Holiday Table scapes and Decorations

Here I am ... sipping my coffee and thinking about all the last minute things I have got to get done before... well, you know ... the big day! In the mean time, I have had a change of plans in the making of my table scape for Christmas Eve dinner. Now, anyone who knows me, knows I can not ever have ...  a hum drum table setting, especially for the holidays. It occurred to me that there are probably people out there that would love to have a beautiful table but don't know what to do or how to go about it.

The good news is, you can have a fantastic dinner table for next to nothing in cost. The trick is ... to make it look like a million bucks.

I have posted some pictures to give you an idea of the sort of styles and colors that are out there this year. The big color scheme this year is silver, silver and white, silver and tourquise blue, the traditional red and green and a host of other colors we don't usually associate with the holiday season. For instance, plum seems to be another color I have been seeing a lot of lately or dark blue. I am going to post a pic of my "Winter Wonderland" theme this year to give you an idea of what I have done and then I can share with you, where to get some of these things. I will post that picture first.

My "Winter Wonderland" table scape started out with a white santa. He was so cute I had to have him and everything else just got worked around him. My advice for you would be to start with a focal point in the same way and just build everything else around that. I purchased everything in that setting either at the dollar store, Gordmans or Home Goods. Everything in that setting was really inexpensive.

The next silver tablescape is just a picture I found to give you an idea of the beautiful things that are out there for the holiday. This setting looks expensive but doesn't have to be. For example, I have been known to swap out glass for clear plastic. When there are really expensive chargers under the dinner plates... try to duplicate them in plastic ... using plastic with glass is really ok! You can find some really beautiful plastic chargers etc. at discount stores all over town. Michael's is a great place to do that. You can also go online and shop for plastic ware... you would be surprised what you can find. One good example ... look how fantastic silver tree ornaments look just loosley placed in a big clear glass vase. Mirrored glass ornaments, like disco balls are great as well... again, available at Michaels and Fleet Farm. Another trick is to buy a ton of stuff the day after Christmas when the stores are trying to move the left over stock out the door. One year at K-Mart the day after Christmas, I was able to buy fifty boxes of 50 light strands for $17.50! I still have quite a bit of them left.

The next picture shows a table completely dressed in red. To me, this is very dramatic. The beauty of this color is that you do not need a lot of things on the table because the very color red is so dynamic. This is simply done but speaks volumes.

The next picture is pretty traditional, using red, green and some beautiful red cardinals. The charger and plates are pretty much the star of the show here. Using fresh greens such as pine, juniper and holly can add so much to your table scape as well. Add a couple of pillar candles and you are ready to go!

Lastly, you see silver and tourquoise! I just love this combination of colors. You will notice that again, there are just ornamants placed in certain places and in tall glass ware. Makes quite an impression! Buy these items from any budget store after the holidays.

Most of all ... have fun! You really can't mess up a table scape. Use your imagination! The sky is the limit when decorating your holiday table or home. Use things you already have at home, just group them with something new. Use old fabrics you have laying around for some different textures and lots of candles.

I hope that I have been able to provide some helpful hints for that next table scape project and in the mean time... have a blast designing and decorating!