Autumn Chinoiserie – Classic Blue & White

October 5, 2017October 5, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 34 Comments

I recently did a “Better Kansas City” show segment on using unexpected colors and patterns for fall decorating. I’ll publish that clip next week. Meanwhile, here’s a taste of that decorating style that I have come to embrace with great enthusiasm: incorporating autumn touches into existing chinoiserie decor.

Ralph Lauren “Mandarin” dinner and salad plates rest upon a stark white ceramic charger from Old Time Pottery.

I found these lovely cream soup bowls at Nell Hill’s in Parkville, Mo., about 40 minutes away from our home and only 5 minutes from my orthopedic surgeon’s office. (Best place to regroup after bad news!) I LOVE that place!!! I never spend less than an hour when I visit. A crisp white cotton napkin is fashioned into a variation on the classic crown fold. A sprig of autumn berries brings color and additional texture to the place setting.

Faux bamboo flatware is perfect for this setting.

I bought scads of this sturdy cobalt blue stemware at Pier 1 some years ago, and it has served me well.

A very autumn-y pattern of plaid in the table runner with shades of russet, orange, amber, burgundy, cobalt and white is a perfect contrast to dishes. The riot of color contributes to and enhances the overall boldness of the tablescape. The runner is from TJ Maxx.

Ginger jars from Nell Hill’s and temple jars from Home Goods make up the main part of the centerpiece.

The length of the centerpiece is punctuated with deep orange mini pumpkins, real and faux acorns, and a meandering garland of berries. Latticed white ceramic planters hold mounded arborvitae.

The buffet behind the dining table holds its fair share of chinoiserie pieces including a pitcher, an octagonal bowl filled with oversized acorns, and Victorian foot baths mixed with silver candlesticks. The white foo dogs are a nod to the chinoiserie style and add a little unexpected touch.

The bar cart in the corner extends the touches of chinoiserie including the bowls filled with acorns.

Other tablescapes integrating chinoiserie on this blog include:
Mandarin Bling
Mother’s Day Brunch
Blue & White Family Picnic
Blue & White 30th Birthday
Peony Power

I’m joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her 471st Tablescape Thursday! I’m seeing lots of fall and Halloween tablescapes over there today, so drop on in to get inspired!

Mother’s Day Brunch

July 26, 2017July 8, 2021 / Alycia Nichols / 10 Comments

This colorful brunch tablescape in Springtime shades of blue, white, and cheery lemon yellow punctuated with bright pink paid homage to my Mother. The bouquet – my son and his girlfriend’s way of honoring me on Mother’s Day – was perfectly coordinated to the setting, especially the fresh fruit compote! (Please pardon the horrible fold lines in the table linen! This is one of my very early blog posts before I realized just how awful lines look in photos!!!)

These placemats from Bed, Bath & Beyond caught my eye because of the playful lemons adjacent to the traditional & decidedly staid damask. The lemon yellow cotton napkins are also from BB&B. The cornflower blue juice glasses and compotes are from Old Time Pottery, and the cobalt blue chargers from Pier 1. The plates are basic white Corelle.

Fresh, fragrant lemons in blue & white transferware bowls with a few lemon leaves tossed in for color elongate the tablescape’s centerpiece. Not one to be wasteful, freshly squeezed lemonade is on the next day’s menu. (Oh, for heaven’s sake…those folds in the linen are killin’ me!!! :-()

I embellished the lush mix of lilies, roses, Fuji mums, orchids, hyacinth, button mums, monkshood and carnations with a few butterflies.

Coffee cups in the colors of the day are from Old Time Pottery.

Pre-sliced bagels are presented in a long napkin-lined basket. Find the recipes for the homemade vegetable or honey cream cheese spreads HERE or by clicking the “Recipes” tab above.

Nothing like a little fruit juice to get the day started! Here, clear glass decanters hold a choice of pink grapefruit, orange or apple.

I just love to take something basic and make it special! Plain white ceramic pitchers from Home Goods are gussied up with the addition of custom silver tags that mark the frothy, cold chocolate and strawberry milk.

