No Pressure Holiday Tables

I love all the preparations leading up to Christmas, but when the big day arrives I’m ready for things to be easy, easy, easy. The 25th should be about spending time with my family and playing with the kids not stuck in the kitchen or fretting over the perfect holiday tablescape. To help take some of the pressure off, I plan as much ahead as possible including quick table decorations from the grocery store or my own storage boxes.

Gather a few decorations you haven’t used elsewhere, selecting an array in one or two colors. For a holiday dinner party I put three candy striped candles and silver balls on a glass cake stand filling in the gaps with fake snow. Candy canes were tucked into white napkins for an extra sweet touch.

This family dinner table was set with pomegranates, satsumas and little lady apples placed on white platters down the center of the table. The colors from the fruit perfectly matched the vintage Christmas table cloth and red candles.

The table for this Christmas dinner is still undecided though my snow woodland theme will include pinecones and candle sticks made out of tree branches. And my white Christmas will definitely require more fake snow.

Flower gig: commitment ceremony

Arranging flowers for the dinner table is much different than coordinating arrangements for commitment ceremony, but I was up for the challenge when good friends asked for my help for their July celebration.


The couple wanted to balance the traditional with the masculine -- the sturdy but soft colored lily was their flower of choice and fit the bill.


The boutonnieres and corsages tied in with the blue and brown color scheme and complimented all the guests of honor. The couple was thrilled, the view was spectacular and the evening was perfect . Congratulations Christopher and Jim!