Fun and Festive Holiday Table - A Colorful Christmas

"Tis the season for something Fun, Fresh and Festive!

It seems like everywhere you look it's red, green, gold and white Christmas decor.  Well I say break the mold, liven it up.  Surprise your holiday guest with some new and non traditional this year.  My client had his employee Christmas party as his house this year and he wanted it to be fun, so I said "COLOR PLEASE"!

These beautiful hand painted Italian plates were just the thing to get it on an poppin'.  I love the fun design and use of varied colors, but what made these work most was the fact that they still had hints of the traditional Christmas colors in them so it was easy to make them relate to the holiday.

So let me show you what I did.  First remove all the chairs from around the table.  It will keep your walk around space free and clear of the "Oh Sugar I dropped the hand painted Italian plate that I can't replace" from happening. Then I used a deep green velvet table cloth over top of a vinyl table pad to protect the table from drunken holiday spills (you know someone always gets tipsy at these things).  Why green you ask, well after all it still is the holidays and I wanted to make sure everything still linked to that.  Then I added the centerpiece in the middle.  For the video on how to create this easy centerpiece check out my Youtube channel.  The reason I added the centerpiece now instead of at the end, was I am adding quite a bit of dishes on the table and I didn't want to have to worry about reaching over them and knocking them down after setting everything up perfectly.

Next I add leather charger plates, as anchors for the place settings.  I liked these chargers instead of the shining gold or silver traditional ones because they are unexpected.  You might think it looks out of place right now against the green velvet but the juxtapose of textures is going to make the dishes pop off the table more.

Next I added the plates and soup bowls.  Remember it's important to plan out your menu before hand to make sure you have the appropriate amount of plating, flatware, and stemware for your meal.  I knew the menu a week prior so that gave me plenty of time to get it together.

I added glasses to the table, as I rule of thumb I always make sure there are at least two piece of drink ware on the table.  One water goblet or glass and one wine glass, red or white.  Now that is not to say that you have to have can only have two, but you should always make sure there is fresh water on the table, hence the water goblet or glass,  Then you can opt to serve whatever wine you like or have a non alcoholic option for the other glass.  At my family holiday dinners we usually have a toast, so I add an extra champagne flute.  This holiday party was actually an inhome cooking seminar so everyone stood around the chief with a glass of champagne and listened to the chief it was really AWESOME!

Then I added the flatware.  We had to pack in NINE people at this table so the settings were going to be tight.  I wanted to make sure everyone had the correct amount of flatware so I added to the table in the formal style to the table utilizing all the area around the place setting.  I added the napkins and the place cards.  The napkins are slightly tucked in between the plates and chargers.  I like this method because it makes it easier for people to grab their napkin and place it on their lap.  It also adds a layer of negative space when using white linens and a good contrast to the table cloth.  Now, in this picture the napkins aren't ironed yet, but I always prefer to iron them with a lite starch before putting them on the table.  I just wanted to show you this as soon as I could!!!!

My client brought these cute nutcracker Christmas crackers.  No no no, not the kind you eat.  Here is the definition if you should feel so inclined, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker.

These are those fun toys that look like big piece of candy wrapped.  Two people pull on these and they pop open.  Inside is a fun prize.  They have a lot of different kinds out there as it is becoming popular in the U.S.  I added them to the top of the soup bowl to prompt people to open them prior to their meal.  It just adds an additional element of holiday fun for your guest and sets the festive mood.  Here are a few links to some pretty ones.  I saw some in Costco the other that had jewelry in them...SAY WHAT!!!!

1. http://www.amazon.com/Set-Bows-Berries-Christmas-Crackers/dp/B001HW71PC
2. http://www.basbleu.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?ACTION=DETAIL&ITEM=UH0672&websource=GOOGLSH&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PLA&coupon_code=BBGOOGLE7&gclid=CMX987yws7sCFaxr7Aod-XAAqQ
3. http://www.worldmarket.com/category/seasonal/christmas/holiday-decor/christmas+crackers.do

Well I hope you enjoyed that read, Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!  

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Ciao for Now!

-Q-