Sunday, December 14, 2008

Our Christmas Table

It's Christmas!

Just about every year we have a Christmas Home Tour that includes our home. I love being able to participate in them because it challenges me to find new ways of using the same treasures I have had for years along with the things I pick up here and there each time I leave the house every year. I love collecting Christmas things and I hope that someday they will find a nice home with our children and grandchildren and that they will be cherished by them too. I don't have a ton of things to hand down to them but I do have Christmas~ in a big way! Jim can attest to that as he hauls down box after box! I have no secrets from him!

One of the first things I started my collection with was our silverware and Christmas dishes. When I went to work after Laura got into school, they were the very first things I bought. We had been having Christmas for several years at our home and I really longed for a table that was uniform and pretty with matching glassware, etc. (In those days the mix and match we do now was not chic it was just plain old hodgepodge). Prior to purchasing our tableware, it meant always using stuff I would scrounge by running around borrowing from the older relatives. So with my first few paychecks I bought these dishes and the silverware. The red "Depression Glass" (an oxymoron because they make me so happy) ruby glasses are a collection that took several years to find in my travels. I have always been in love with them!

It is such a pleasure to have enough
place set
tings for everyone.
I have our dining room table set with
them right now for the home tour.
I just love these dishes because they
hold memories of about
25 family Christmas dinners so far.

This is my centerpiece that came from an estate sale
and tomorrow I am going to fill it with ornaments.
I really need to spend all my time now working on
the menu for next Sunday, etc but I'd rather
fool around with the centerpiece!
(Or be blogging!)


I had a whole box of ornaments I found after the
trees were done, so they can go right in here. You
usually see glass containers like this with just round ball
ornaments but it is fun to put all different shapes and sizes in too.

OK, Now I'm Ready!

The Finished Look
Can You Come to Dinner Next Sunday?

Jim and I love entertaining our extended family each year and creating an inviting place for them to relax and enjoy Christmas. What do you like to do around your Christmas table? There are about as many different beautiful possibilities as there are tables. Being creative about it is the fun part. And putting a bit of yourself into it! It doesn't have to be fancy, or elegant, or even matchy anymore~it just has to come from your creative gifts and your guests will leave with some happy thoughts about how they 'felt' in your home. Everything that you do creates a memory for someone. Isn't that an exciting thought?

13 comments:

Laura said...

I love your dinnerware--the "depression" glass---it is gorgeous! I just wish I could come for the tour!!!

Bonnie said...

I'd love it if you could, Laura! You get the most loyal of loyal commentors award for the year!

I am worried about our little Deanna..haven't seen her on her own blog for awhile. I know her hubby got sick. I pray she is OK after getting hit in the eye accidentally by her sister. Yikes!

Brandon said...

Is it wrong to use paper plates on TV trays? Your home is beautiful. You can never visit our house... I would be too embarrassed and I can never visit your home. I would probably break a few things, just ask Laura.

Linda C said...

Beautiful table! Very inviting:)

Linda C

A Hint of Home said...

Let's see, next Sunday, I think we're free. What time and I need directions.
Your table is very pretty. Love your dishes.
Merry Christmas.

Lois Christensen said...

What beautiful plates! Your decorations are very lovely! Merry Christmas!

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Your table is lovely! I really like your centerpiece. Great piece...the ideas are endless!

Linda Q said...

Lovely, I love that compote or urn you got from estate sale, great piece! Looks good with anything in it. And I am glad to hear of someone else who is decorating right up until Christmas day, like me! This year anyway I am off and slow, so I keep putting things out and moving them around a bit.
Thanks for the show and tell, fun!
LindaQ

Carla said...

When's dinner?
Everything is so pretty, Happy Holidays!

SmilingSally said...

Some of my Christmas plates are exactly like yours! I love them too. Thanks for sharing. Please come visit me.

Heidi Pocketbook said...

Very pretty, homey, and just makes me want to pull up a chair.

Merry Christmas!

Alice said...

Your finished look is beautiful! I love the ornament dish... so creative! This is something that I could do - thanks for the great idea! And, yes, I'll definitely be enjoying dinner with you :).

You are always welcome at The Shadow of the Cross. Feel free to visit anytime.

Kelli said...

Your table is gorgeous and I love your dishes! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
~Kelli