a fun christmas table for the kids

Christmas morning is one of the most special times of the year, especially for the kids, so why not treat them to a special little Christmas breakfast after they open their gifts? 

I've put together a fun little Santa-inspired table that will keep that Christmas feeling going throughout the day. Hot cocoa will be served in these adorable vintage-style Santa mugs. 

And what pairs perfectly with hot cocoa? Why gingerbread, of course! That’s why our centerpiece for the table is this cute little gingerbread house, easily made from a kit available at Trader Joe’s.

Each place setting also includes a little satin stocking to hold silverware and a keepsake diy ornament that doubles as a place card. Wooden alphabet tiles or extra scrabble tiles can be used to easily spell the names of the holiday guests. Just glue letters on to wide popsicle sticks and then strung with red and white baker’s twine. 

After breakfast, the kids can hang their new ornaments on the tree. I made sure to add the year on the back of the ornament too!

Burlap charger plates are the foundation of the place setting, and then I use my vintage clear glass dinner plates.

A pretty craft paper runner from Oriental Trading was exactly what I needed for cutting out the paper circles that I placed between my charger plates and my glass plates. The snowflake design is perfect for the table! Then each setting is personalized with a cut-out felt Christmas greeting. (I used a salad plate turned upside down as a template for paper circles.) 

Santa is waiting for all the good little boys and girls!

It's such a simple and festive way to set the table.

A fun tradition for us every year is assembling this little gingerbread chalet from Trader Joe’s. All the extras are included in the kit, so all you have to do is whip up some white frosting for the “glue”. Not only is it adorable, but it’s tasty and totally gets the kids’ taste approval!

And it all came together like this:

Burlap Chargers: Oriental Trading

Glass Dinner Plates: Vintage

Snowflake Craft Paper: Oriental Trading

Red Raffia Place Mat: Home Goods

Santa Mugs: Oriental Trading

Wooden Alphabet Tiles: Oriental Trading

Wooden Popsicle Sticks: Michael’s

Small Satin Stockings: Oriental Trading

Red Felt Christmas Greetings: Dollar Tree

Gingerbread House: Trader Joe’s

Water Goblet: Vintage

Red & Green Glitter Trees: Oriental Trading

Silver Lanterns: Oriental Trading

Red & White Paper Lanterns: Oriental Trading

Red & White Tissue Snowflakes: Oriental Trading

Nutcrackers: Vintage 
Tablecloth: Vintage

   

 ciao! fabiana

Thank you to Oriental Trading for sending me these products to review. 
The opinions expressed in this post are truly my own.  

thanksgiving planning

I found this adorable pillow at Home Goods this week and it's perfect on our backyard swing. Funny how just a little thing like this can bring a smile to my face, because I've got a perfect view of it from my desk during the day.  And now each time we go out back, we have a cute and cozy place to sit, swing and contemplate J

This pretty plaid throw is from Pottery Barn. I love how versatile these lightweight throws are. It’ll probably make its way back into the house and make an appearance at my Thanksgiving table!

And speaking of my Thanksgiving table, some of my favorite items have already made their way into the dining room as inspiration. Some will make the cut, and some won’t!! I'm starting to play with a few different ideas, and these turkey salad plates are always so festive, but I may go whole other direction...

One thing for sure, little accents are so important! Something like a stalk of wheat can finish off the look for each place setting, and I like the organic element it brings to the whole tablescape.

One of my favorite rustic elements for the table is the burlap charger plates. I used them last year for Thanksgiving and a couple of other holidays, and they always add great dimension and texture to the whole look. 

This year, I paired them with my favorite seashell embellished raffia place mats, and they really compliment each other nicely.

I have a couple of different options for glassware. Don't you love how these vintage amber glasses add so much vibrancy to the table?

A pretty border on the plates features acorns, so I thought a few real ones would be fun scattered on the table to repeat this decorative element.

Here’s my other option for glassware. I love the subtle amber color and the gold detail of this set, and the way the light just sparkles on them. These were also a score from Home Goods, and are made in Italy. (I also have them in amethyst). They're much more elegant and totally a different look than the other choice. Which ones do you think would work better for the table?

Glittery gold votives are the easiest way to add sparkle to the table. These are from Oriental Trading and you get a whole dozen for about $15. I've used these so much over the past year!

The little white pumpkins that I bought in early October will fit in perfectly with this whole rustic and glittery autumn look!

A few more of my favorite fall accessories were pulled for inspiration, like these adorable squirrel place card holders and a few pheasant feathers from last year's table. They might work nicely with the wheat and the little acorns.  

Another score was this small bolt of robin’s egg blue floral fabric found at my favorite thrift store. The colors are perfect for my Thanksgiving table and dining room. I’m not sure yet if I’ll create napkins, a runner or table cloth with this material.  

LMK what you think I should make with this fabric...   

Well that's my inspiration so far... 

We'll have to see how the final table turns out soon! 

Two weeks until Turkey Day...

ciao! fabiana

rustic chic thanksgiving tablescape

My thanksgiving table came together as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Five inspiring items created my dream tablescape for this Thanksgiving. It all started when I spotted these Burlap Charger Plates (3). I knew they’d set the perfect tone for a rustic but chic dinner table. 

And I couldn’t resist the beautiful Thanksgiving Silver Charms (4) that I wrap around each napkin. They read “Be Thankful” and add an elegant touch to the place setting. Gorgeous Pheasant Feathers (5) add an organic look and I love their leopard type pattern! I just slipped those in under the silver charm for a beautiful juxtaposition of textures. 

