re the queen of tablescapes!
Christmas blessings!
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I am so jealous that Geoffrey has an assistant! Bennington is fabulous! The loaded cart of goodies with the beribboned handle is irresistible, and any child would be thrilled to sit at that candy laden table with all the bright happy colors, a stemmed glass and a Santa hat chair cover!
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I want to sit at this table- I’m loving the cheerful colors! Those ribbons are pretty on the vintage serving cart and Bennington looks too cute holding the jingle bell cane! The hat chair covers came from the dollar tree store? Thats great! I guess I should go there more often!
I hope you’re staying warm!
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Alycia, I would love to be a kid sitting at this table, any kid would. I love the hatted chairs!
Hope you have enjoyed the last few mild days after so many freezing ones!
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Oh, the fun of it all, Alycia. You know how to pull out the child in all of us. I love the color and whimsy of this table.
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I love the appetizer plates and the santa hats on the chair backs, Alycia–I’d want to sit at the kid table, too!
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Such a festive and fun table. THe Santa hats on the chairs are so cute. I love all the fun colors and textures. The Christmas tree napkins are quite unique. The colorful candy adds to the decor but has to be a big hit with the kids too. This table oozes with personality and whimsy that is delightful.
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Girl, you brought it with this one! Well, you always bring it, but this is over the top fabulous! And I love how you used so many of of the components from the previous post and made it all look so fresh and different! Those jingle bell candy canes are awesome! And when I saw the ribbons tied onto the bar-cart handle?? Well, let’s just say that my head is spinning, thinking of the different ways I can use that idea! I’ve seen those santa hat chair covers in catalogs before and thought they were adorable… I should have known, of course, that you would have them. lol I could go on and on about everything in that room, but I’ll spare you my ramblin’ and just sum it up by saying that I love, love, love the whole thing!!!! XOXO M.
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I want to be a kid at this table, so full of color and energy and fun. It is no less than what I expect from you. I hope your holidays are just as bright and happy.xoxox
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Truly a multicolor table.Love your X’mas tree decor and all the stuff on the table.Hope you are enjoying your holidays.Love and Hugs…Sujatha…:):)
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Growing up I always sat at the children’s table in the kitchen while my older cousins got to laugh it up with the adults. I wouldn’t have minded so much if our table was decorated as nicely as yours. Beautiful job and so fun and festive.
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Your creativity and passion for tablescaping never cease to amaze me. Love the kid-friendly items and the whole-room thematic story.
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