The hostess awaits her guests’ arrival!

Other posts suitable for a Mother’s Day celebration on this site:
“Peonies & Pearls“
“Showered in Pink“
“Pink Plaid & Posies“
“Days of Wine & Roses“
“Blushing Bridal Shower“
“Pleasant Under Glass“

Another tablescape using lemons on this site:
“Lemonade From Bill“

A few fun accessories that will help make your Spring table feel fresh, inviting, and alive!

Budding branches (you can get these from your yard or nearby wooded areas)
Fresh curly willow (adds a lot of character and dimension to arrangements or can be used alone)
Grapevine
Flowers in seasonal colors (e.g., daffodils, tulips, hyacinth)
Potted green plants
Topiaries
Moss
Freshly grown grass in pots or flats
Nests
Birdhouses and cages
Glass bell jars and wire cloches
Chicken wire
Baskets (plain, moss covered, embellished with twigs or pussy willow branches, etc.)
Pots and vases with a vintage look
Parasols
Fresh or faux veggies (e.g., lettuce, cabbages, carrots)
Easter eggs
Smooth river rock
Floral wreaths
Softly colored solid and patterned fabrics: plaid, paisley, floral
Ribbon and twine
Candlesticks, chargers, and other tabletop items made of wood, grapevine, straw, iron and other natural elements
Flatware with handles made of wood or bamboo
Figurines of woodland animals (e.g., rabbits, squirrels, birds)
Figurines of Spring- or Easter-related animals (e.g., chicks, hens, roosters, sheep, butterflies)
White or pastel spray paint for lightning and brightening everything from branches & twigs to….you name it!

Clematis & Hyacinth – A Purple & Grey Tablescape

July 12, 2017July 12, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 6 Comments

Royal Stafford “Clematis” dinnerware. Sigh!!! When this design first hit the scene some years ago, it was all the rage. I promptly plucked up ten dinner plates and cereal bowls to add to my ever-growing collection. Hmmm…that was 5+ years ago. I’ve just recently been inspired to actually USE them!

This relatively quick and easy-to-assemble tablescape begins with a pewter-toned crushed poly full-length tablecloth that I absolutely love for both its color AND its versatility.

The smoky grey/pewter of the tablecloth and napkin – loosely knotted and draped over the lower edge of the plate – works so well with the purple hues of the dinnerware. I used 2 chargers for depth and color variation (a lavender acrylic and a silver beaded edge metal), a tablescape design trick I also used for “Simply Peacock Garden“, “French Poodle“, “Pumpkins & Peacocks“, “Copper Zen“, and “Hooray For Vodka!“

Hampton Silversmiths “Patriot” flatware.

The water glasses are simple stock from Old Time Pottery. The plum-colored wine glasses are from Home Goods.

Now this is where it all gets a little sketchy. In my twisted little mind, clematis and flowering dogwood possess some similarities. No, they don’t look just alike by any stretch of the imagination, but the blooms on dogwood branches were close enough for me to create dramatic height for this table! Flowering dogwood branches spring up from this trio of slender grey glass vases that make up the simple centerpiece.

Other posts on this site (other than Mardi Gras and Christmas!) that use a healthy pop of purple:
Purple & Pastel
Purple for Spring
Luscious Layers of Lavender
Pink & Purple Chocolate Christmas
Easter Floral
Purple + Green = Happy Birthday!
Planning in Purple

Cinco de Mayo Simply Done

May 3, 2017May 4, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 5 Comments

Cinco de Mayo (not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day) is just a couple of short days away. I’m not feeling 100% by any stretch, but here’s how we’ll be celebrating the commemoration of the Mexican victory over French forces at The Battle of Puebla: with delicious food, a little tequila, and a prayer that wars and conflicts of all manner can be abolished in the future! (Fat chance, I know, but a girl can hope!)

