by Mere

Created on: June 13, 2009

A lovely table speaks volumes to your guests. A beautifully decorated table conveys the message that you want those invited to feel welcome and that the gathering is a special one. A simple meal can feel like a banquet feast when creativity and imagination have been used to adorn the table.

To decorate a table for a Christmas meal the choices are many. The first decision to make is to determine the mood you want to set. Should it be playful? Do you want to take a traditional approach? Perhaps something out of the ordinary could be unique and novel. Is there a particular theme you would like to emphasize? Had a significant milestone been reached during the year?

A few suggestions that follow may influence you to extend your creativity to something more impressive and dramatic.

In the center of the table place some decorated Christmas trees on a bank of angel hair. A little town scene could be added. Mini Christmas stockings holding a trinket of some sort would be a nice favor.

If you are a Christmas cookie baker think about stacking some Christmas cookie cookbooks in a decorative way in the center of the table. At each setting have cellophane bags or miniature bakery boxes filled with cookies with a ribbon attached reading From the Bakery of (insert your name.) They could be the dessert or the take-home favor.

A gingerbread house is another idea for a centerpiece. Using gingerbread boys and girls with the names of the guests written on them would double as the place cards. An alternative choice could be gingerbread ornaments made from clay that have a gingerbread fragrance to them.

Consider a Candy Cane Lane centerpiece. There are numerous possibilities using red striped ribbon and candy canes. A simple center piece is a large bowl filled with peppermint candies with candy canes hanging on the sides. Candy canes are likely to be the favors for such a table.

For a buffet table place the serving dishes on gift wrapped boxes of various heights. Round serving dishes can be placed on grapevine wreaths. A word of caution-due to the varying heights of the dishes lighted candles can be a hazard when guests are filling their plates.

Centerpieces can be embellished with candles, ribbons and ornaments. Coordinating linens bring it all together.

One year for a Christmas Eve luncheon my table was decorated with music of the season. The centerpiece was a French horn decorated with red ribbon and greenery. I had photocopied Christmas carols from a hymn book and had them enlarged to the size of a standard place mat. I then had them laminated. At each place setting was a wrapped CD of Christmas music. The gift tag served as the place card.

My husband's fatal heart attack in the thirteenth year of our marriage robbed me the chance of having a silver wedding anniversary. To overcome that disappointment I had a silver Christmas the twenty-fifth year that I had been at this home. Every thing was silver that year. The centerpiece on the table was a silver basket filled with silver ornaments. The candle stick holders and candles were silver. There was not a trace of red or green.

Be bold. Be daring. Have a table that says Welcome to our home. Merry Christmas!"

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