12 Days of Christmas Ideas – Day 5

I recently had the opportunity to design and demonstrate a table setting for Christmas dinner.  I was inspired to design something that was decidedly Kiwi.  I wanted to stay true our summer time Christmas and emphasise elements of nature which I felt was consistent with our country’s clean, green image.

I started with a fresh white tablecloth and hessian table runner.  I then added the wooden placemats and centrepiece.  My father is quite the handyman so I asked him to cut cross-sections from an old log.  He then sanded these down and I oiled them with cooking oil to stop them from drying out and cracking. It was an added bonus that the oil brought out the grain in the wood.  The log we used for the centrepiece had a hole cut out of the centre.  This was big enough to fit a 2 litre milk bottle with it’s top cut off, which is what we used to arrange the flowers in. I used a variety of ferns, leafy greenery and red Bottle Brush flowers.  My intention is to use Pohutukawa flowers when I re-create the arrangement for Christmas.

The cutlery and glassware was next placed on the table, along with sage green fabric napkins folded into a simple cutlery pouch.  Each napkin was tied with a piece of twine to finish off the look.   I wanted to make my overall design just that little more special, so I decided to decorate the chairs as well.   Any kind of chair can look great with a few decorations, even these old ones.  I cut chair sashes from the hessian and tied them around the chairs in the same way you would tie a neck tie.  I used the twine to create extra detail by wrapping it around the chair and making a bow.  I then made little arrangements with the leftover flowers and greenery from the centrepiece, and tucked them into the knot in the chair sash.

Lastly I added my personal favourite, the favours.  I think it is always nice to add a small gift as I feel it is an extra way to show the appreciation I have for each of my guests.  The favour I used in this case was my own creation of a Mug Cookie in a Jar.  The ultimate combination of the two great ideas of Cookies in a Mug and Cookies in a Jar.  All the details on how to make these favours will feature in tomorrow’s blog.

 

Shopping Notes:

• Spotlight: White Tablecloth $34.99 & Hessian $5.59 per metre
• Dreamlands: Sage Green Napkins $14.64 for a packet of 5
• $1, $2, $3 Store: Twine $2