The table is set for 6 in our small dining room. I aimed for a rustic look, opting to leave the wood of the table exposed. Square rattan chargers from Tuesday Morning are topped with brilliant Maxcera “Terra Cotta Sunflower” square plates. (I used these plates for another tablescape, Sunflower Simple, back in 2011.) The napkin fold is one of those 10-second jobs that I use so often. The versatile contemporary flatware is J.A. Henckels “Bellaserra”, and the substantially weighted goldenrod bubble stemware is from TJ Maxx.

This old wood planter box is still a favorite for me. For this centerpiece, it is filled with a couple of sago palms and all kinds of succulents. VERY simple!

I used miniature terra cotta pots as candle holders on each end of the wood box to complete the simple centerpiece.

The side buffet is lightly adorned with an oversized rustic wood bowl flanked by green ceramic candlesticks. On the opposite end with the tortillas is another sago palm with a sunflower in a glazed terra cotta vase. Another palm is seen in the mirror sitting on the china cabinet.

The bar cart is decked out with decorative elements that mirror those on the table and buffet to complete the look in the room.

That’s about it…Cinco de Mayo decor VERY simply done!!!

Additional Cinco de Mayo tablescapes can be viewed:
Cinco de Mayo 2013
Serape High Style

Or these tablescapes are certainly adaptable to a Cinco de Mayo celebration:
Sunflower Simple
Brilliant Italian
Summer Breeze
Christmas Fiesta

Que tengas un buen celebración!!!

Easter in Pink & Grey

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 65 Comments

HIP-HOP HOORAY!!! I’M CELEBRATING MY 200TH POST TODAY!!!

INSPIRATION: This stately-looking bunny rabbit wearing a jacket & vest similar to what I used to wear...minus the pot belly, of course! :-)

INSPIRATION: This stately-looking bunny rabbit wearing a jacket & vest similar to an outfit I used to wear during my “Brat Pack” days back in the 80s…minus the pot belly, of course! (Slap a pair of wire-rimmed glasses on this fellow and smooth his ears down like hair, and he’d be Benjamin Franklin’s doppelganger! 🙂 )

Easter is a few short days away. If you’re looking to do something a little more on the formal side for brunch or dinner without being totally stuffy, this post might be of some help to you.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enlarge/enhance it.)

I decided to go with a bare table this time around. That’s a little unusual for me, but I thought all the elements would work well on bare wood. Gleaming silver metal chargers are topped with Easterling (no pun intended…really! 😉 ) “Majestic” china from my Mom. I thought the shade of grey on the rims complemented the inspiration rabbits’ jackets.

An easy pocket fold for the medium pink napkin from LinenTablecloth.com allows the menu to be neatly tucked inside.

These adorable moss topiary place card holders were graciously given to me by Beau-coup.com. You’ll be seeing a bit more of these, used in different ways, over the summer months. The flatware is Hampton Silversmith’s “Patriot – Mirror”, and the stemware is Mikasa “Jamestown Platinum”.

The centerpiece starts with a moss table runner with various-sized moss balls strewn about. For this demonstration I used faux pink and white hyacinth in the silver champagne bucket and little pots of pink and white grape hyacinth. For your actual Easter table, though, it would be really terrific if you could go fresh. There’s nothing in the world quite like fresh flowers! (For the sake of uninterrupted conversation during the meal, the champagne bucket of flowers can be easily moved to the sideboard.) The bunny figurines – looking quite dapper in their grey knicker pants and jackets with pink and white accents – are from Home Goods.

The buffet has florals that complement those used on the dining table. They are on the ends only to leave room for the big ol’ Easter ham or desserts. The tall moss ball “trees” mimic the place card holders as do the shorter moss ball “bushes.”

The vintage tea cart in the corner is readied for coffee service after the meal.

