{"id":94,"date":"2013-11-29T05:41:56","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T17:41:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asyouwish.co.nz\/blog\/?p=94"},"modified":"2016-01-13T09:22:24","modified_gmt":"2016-01-12T20:22:24","slug":"a-naturally-kiwi-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/asyouwish.co.nz\/blog\/a-naturally-kiwi-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Naturally Kiwi Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

12 Days of Christmas Ideas – Day 5<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

I recently had the opportunity to design and demonstrate a\u00a0table setting for Christmas dinner.\u00a0 I was inspired to design something that was decidedly Kiwi.\u00a0 I wanted to stay true\u00a0our summer time Christmas and emphasise elements of nature which I felt was consistent with our country’s clean, green image.<\/p>\n

I started with a fresh white tablecloth and hessian table runner.\u00a0 I then added the wooden placemats and centrepiece.\u00a0\u00a0My father is quite the handyman so I asked him to cut\u00a0cross-sections\u00a0from an old log.\u00a0 He then sanded these down and I\u00a0oiled them with cooking oil to stop them from drying out and cracking.\u00a0It was an added bonus that the oil brought out the grain in the wood.\u00a0 The log we used for the centrepiece had a hole cut out of the\u00a0centre.\u00a0 This was\u00a0big enough to fit a 2 litre milk bottle with it’s top cut off, which is what we used to\u00a0arrange the flowers in. I used a variety of ferns, leafy greenery and red Bottle Brush flowers.\u00a0 My intention\u00a0is to use Pohutukawa flowers\u00a0when I re-create the arrangement for Christmas.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The cutlery and glassware was next\u00a0placed on the table, along with sage green fabric napkins folded into a simple cutlery pouch<\/a>.\u00a0 Each napkin was\u00a0tied with a piece of twine\u00a0to finish off the look.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanted to make my overall design\u00a0just that little more special,\u00a0so I decided to decorate the chairs as well.\u00a0 \u00a0Any kind of chair can look great with a few decorations, even\u00a0these old ones.\u00a0 I cut chair sashes from the hessian and tied them around the chairs in the same way you would tie a neck tie.\u00a0\u00a0I used the twine to create\u00a0extra detail by wrapping it around the\u00a0chair and making a bow.\u00a0 I then made little arrangements with the leftover flowers and greenery from the centrepiece, and tucked them into the knot in the chair sash.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Lastly I added\u00a0my personal favourite, the favours.\u00a0 I think it is always nice to add a small gift as I feel it is an extra\u00a0way to show the appreciation I have for each of my guests.\u00a0 The favour I used in this case was my own creation of a Mug Cookie in a Jar.\u00a0 The ultimate combination of the two great ideas of Cookies in a Mug<\/a> and Cookies in a Jar<\/a>.\u00a0 All the details on how to make these favours will feature in tomorrow’s blog.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shopping Notes:<\/span><\/h5>\n