Showing posts with label place setting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label place setting. Show all posts

Friday, December 14, 2012

2012 Annual Ladies Christmas Dinner...............

I LOVE Christmas!  Last Friday night our church hosted our annual Ladies Christmas Dinner again, and it was beautiful!  It is always so much fun to prepare for and I usually begin thinking about next year's table immediately after our dinner.  I already have ideas.  :)

My table this year was a "Farmhouse" theme.  I mostly used items I already had at home, but bought/made just a few things.



I originally borrowed a dark green table cloth from a friend, as we used round tables for the first time this year and I don't own a round table cloth.  But, then I decided you don't HAVE to use a round table cloth just because your table is round.  I used these two black and white buffalo check curtains I made about 5 years ago for a house we lived in that had tall windows.  I have been using them for table cloths since we moved and really like the bold, country statement they make.

I bought 3 glass candlesticks and 3 small hurricane vases at the Dollar Tree to make the candlesticks you see in the photo.  Actually, Matt made them for me and I just tied ribbon around them.  :P  The photos make the ribbon look yellow, but it is really a nice, dark champagne color.



Yes, those are REAL chicken eggs in that wire basket!  I think I got a few looks from a few people about decorating with eggs, but hey, I thought they were great!  Quite a few other women did tell me they thought they were a nice touch, also.  The blue eggs are from our Aracauna hens, and I used that as my inspiration color for my table.  I wanted a nice accent of that blue, but just that.  An accent.  I repeated it in the candles and the ribbon that I tied around the candy boxes.



My  granny gave me the oil lamp.  The milk bottles were found years ago at a yard sale.  I just filled them with salt.  The sparkly twig garland was bought from Hobby Lobby 3 years ago and I love it so much I have used it each year since!  I was NOT happy about the price ($20 each and that was HALF PRICE!), but I am getting alot of mileage out of it.

 
That's me on the right.  I only knew 3 people at my table.  The other 5 were guests of a friend from church.  It's always nice to meet new people!
 
I'll show some of the other tables another time.  They were all so pretty and it's fun to see some women's personalities really shine through the way they decorate!
 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Ladies Christmas Dinner 2011

Each year, the women at our church host a Christmas Dinner (for women only). This event is so fun and we look forward to it every year. We usually have 12-15 hostesses who are each in charge of their own table of 6-8 women.





The hostess gets to decorate her table as simply or elaborately as she pleases (as long as it all fits!) and it is great fun! The dinner is buffet style, but each hostess provides her own dishes at each place setting for her guests to use. No paper plates here!




My theme this year was A Partridge in a Pear Tree :)

I got the idea for the gilded pears from Martha.  I bought that tiered stand from Hobby Lobby last year for about $7, I think, on sale.  Bought some nicely colored pears and "gilded" them with this stuff and a small paint brush.


The dinner is catered and always great. The hostess also usually provides some little ornament or gift for each of her guests and some yummy candy for a treat during the entertainment.




Mmmm..............Chicken stuffed with mushrooms




Nicely done, Lia!




My gift for my guests this year was a glittery "partridge".

I picked them up at Michael's for $1.49 each (on sale) and dressed them up with some brown organza ribbon and a few pearls.






Strawberry Shortcake for dessert!




Yummy salad with feta, cranberries, and walnuts with a raspberry vinaigrette.



Speaking of the entertainment, our Women's Ministry coordinates the program and this year was all about Christmas Memories. Even our Hispanic Ladies' Bible Study participants played a part this year! It was fun and touching to hear the stories told.

This year made my third year to hostess a table. I had been so nervous in years past that I couldn't pull it off that I didn't hostess. Then, I just decided to dive in and it was the best fun! What a nice, creative outlet for decorating for Christmas using fancy, fragile things I could not leave out at home right now because of my children's young ages.

Here's my table from my first year:









Fun hurricanes I made from Dollar Tree items (ideas all over blogland).
They cost $3 to make!!!




My first year to hostess, my mom, grandma, and sister were guests at my table. We have now turned that into tradition. Hey, for my family, this is about the only Christmas event we get to go to!




Me with Mom and Granny




My sister, Susie with Mom and Granny



So much fun! I wish more churches would do something similar for their Women's Ministry as it is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship and celebration of Jesus' birth!