Other posts on this site featuring Spring & Easter tablescapes:
“Easter Brunch”
“Barton’s Easter Brunch”
“Easter Floral”
“Pinky Peter Cottontail”
“Easter Bloom”
“Carousel Colors”
“Spring Green”
“All A’Bloom for Spring”
“Spring Has Sprung”
“The Bluebird Special”
“Daffodilyicious”
“Purple for Spring”
“Zen Garden”
“Mum’s the Word”
“Rolling Fields of Green”
“Taste of Wine Buffet”
“Goin’ Green for Spring”
“Springtime in Paris Mother’s Day Buffet”
“Peony Power”
“Moss & Manzanitas”
“Daisy Crazy”
“French Poodle”
“Celebrating 85 Years of Fabulous”
and the “Spring” tab above for a couple of fun Springtime tablescapes

I will join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for “Tablescape Thursday” later this week and Alma at The Tablescaper for “Seasonal Sundays” over the upcoming weekend. I hope you’re up for the parties, too! Oh…and I’m posting each week on BeBetsy.com, too!

From our loving home to yours, may you and your family be blessed with all the grace of the good Lord this Easter and always.

Boys of Summer – Baseball Tablescape

April 2, 2013July 27, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 45 Comments

Opening Day for the 2013 baseball season was yesterday, despite the lack of Spring-like weather in much of the United States. Fans shivered through 9 innings of heaven or hell, depending on how their team fared in the end. (Our Royals fell to the White Sox, 1-0..but we shall have our revenge! :-))

INSPIRATION:
A baseball.

I created this baseball tablescape for a recent tablescaping class I teach through Longview Community College. I’ll apologize for the less-than-stellar photos as it was quite dark on our lower level which is nearly completely devoid of natural light. Nonetheless, this is a sports tablescape with ideas that might work for your next casual get-together to cheer on your team whether it’s opening day, the playoffs, or “The Big Dance” a.k.a. The World Series. I am rooting for our Kansas City Royals whose home opener will open a big ol’ can of Whoop A$$ against the Minnesota Twins on Monday, April 8th! Go, Royals!!!
(Click on any photo, then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

I was lucky to find this brilliant royal blue round linen at LinenTablecloth.com. It’s pretty darn close to the official hue of our Kansas City Royals and the perfect foundation for this casual sports-themed tablescape!

Each place setting is anchored by a “base” made with a 12″x12″ sheet of decorative paper topped with an clear acrylic square, both from Hobby Lobby. The white melamine dinner plates (Target) also reminded me of a base with their curved edges. They are topped with a royal blue plate and a fun baseball salad plate from Tuesday Morning. (You would have thought I personally won the World Series the way I carried on when I found the baseball plates!!! :-))

White-handled flatware from TJ Maxx works well with this very casual setting.

Clear glass pilsner vases found at a local thrift store hold royal blue LTC napkins folded to resemble the majestic crown that is a part of the Kansas City Royals logo. Each place setting is also outfitted with a tin pail of good old-fashioned ballpark peanuts. The buckets are from Target. TIP: Make food and drink a coordinated part of the table decor as seen here with the peanuts and bottles of Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

A floral oasis sphere on a wooden stand + about 60 white silk carnations + very thin red satin ribbon cut into 3″ strips, folded in half and inserted with a straight pin

After much fumbling around and a few surprisingly painful pin pricks,
all of this↑↑↑…

…became this fun floral “baseball” centerpiece! I surrounded the baseball with moss mounds to resemble the outfield and flanked it with two “at bat” figurines from Hobby Lobby. I placed the figurines to appear as if they were making dead-on contact with the baseball. A grand slam, for sure! (TIP: It really helps if you have an actual baseball to look at as you create your floral ball! Making those ribbon “seams” curve just right can be a real challenge!)

Making memorabilia a part of your overall decor lends a fun touch! A baseball personally signed by members of the Kansas City Monarchs (Negro Leagues) who so graciously took part in my 1995 celebrity “Softball Slam” event is in the foreground. A ball signed by members of the 1990 Kansas City Royals (including George Brett, Frank White, Bo Jackson, Mark Gubicza, and Bret Saberhagen!) is in the center. A signed baseball from an old flash-in-the-pan flame who played left field for the Boston Red Sox is banished to the far end. (And that’s all I’m going to say about that…except that he was brave enough to go into the Royals bullpen to get autographs for me! ;-)) The little placard is from TJ Maxx and serves to bring a feminine touch to the look! (I should have bedazzled it!)

