7 Creative Ideas to Set a Christmas Table

Today I am sharing Seven Ideas to Set a Christmas Table. At first, I thought I would share ideas from seven different tables I had already created.

But then I got an idea. What if I set a table that had seven creative ideas all in one? That would be a fun challenge. I have set a lot of Christmas tables over the years. This one is one of my favorites. I hope that you are inspired to try one or two, or all seven of these ideas!

It’s Day Eight of Twelve Days of Getting Ready for Christmas and I have teamed up with my dear friend KariAnne from Thistlewood (scroll down for a link to her post or click here) and today we are sharing two different ideas! As I mentioned, I am sharing Seven Ideas to Set a Table and today KariAnne is sharing 15 Simple Ideas You Can Use To Decorate For Christmas!

Seven Creative Ideas to Set a Christmas Table

Here are the seven creative ideas I used on just one holiday table!

#1 Use Everything You Already Own to Set a Formal Table

You know how much I like to set a table! Over the years one of my favorite things has been to set a Christmas table. 

But this one is different. It is more formal and everything on it was something I already owned.

I came up with a silver and gold theme and decided to set a more formal table. It’s funny because originally I started out with a “rustic” idea and yet this is how it ended up! 

In case you are wondering how I come up with my table-setting ideas, I always look at what I already own first. For this table that was easier said than done. It required going into the attic space (on our third floor) and pulling out all of my Christmas decorations. I also had to go into the Carriage House and pull out all of the Christmas decorations stored there. (I know you are wondering why I have Christmas decor stored in different places, but I am pleased to say that all of my Christmas decor is now happily together on the third floor.)

Once I could see everything all in one place, it was easy to come up with this Silver and Gold theme. I created a list with lots of silver and gold items that you can access here.

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# 2 Repurposing What You Don’t Have

I am the queen of repurposing. I love using things for a purpose other than what they were intended.

For vases, I have used vintage cheese molds, glass battery jars, and brick molds (to name a few). For my everyday glassware, I use mason jars. (And my kids have them in their houses too!) I have a lot of vintage windows hanging on the walls inside our home and I use vintage crocks to store everything.

As this table was coming together, I realized I needed an off-white placemat. If you look at the linen placemats on my table you probably can’t tell that they are actually napkins! I am not sure why I don’t own an off-white set of placemats but improvising works fine by me. All I had to do was iron the napkins flat and the problem was solved.

 #3 Creating a Pendalogue Forest Centerpiece

Don’t ever hesitate to use something other than flowers in the center of your table. For this table, I pulled out some of my small trees and used them to decorate the center of my table.

I wanted to set the table with my bobeche trees. I love the crystals and found these trees at Pottery Barn (on sale, of course) and I absolutely love them. Who would have thought that the proper name for the crystals on these trees is not bobeche, it is pendalogue. Huh? Apparently, a pendalogue is a large cut glass or crystal prism in a semi-teardrop or pear shape. (If you are curious, a bobeche is usually a glass collar on a candle socket to catch drippings or a chandelier to hold suspended glass prisms.) 

#4 Use Vintage Items

Over the years I have collected a lot of vintage glassware (and china and silver and …) at flea markets. I bought the gold-rimmed glasses at the Rose Bowl flea market over ten years ago. I bought a set of 24 glasses for $25. For some reason I rarely use them and I am so happy that they made their premiere showing on my blog today.  

I also collect Cranberry Glass and colored glassware that I recently bought online for super cheap.

#5 Add a DIY – Gilded Pears 

I bought some inexpensive pears online last month with plans to do something to them for Thanksgiving. That isn’t going to happen so I decided to cover them with (faux) silver and gold leaf. (OK, to be totally honest, I was originally going to do them in all silver but I didn’t have enough metal leaf in my craft room. So I decided to use gold too and I am so happy with how they turned out.)

If you have never used metal leaf before, it is so much easier than it looks. Here are the pears after I finished them.

This is what they looked like before.

Pretty scary green, huh?

What You Need to Make Gold and Silver Leaf Pears

Six Faux Pears

Metal Leaf Adhesive

Gold, Silver and Rose Leaf Sheets

Water Based Sealer

To learn how to make these, watch the video here of the pink foil apples I made.

#6 Quotes for Placecards 

I have shared a lot of ideas for place cards and today I am trying something totally different. It is such a fun idea and I cannot wait for my family to experience it. 

I did some research and found quotes that fit each member of our family perfectly. (The easiest way to do this is to come up with one word that describes the person, such as baseball. Then search for “quotes about baseball.” I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun this was!)

I printed the quotes on card stock and cut them and placed them under the gilded pears. 

When it is time for dinner, I will open the dining room doors and each person gets to find which quote is theirs. This is fun because I am sure my boys will have fun figuring out who all of the quotes belong to!

The quote on the table above is by Steve Prefontaine. It is Andrew’s favorite quote and everyone in our family will know in a nanosecond that this is his place setting. The others are a bit harder to figure out, I promise.

#7 Add an Unexpected Decor Item

I love to decorate the backs of our dining room chairs. To coordinate with my theme, I pulled out some of my mercury glass ornaments and tied them on with a bow. 

Even the simplest of items can have a huge impact on your table setting.

I hope you like the beaded chargers I pulled out from the basement. I haven’t used these in years either. Sometimes a fresh perspective is what we all need to set a Christmas table.

Gold and Silver Table Ideas to Set a Christmas Table

Below are some really pretty silver and gold glassware items that I love. Check out the items below for everything you need!

Some ideas for you to create your own gorgeous centerpiece!

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KariAnne’s Getting Ready for Christmas Post

My dear friend KariAnne at Thistlewood Farms is sharing her post titled 15 Simple Ideas You Can Use to Decorate For Christmas.

15 Simple Ideas You Can Use to Decorate For Christmas

Does Christmas decor seem like it’s getting more complicated today? I agree. Let’s take it back to simple. Here are 15 simple and easy ways to Decorate for Christmas

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If you missed any of my Twelve Days of Getting Ready for Christmas, you can find them here:

• Day 1 – How to Choose Christmas Colors for Your Holiday Decor
• Day 2 – Creative Ideas for Christmas Gift Tags
• Day 3 – Stocking Stuffers for Christmas Morning
• Day 4 – Decorating with Christmas Ribbon in the Dining Room
• Day 5 – Gift Wrapping Ideas and Sunday Morning Coffee
• Day 6 – Easy Christmas Button Crafts
• Day 7 – How to Tie a Bow with Ribbon

You can also find KariAnne’s amazing blog posts here:

• Day 1 – How to Choose a Christmas Theme
• Day 2 – 27 Ways To Decorate With Ornaments
• Day 3 – 21 Unique Stocking Stuffers for Christmas Morning
• Day 4 – How to Hang a Wreath On the Back of a Chair
• Day 5 – 21 Easy Gift Wrap Ideas
• Day 6 – 7 Easy and Simple Christmas Crafts
• Day 7 – How to Tie a Christmas Bow

Holiday Inspiration

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