Dh Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the handmade Christmas stocking goes to….

Iris!

Iris write a blog all about her wacky family. If I had time, I write one, too. But hers fills the bill to perfection, so we don’t need another. Dysfunctional Bungalow can be found by following this link.

Congratulations to Iris! Stay tuned for TWO giveaways starting next week.

How To Set A Beautiful Holiday Table

You don’t need a special set of holiday china to set a table that also sets the mood. Any color china can be embellished to do the job nicely.

Here some more tips (see yesterday’s post) on how to take what you have and make the most of it.

Start with your everyday china. What color is it? I’m using Herend’s spectacular Elizabeth pattern. It’s super pricey ($250 per dinner plate), but it’s too beautiful not to play with. Really, any plate will do. Work with the main color and choose colors that will match, or coordinate. Gold and silver are usually good choices for holidays. There’s no law that says you can’t use any color you like because we’re going to make it say “Holiday” with a focal point.

Since the color I’m working is raspberry with gold accents, I’ve set a matching charger underneath. This gold banded style is from Ancienne Manufacture Royale ($150.00). Ouch?! I agree. Just scoot over to Target where you’ll find a wide variety of choices for about $15.00 each. Just make sure your charger complements the plate. Gold or silver are festive choices.

Now we need a plate for our focal point. I’m continuing with my raspberry and gold color palette by using a gold butter dish ($79.00 from Bernardaud). You can use gold, silver or a color than matches your dish. A small butter dish is nice because its size focuses the eye on the center. Here is another example, using a larger plate from the same Gold Leaf pattern, which makes the point that smaller is better.

Top the small dish with an ornament of the season. Keep in mind that you want to use something that complements your color palette. Here are some ideas.

• Christmas: an ornament tied with a satin ribbon
• Thanksgiving: a leaf, pine cone, berries, gourd. Tie a satin ribbon at the stem.
• Hanukkah: A dreidel, a little box tied with ribbon

Now that we have our focal point, we’re going to round out the place setting with stainless, flatware from Waterford ($89.00 5 piece setting). A little gold accent is nice with our setting. For a less expensive option, try this one from Target.

I’m not one for fancy napkin folding, so I used a simple snowflake ring and a jewel-toned green napkin. Jewel tones go together. Blue goes with red, silver, orange. Not everything has to match.

Finally, make sure you have enough wine glasses. Drinking glasses are not allowed! If you use proper wine glasses you can buy less expensive wine and it will taste better. These are from Juliska and Simon Pearce.

My centerpiece are simple flowers in a coordinating color. Actually, these flowers were awful – sprayed! The stuff got all over everything. They look pretty, though.

Jennifer’s Tips

1. Use your regular china and choose a matching or coordinating color palette. Gold and silver are good holiday choices

2. Create a focal point by using a small plate topped with an ornament of the season.

3. Use real wine glasses

4. Linens should be natural fibers and ribbons should be satin or grosgrain – no giftwrap.

Thanks to The League Shop, Grosse Pointe’s best tabletop shop, for allowing me to borrow their beautiful dishes and tableware. They will be happy to take orders over the phone and ship the Herend china directly to my door (LOL)!

Do you have some holiday tips? Share!

Bright Color for Christmas Decoration

I enjoyed reading this trend story over at Color for Your Home. It focuses on using bright colors for Christmas decoration.

It’s nice to see choices that aren’t the typical red and green. To read the post and see all the fun images, follow this link.

How To Dress Up Every Day China For The Holidays

Do you have special dinnerware just for the holidays? They’re definitely a nice thing to have, but there are lots of ways to dress up your china to give it a holiday feel.

This is the first of a little series on holiday tables with a few tips on style and how to do it create a look without breaking the bank.

First, decide on your backdrop. Personally, I like a tablecloth. Buy a nice one – it will last for years and save you money in the long run. If the the price is too dear, at least make sure you buy a natural fiber cloth. It lays more crisply on the table. White or ivory is a good color because there are so any ways you can layer it for different occasions.

Here, I’m using a vintage lace cloth. I’ve topped it with a green placemat from Bodrum ($15.00). For a more Thanksgiving look, use an Autumn color. Or, choose a color that coordinates with your china.

Thanksgiving is more casual than other holidays. So you can use your everyday dishes. Here, I’m using a casual ceramic set from Juliska ($44.00 for a dinner plate).A white dish is great. As with the linen, you can dress it up for all occasions.

A placed the napkin in a simple way. This all cotton napkin is from Williamsburg ($5.50). Nothing beats a cloth napkin in a natural fiber! Red and green is always a color combination winner at Christmas. For Thanksgiving, mix Autumn oranges, reds, purples and green.

Set the dishes on the placemat so you can serve the dinner family style (passed around the table in serving dishes). You can leave it plain, or dress is up with some greens from the garden tied with a color coordinating ribbon. I cut these from a cherry tree in our front yard.

Set the knives and forks with the first one you’ll use on the outside and move in for the next course. I used my own things here.

Finally, buy a set of wine glasses. Make sure you have enough for everyone, plus a few extra. This simple goblet is from Juliska ($68.00).

Finally, I put the centerpiece together in about 5 minutes. The rustic, wooden leaf is from Scout, a very groovy shop in Royal Oak ($50.00). I laid a base of evergreens cut from our trees arranged some large pine cones (from JoAnn’s) mixed with smaller ones from our yard. A little greenery, cut from a cherry tree and tied with a satin ribbon, completes the look. Low candles, like votives, create a beautiful glow and allow everyone to see each other.

All the dishes, linens and glassware can be found at The League Shop, a wonderful store located right here in Grosse Pointe. They will be happy to place orders over the phone and ship them to you. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to borrow their things for a few days. Thanks to Scout as well. Thanks!

Do you have a favorite way to set your holiday table? Anyone have turkey dishes?

Enter To Win This Christmas Stocking

Yet another giveaway here at the DH. This week, in the spirit of the upcoming Christmas holiday, I’m giving away this handcrafted Christmas stocking, designed and stitched together by me!

All you have to do is leave a comment and you’re entered to win. The contest runs all week and I’ll announce the winner (drawn at random) on Saturday. I ship to the US and Canada.

Imagine this stocking snuggled up by your fire. Santa is sure to fill it with good things.