Take me out to the ballgame!!!! Go, Royals!!!

Other sports-themed tablescapes on this site:
“Kansas City Chiefs In the Red Zone“
“Home of the Lions“
“Hometown Pride – Kansas City Chiefs“

Blog parties I invite you to join with me this week for lots of inspiration and fun:
A New Creation with Jessica at A Humble Creation
Centerpiece Wednesday with the Style Sisters
Let’s Dish! with Cuisine Kathleen
Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
Festive Friday Fiesta with The Home Girl

Finally, a HUGE THANKS to Kim at Curtain Queen for featuring my “Better Kansas City” morning show post on her blog to help others “de-Easterize” their Spring tablescape!

Derby Day Dining

April 10, 2012January 31, 2018 / Alycia Nichols / 39 Comments

Last week I posted photos of the Kentucky Derby Buffet I created for my “Art of Tablescaping” students. This week I have the sit-down dinner version that uses a number of the same elements from that buffet table to demonstrate how various pieces can be used for either setting.
(Click on any photo to enhance/enlarge!)

The same table in the same room is all dressed up for a slightly more formal sit-down meal. I used the same black floor-length linen to let the gleam of the silver and brightness of the red roses show best. The white china tones down the dark linens and flower, thus saving the table from looking too morose.

I swapped out the more plentiful Arcoroc “Seabreeze” glass buffet plates for my sister’s very formal Noritake “Whitebrook” china. Derby Day is the time to pull out your finest china and silver, and this china is definitely treasured in our family. The china rests atop highly polished silverplate chargers.

These same lettered napkins were displayed in a silver champagne bucket in the buffet version. They are now simply folded, placed beneath the dinner plate and allowed to hang so as to prominently show the initial. The white of the napkin helps to break up the sea of black linen.

The same heirloom silver flatware pattern – last week placed head-to-toe at the start of the buffet table – is used.

Noritake “Spectrum” iced beverage glasses await the traditional Southern sweet tea. The same julep cups that surrounded the huge silver punch bowl on the buffet last week are now placed at each individual setting.

Each place setting gets its own salt & pepper shakers.

Last week these riding boots (actually a Z Gallerie umbrella stand!) were up to their straps in French baguettes. This week, sitting atop an heirloom silver tray (used last week to display veggies), they spill over with lush red roses. The silver candlesticks flanking the urns on the buffet last week are now on the table. Again I used metal case Paradise candles to keep the look pristine and avoid wax spills on my linen.

Over on the buffet behind the table where the punch bowl and julep cups were displayed last week is a more subdued coffee set up. The red rose balls on oil-rubbed bronze urns from last week remain in place.

On the wall sconces are miniature versions of the larger buffet urns with horseshoes added to further tie them in with the Derby.

With just a few tweaks here and there you can go from buffet to sit-down, casual to formal without sacrificing style. While the horse was omitted from this setting (I’m sure no one would want to spend the night staring up his rump!), the Kentucky Derby feel is definitely still there. It’s semi-formal, but made less stuffy with the addition of the whimsical centerpiece.

Another table on this site that I think would just look fantastic for a Kentucky Derby celebration, “Roses in October”, can be found HERE. Although it is set up using white roses, a simple switch to red roses would make it just perfect! If you’d like to see another tablescape using red rose balls and bouquets, click HERE for “Should Have Put A Ring On It” or HERE for “Kentucky Derby Buffet”.

I’ll be skipping on over to Tablescape Thursday at Susan’s Between Naps on the Porch on Thursday anytime after 9:00 a.m. CDT.