A set of Silver Lanterns (1) add height, drama, and ambiance to the table, while the Orange Glass Votives (2) add color and fun to the whole look. 

To unify the whole tablescape, I nestled a few olive branches around the center of the table. I just clipped those from my yard. I bought a few fragrant round-leafed eucalyptus branches at our local flower store and my neighbor Susan let me take some of her yummy kumquats to finish off the look around all the candlelight.

 I love how it all turned out and this whole look was very budget friendly! 

The fragrance of the fresh greens and citrus is amazing!

I used vintage ivory Wedgwood china and heirloom flatware.

Just a hint of orange is perfect!

Two burlap runners laid across the table add more texture.

The kumquats add a festive touch. 

These "Be Thankful" charms are my new Thanksgiving

 heirlooms and I'll use every year from now on!

The burlap on burlap look works.

A table always needs a little fresh accent or two.

I love the effect when the candles are lit!  

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

planning ahead for christmas

I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet,

but I just started working on some

Christmas Tablescape stylings today. 

I have a few themes in mind, oh, how I love a good theme! 

Anyways, I have a couple for you to preview...

The first one is for an Ugly Sweater Party!

I couldn’t resist these adorable little knit sweaters

when I saw them at Cost Plus|WorldMarket.

They some in several different colors and are soooo

cute as little party favors at each place setting…

don’t you think?

They’re actually ornaments that

 you can later adorn your tree with.

I love how the red knit edging on the napkins

compliments the tiny red sweaters!

(The napkins are also from World Market).

The inspiration for my second

themed holiday dinner

were these gorgeous black and white

"Joyeaux Noel" transferware plates.

I got a set of these last year at Home Goods,

and my secret is I only get a set of salad plates,

that way I can mix and match with my white

dinner plates that are so versatile. 

And why not add gold accents to this look?

It helps play up the Parisian glamour for the night.

This look wouldn’t be the same without the bold black & white
buffalo plaid dinner plates, also found at Home Goods last year. 

ciao! fabiana

And it all came together like this…

 the Ugly Sweater Party:

Red Polka Dot Plate: Home Goods

Red Kate Spade Plate: Home Goods

Red & White Chintz Plate: vintage

Burlap Chargers: Oriental Trading

Raffia Place Mat: Ikea

Mini Sweater Ornaments: World Market

Chambray Napkins with Chenille Trim: World Market

Wood Handle Flatware: World Market

Scrabble Tiles: vintage

and the Parisian Holiday Dinner:

Joyeaux Noel Plates: Home Goods

Black and White Buffalo Check Plates: Home Goods

White Charger Plate: Wedgwood

Rattan Charger: World Market

Raffia Place Mat: vintage

Wine Glass: Home Goods

 Linen Napkins: World Market

Gold Flatware: Ebay

Brass Eiffel Tower: Ebay

Unfinished Wood Slice: Home Goods

a farmhouse table in red, white and blue

On Tuesday I shared with you my red, white and blue tablescape that drew its inspiration from a toile table runner I made. Well, today I’m back with another red, white and blue table that's a little less formal and features lots of farmhouse stripes. 

I simply switched out a few things, but kept the flowers, napkins and white charger plates the same. To change things up a bit, I used deeper, taller bowls to add more dimension to the table. The same red salvia flowers were placed in a different vintage blue and white pitcher.      

This striped table runner is also a DIY project. It's made from a really heavy-duty upholstery weight fabric that was given to me by a friend a few months ago.  

The weave of this material is similar to burlap, so I simply just cut it to the desired size and slightly fringed the edges by just pulling away a few rows of threads equally on all sides. 

Here’s how the layering progressed... I started with my favorite Serena & Lily Round Raffia place mats, added the same white chargers and red striped napkins, then a salad plate and finally the tall bowls to top off the look. 

For fun I added some of my favorite vintage blue goblets and my trusty bamboo flatware. I love how the colors and patterns all work together here.    

These are the cutest bowls! I found a set of four of these at Home Goods a couple of years ago and used them on this summer table that was highlighted in Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine. 

At the center of the table, we have a small wood cutting board placed to add division, texture and height. Along with the beautiful transferware pitcher I found at Goodwill, I add a trio of my favorite little advertising crocks for fun.    

I just love these kinds of crocks, and after finding a few at flea markets, they have officially become something I “collect”! They’re just so darn cute, for some reason. The one I really like are American, British and French.     

They do fit in with this farmhouse, casual look that also has a coastal vibe going on. It’s the stripes that make it feel beachy.  

Back to this set of fun bowls. Not only are they cute on the outside, but inside they have a nice little surprise. Each of the four bowls has a different farm animal depicted on them, all done up within a floral wreath. In addition to the cow, there’s a goose... 

a horse... 

and a pig!

Underneath each bowl, you can see another fun and quirky addition. These blue and white salad plates each have unique sayings on them like “Be Happy”, “You are my Sunshine”, “It’s a Beautiful Day” and “Follow your Dreams”.  

The borders on these salad plates are each slightly different but it feels cohesive because they’re all designed with the same navy-blue color as the bowls. 

I also love this cute set of white cabbageware salt and pepper shakers. I acquired them with the matching coffee mugs, dinner and salad plates last month when my neighbor moved away and sold them to me.  

The great news is, I have an extra set for sale here on ebay. 

All in all, I’m happy with the way this table runner turned out, which then inspired me to set this striking patriotic table. Red, white and blue décor really works all year ‘round, but I especially love it during the summer months, don’t you?  

ciao! fabiana 

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