candy buffet

I was pleased to participate as both a designer and one of 4 workshop presenters this past weekend at “Garlands & Gatherings”, a benefit event for Hope Haven of Cass County, MO. Hope Haven provides shelter, advocacy and support services to women and children in our area who have fallen victim to domestic violence or sexual assault. The Saturday morning brunch brought out a nice group of women looking to support the cause, have a little fun, and learn a few tips on holiday decorating (Karen Mills, Interiors by Design and me), personal style (Jennifer Niehouse, It’s So U!), and cooking trends (Jean Ostby, Williams-Sonoma). Over the next 3 weeks, I’ll be posting the tablescapes I designed for the event with the hope that you will enjoy them as much as the benefit attendees did!

To kick it off, this first table is something fun for kids. The pastel/candy/polka-dot theme would be great for a Christmastime birthday party or just to make the kids feel extra-special at their assigned Christmas Day dinner table!

Please pardon the photo quality. The lighting wasn’t the best, and I was under a tremendous time crunch.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enlarge/enhance it.)

Although it generally would not be practical to employ a full-length linen for a children’s table, I used one here to cover the ugly legs of the folding table and to hide scads of storage boxes! The 90″ x 132″ white tablecloth on this table for 8 is from LinenTablecloth.com. (Alternatives to a linen: [1] go bare, [2] use an inexpensive sheet, [3] wrap the ugly legs in festive ribbon, [4] add Christmas elf stockings to the legs stuffed with gift tissue to make them stay up & cover the leg all the way to the top, and then “gift wrap” the table surface.)

I chose to go with paper and plastic goods for this kid-friendly tablescape. Each place setting begins with a colorful polka-dot “placemat” which is actually a piece of felt from Hobby Lobby. Very inexpensive at just 50¢ apiece. Next are Dollar Store plates in pastel blue and purple topped with a ring pop to add a little color, fun, and a bigger sugar high for the kids. 😉

I used various colored flatware to add to the colorful nature of tablescape. A trio of soft paper napkins are tucked beneath each dinner plate.

The inspiration for this tablescape was the pair of “marshmallow and candy” Christmas trees I found at Hobby Lobby. I set them atop a clear glass pedestal for added height and then created a “tree skirt” using scads of curling ribbon. (What a pain in the patootie!)

Keeping with the confectionery theme, I added clear glass apothecary jars down the center of the table filled with all kinds of colorful candies. The swirl pops amidst the Pixie Stix look very much like the inedible “marshmallow” swirl pops from Hobby Lobby in the very center of the table that add even more height to the overall look. (NOTE: If you don’t want to risk your nice glass apothecaries, try using various sizes of clear Mason jars or jars that previously held jelly, mayo, pickles, etc.)

I also found these wonderful pastel nutcrackers at Hobby Lobby to place at each end of the centerpiece and stand sentry over the candy!

I created this fun look by covering ordinary banquet chairs with a white stretchy cover and a bubble gum pink satin sash from LinenTablecloth.com. I then used a length of yellow satin ribbon to affix a melange of candy ornaments to the center. The polka-dot ribbon (Hobby Lobby) was the final touch to tie the chairs in with the dots on the marshmallow trees and the placemats. (Chair covers for a kid’s party? With these easy stretch covers, clean up is a breeze! Just toss ’em in the laundry!!!)

As a final touch, I added a couple of gift bags adorned with candy cane ornaments. The paper gift tissue is a mix of pink and polka dots.

Big shout out to Ebony Jackson of EAJ Events In Lee’s Summit for coming to lend a helping hand in the 6+ hour setup!

Last, just for laughs, here’s a picture of me – no makeup, pancake flat hair, and my “out in public” back brace bulging beneath my sweater – as setup began. Goodness knows that back brace needed to be on, because when it was my turn to present…..well, just watch this 90-second video!

AND MY BACK & SHOULDER PAID A HEFTY PRICE FOR THE CRAZY SHENANIGANS THAT LITTLE BURST OF ENERGY BROUGHT ON!!! 😦
I’m back on my walker now to get around and having sleepless nights from the pain. But it sure was fun while it lasted! 🙂

More kid-friendly Christmas-themed tablescapes on this site:
Pink & Purple Chocolate Christmas
Sugar High
Frosty the Snowman
Kaleidoscope Christmas