Chocolate Traditional

February 7, 2012August 7, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 80 Comments

I couldn’t let this season of romance get away without posting a tablescape using chocolate brown & pink!!! It works not only for Valentine’s Day if you’re hosting other couples, but for a bridal shower, ultra feminine birthday celebration, or – with a few key tweaks – a celebration honoring a breast cancer survivor.
(Click on any photo to enhance/enlarge it.)

Spurred on by last week’s pinning episode with all the little rosettes, I decided to wake this plain chocolate brown linen up with a strip of pink & brown edging. Again, not willing to try my hand at whip stitching, I simply used exposed pearl head pins to affix the edging to the hem. It all tied in nicely.

A silverplate charger and my sister’s Noritake “Whitebrook” china are topped with a simply folded pastel pink napkin from Bed Bath & Beyond. A small silver bell rests next to the hostess’s place setting. While it would normally be used to summon staff during dinner (as if I actually have staff! 🙂 ), this bell is to signal that it’s time for all the couples assembled at the table to steal a kiss!♥

I have a lot of stemware, but one of my favorites is Godinger’s “Chelsea” collection.

Another favorite collection is the International Silver “Danish Princess” flatware my Mom gave me. Here the dinner knife rests on a silverplate knife rest.

Silver hearts hold a place card by Artifacts.

No Valentine’s Day party is complete without a little chocolate something-something!

I bought these silver epergnes quite a few years ago. They are the companion piece to the 4-lite epergne shown as a buffet piece HERE. I really like the detailing. The white silk shades simply slip over the custom-made metal case candle (outfitted with a peg votive holder) and rest on the affixed bobeche. I can also swap out the custom candle/shade option for real tapers or remove the center bowl and use the piece as a 3-lite candelabra! Quite versatile!

I think I bought this silver covered casserole at Tuesday Morning about a billion years ago. I have used it both for food presentation and florals.

What’s a Valentine party without a ton of sweets on a dessert buffet? The aroma of all the chocolate is intoxicating! (I’m one of those odd women who does not care for the taste of chocolate, but I LOVE the smell!!!)

Coffee service is set up using the Elegance Silver coffee urn I purchased years ago. A pretty silver Victorian sugar scuttle with its tiny scoop is perfect for sweetening coffee (when a dip of your sweetheart’s finger won’t do the trick. 😉 )

On the opposite end of the buffet are Godinger silver petit four stands filled with all kinds of goodies. The silver pastry tongs have beautiful Baroque detailing.

I am so excited about this new acquisition!!! My goofy/loving cousin, Dee ;- ), got this silver Lazy Susan from our sweet friend, Doris, whose exceptionally good taste shows like a Derby prize winner. You should see this chick’s house! Anyhooooooo….Dee used it to display sweets at her recent 30th wedding anniversary party and then sent it home with me! I feel like passing out cigars to celebrate my new baby!!! Thank you, Dee Bug! Thank you, Doris!

Über feminine lacy paper dessert napkins are weighted down with my Lladró “Angel Lying Down” figurine, a gift from a client a few years back.

The corner tea cart, bought by my Mom in the 1950s from the swanky House of Modern and given to me a few years ago, is a handy-dandy extension of the buffet. A fun pink moscato is iced down in a silver champagne bucket, also given to me by my Mom. The salad course will be served with forks iced to perfection in this silver mini champagne bucket that is also perfect for a split of champagne if you’re dining alone! (Icing the fork tines is a great way to keep your salad greens crisp just a little bit longer, especially in summer! Just watch the look on your guests’ faces when the fork is presented like this! If you’re not lucky enough to have “staff”, the hostess should personally present the bucket for each guest to take a fork.) See another cool way to ice forks down by clicking HERE and scrolling down to Tip #3! This is also a fabulously fun & fancy way to present dessert forks or spoons!!!

I am joining Susan’s Tablescape Thursday again this week, and I also hope you will stop by the Valentine Blog Party hosted by Bargain Hunting & Chatting With Laurie on Friday, February 10. Pop in to get tons of decorating ideas for your Valentine’s Day party from tablescaping bloggers with romance on their minds all around the world!

