Christmas Tablescape

Since Claire was born we have hosted Christmas dinner at our house.  This year we will be visiting my grandparents for a few days before hand and won't be back until late Christmas eve.  We MUST be at home so Santa can bring Claire the baby doll she has been asking for since September. 

Anyways, I decided to go ahead and set the table so that I don't have to do it in a rush Christmas day.  I've never really decorated my table before.  Usually, I put some flowers in a vase and call it a day but I felt the need to dress it up this year.

The table decorating started with my off-white linen tablecloth and a conversation that went a little like this:

Me:  Do you think I would be sad if I dyed the tablecloth blue?

Chris:  You would be sad if it didn't turn out exactly the way you wanted it to.

Me:  (sigh) Good point.

I have so much white in my dining room that I didn't want the entire table to be white too.  How boring.  This got my wheels turning trying to figure out a way to put blue on my table without spending a lot of money. 

Then I had the bright idea to make a runner out of an old curtain panel.  It took a total of 15 minutes, including ironing, and turned out fabulous.  Plus, it's my favorite color so I know that it will make future appearances.

Next, I pulled out my gold chargers.  I bought these a few years ago at Target and I use them all the time.  They are the easiest way to dress up a table and they make any plate look fancy.  Which is good because I don't own fancy china. 

I decided to use my blue flower plates to add another blue element.  I'm sure they have a name but I don't remember what it is.

I was really pleased with myself when I thought to use the mini picks as napkin rings.  I bought them last year at Walmart after Christmas (on sale for .50 for 3) with the intention of putting them on Claire's mini tree but I thought they looked cuter here.

For my centerpiece, I used my owl pitcher and filled it with tree limbs.  It has actually been filled with limbs since the beginning of the month but I decided to jazz it up with some sparkly red picks and gold ornaments. 

Add some votives and a few more red ornaments and "decorate table" is checked off my list.

Notice the empty oval frame?  It is patiently waiting for a Berkley Illustration print that I posted about here.  I am hopeful Santa will leave one or two under my tree.

And if you were wondering where Claire sits, she is the plate right in front with no silverware.  She gets the same plate as everyone else but a special fork.

Merry Christmas from Minnie Mouse!

The whole table cost me $3 and is just perfect for a low key family dinner Christmas day.