A few other Christmas tablescapes on this site include:
“Celebrate the Season”
“Christmas in the Woods”
“Merry & Bright – Multi-Color Christmas”
“Christmas Through the Red Door”
“Life Is A Cabaret – New Year’s Eve”
“Waking Up to Christmas – Bedroom Decor”
“Black, White & Red All Over Christmas”
“Christmas 2012 – Red, Black & Silver”
“Checkered Christmas”
“Contemporary Christmas”
“Gentlemen’s Winter Retreat”
“Woodland Men’s Tablescape”
“Cranberry Christmas”
“Cranberry Christmas Squared”
“Get Me To the Church On Time”
“Christmas Progressive Dinner”
“White Hot”
“Winter Brunch”
“Really Red Christmas”
“Roman Holiday”
“Cardinal Christmas”
“March of the Penguins”
“Winter Cardinal”
“Ideas for Throwing a Winter Dessert Party”
“Christmas Fiesta”
“Over the River and Through the Woods”
“Black Friday Luncheon”
“Noel Progressive Dinner”
“Old-Fashioned Red & Green Christmas”
“Timberland Christmas”
“Christmas Coffee”
“Warm Metal Christmas”
“Let It Snow”
“Tuscan Holiday“

Parties I’m linking up with this week:
Between Naps on the Porch – Tablescape Thursday
Rustic & Refined – Table It!
Style Sisters – Centerpiece Wednesday
How Sweet the Sound – Pink Saturday

So what do you do when you want to render a little payback to your adult children for their snarky teenage remarks regarding your parenting skills? You throw a little party for THEIR children that includes almost nothing but sugar…then send the little ones home for THEM to deal with! 🙂 That’s my plan for later this week. Bad, bad Grandma!

Even with children, I like to dress the table in washable linens. A white full-length linen is topped with a red poly-cotton cloth that is rife with whimsical gold stars and swirls. I bought several of the top layer linens several years ago on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond but have never had occasion to use them.

Lunch will start with fruit-filled red or green Jello (cut into Christmas tree shapes) served on the green glass salad plates. That will be followed by grilled cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks with ranch dressing, and crispy sweet potato fries on the white Corelle plate.

The simply folded napkins are actually plush white wash cloths tied with green and red curling ribbon. I pick the cloths up at Sam’s Club to stock our bathrooms for use as hand towels like this:

I keep a separate stash just for little hands at luncheons (and barbeques because I’m masochistic like that! :-)). After lunch just toss ’em in the washing machine with a little soap and Clorox® to soak for a day or so, and they’re good as new! (If a stain remains, I use the cloth for polishing silver.)

The white flatware is from TJ Maxx and is just “formal” enough for 7-10 year olds.

I bought these fun ice cream soda glasses several years ago at a store that is now defunct. You can probably pick up something similar from Pier 1, Old Time Pottery, or even Dollar Tree where I bought the red & white reusable straws. I’ll be serving a choice of strawberry or chocolate fudge ice cream sodas.

I went rogue on the place card holders. I don’t know what these things are intended to be, but I thought they’d make great holders! I bought them from Hobby Lobby a few years back.

Keeping with my infamous motto of “go big, or go home”, I plopped this massive sleigh in the center of the table filled with a big ol’ snowman and all sorts of goodies that the kids can take home after the party. I bought the sleigh and snowman wholesale about 10 years ago. The giant red, green & white Christmas candy canes are from Dollar Tree (2011). Man, I love that place! I created a very different snowman tablescape last year that you can see by clicking here.

Beneath the sleigh is plush cotton “snow” scattered with oversized ornaments that look like wrapped candy from Dollar Tree.

Keeping with the candy theme in the sleigh is a huge plush “wrapped candy.” I had 2 of them, but can’t find the other one! Maybe by Wednesday…..

I bought these fun painted wood “Ho, Ho, Ho” signs at Pier 1’s Christmas clearance last year.

I couldn’t let the china cabinet go unadorned. I bought this cute little dude at Burlington’s Christmas clearance last year for $1.97 (90% off)!!!!! This is another store that has great everyday prices and phenomenal clearance sales!

I am still grinning about the great deal these giant Santa hat chair covers were at….you guessed it…Dollar Tree! They fit nice and snug on our dining room chairs and give the room a really festive look! (I’m just praying they don’t discolor the chair fabric!)

And the pièce d’ résistance…the candy/dessert buffet!!! Candy, cookies, cupcakes…lots, and lots, and LOTS of sugar!!!!!!!! Bwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! The fun figurines on the candy bar came from Burlington’s Christmas clearance last year. The assortment of glass canisters are from Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, and Home Goods. I created a more glamorous candy/dessert buffet for a friend’s Sweet Sixteen x Two birthday earlier this year. Click here to see it!

I’m picking the kids up around 11:30 and bringing them back to my house. I don’t want their parents to drop them off for fear they won’t come back to get them once they see what’s on the menu! 🙂 I can’t wait!!! I’ve never felt so deliciously evil in all my life!!! 🙂

Please join me at Susan’s place, Between Naps on the Porch, for Tablescape Thursday again this week to check out what other tablescapers from around the globe are doing to celebrate the Christmas season!