♥♥♥Happy Valentine’s Day from me to you!!!♥♥♥

Other Valentine’s Day posts on this site you might enjoy:
“Love’s Arrow“
“Peonies & Pearls“
“Days of Wine & Roses”
“Diamonds Are a Material Girl’s Best Friend”
“Should Have Put a Ring On It”
“Queen of Hearts Card Party”
“Be Still My Heart”

Other posts in chocolate brown & pink:
“Au Revoir”
“Just Us Girls“

Christmas Progressive Dinner

December 13, 2011November 20, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 71 Comments

Each Christmas season Ramon and I team up with our cul-de-sac buddies for a much-anticipated Progressive Dinner. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it’s when several households progress from one home to the next for several dinner courses. This year the Alsups did the fabulous cocktails and hors d’ouevres which included bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, homemade cheese straws, crab-stuffed mushroom caps, and a very sneaky cranberry/vodka/sparkling wine drink. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

It was one of those drinks that will creep up and whack you over the head if you’re not careful! Delicious!!! Next, to the Jenisons for a tasty but healthy salad with heavenly home-baked wheat bread.

Salad course at the Jenisons’. Ramon is taking the picture.

We then moved on to our home for the entrée before hopping across the street to the Rutherfords’ for a variety of sinful desserts, coffee and after-dinner drinks. I went to the doctor the day after for a routine check-up. I had gained 2 pounds from the previous week, and my blood pressure was up. Uh….duh!!!

I wanted to do a really dramatic, special, over-the-top tablescape to thank my neighbors for their kindness, generosity and goodness of heart throughout the year. Two 6-ft. tables placed together horizontally are covered with full-length white linens in our family room.

I love the double charger treatment, so a sparkly red 13″ charger (Target 2008) is topped with a goldtone 12″ (Hobby Lobby). The dishes are Pfaltzgraff’s wonderfully traditional “Winterberry” which is one of my favorite Christmas designs.

I like to use our initialed linen dinner napkins whenever possible. For this night I dressed them up with a red berry napkin ring. I just used a standard berry stem from Hobby Lobby that I twisted to encircle the easy, classic napkin fold. LOTS of color and dimension, and it adds a little more height to the place setting!!!

I am SO happy to have finally jumped on the Dollar Tree train! This soft green stemware that I picked up there is coming in handy for so many table settings! (Click here to see it used in a very contemporary table setting.)

I bought these rockin’ gold metal reindeer wholesale many years ago when I owned my fine rentals business. They measure 36″H without the antlers, so they’re perfect for the “go big or go home” look I love so much. I covered the center of the table with a couple of clear plastic trash bags to keep the linens underneath clean. I dressed each for the evening with a collar of berries with a red velvet bow. (To see last year’s cul-de-sac progressive dinner – dressed up with different reindeer decor – click HERE and scroll down to “Noel Progressive Dinner“.

I painstakingly placed each branch of this flocked pine cone greenery to create a sort of wreath to cover the reindeer stands. Red berry picks and shiny red Christmas ornaments finish off the fun yet sophisticated reindeer centerpiece.

We were dining in the family room, so I dressed the top of the television armoire to complement the table with this small reindeer and lots of lighted greenery punctuated with red berries, ribbon, and ornaments.

The grapevine wreath in the window is covered with a profusion of red berries and finished off with a few flocked faux branches, pinecones, oversized Christmas balls and red velvet ribbon. I kept the mantel simple with two smaller grapevine & berry wreaths.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about the menu…Cornish hens basted in a garlic butter sauce, wild rice and green beans. Our neighbors, Carla and Jim, were unable to attend this year’s dinner but sent over homemade cinnamon sugar-dusted Parker rolls.

So another year, another wonderful Progressive Dinner with fine friends who we love and cherish. God is good! From our homes to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Please join me again this week for Tablescape Thursday over at Susan’s Between Naps on the Porch!

Sugar High (Payback!)

November 28, 2011January 31, 2018 / Alycia Nichols / 67 Comments

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!