Thursday, October 20, 2016

Center[piece] of Attention

I am all about the unusual centerpiece as you can tell from this post and this post. I'm also about the centerpiece that does double duty, as I'm about to show you today. If you want to make a centerpiece intriguing and the talk of your guests, make it more than a centerpiece; consider making it the attendance prize or party gift for one lucky guest.

When I was growing up my mother used to play a lot of bridge, and host a lot of bridge parties. Sometimes the winner took home only a little change in an envelope, other times the winner took home some pretty nice gifts. Whether you play bridge or canasta or bunco or, as my grandmother did way back in her day, pinochle, make your party gift the center of attention as a part of your lovely dinner table.

My centerpiece here actually has a theme, but yours doesn't necessarily have to. The theme of mine, as you can tell, is Colonial Williamsburg. I grabbed one of my favorite little baskets that I use to hold kindling by the fireplace, and put it together with a Williamsburg cookbook, a jar of soup made from a recipe in the cookbook, two more recipes printed on lovely little tea towels, as well as a favorite teapot. The teapot is extra special because it has two different sides reflecting two different people, a man and a woman. It's one of my favorite teapots in my collection, not just because it makes the perfect amount of tea for me in the afternoon, but also because it always gives me a smile whenever I use it.

I'm not saying that I am giving this particular centerpiece away, no, I can't get rid of any of these treasured things, but it does serve to give you an idea as to how to make a centerpiece for your table not just for pleasant viewing, but to use as a gift. If you want to have your guests talking about your lovely table, entice them with an exciting giveaway.
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10 comments:

jmac said...

Omg!!!! I LOVE that pitcher!!!! I am a pitcher whore and buy every vintage one I come across! I literally have no more spaces to show them off.
Precious centerpiece and a great idea. Going to do this at next get together!
Love that pitcher so much!!

thepaintedapron.com said...

What a great idea and such a thoughtful and clever basket! Adorable centerpiece too! My favorite gift is a basket of goodies, I love to hit Home Goods and see what I can create! The teapot is fabulous Pattie-
Jenna

Linda said...

Gosh I never thought about giving away a centerpiece - a very cool idea! I might surprise my family with this concept at Thanksgiving!
I want you to make the sweet potato muffins on the towel and post about them. :)

Deborah Lacy said...

This is so much fun. I love it. What time should I be by for Bunko?

candlelightsupper said...

Your post is absolutely charming. One of my favorite's of the week.

Two Cottages And Tea said...

What a darling centerpiece and I love your teapot! I am wondering if there is a name to it and the maker. So unique!

Unknown said...

SO cute! :)

Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Fun idea! We do give our centerpiece away in our bunco group. We still play pinochle too. :) We visited Williamsburg about 7 years ago and I loved it! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann

Rita C at Panoply said...

This is an awesome centerpiece, Pattie. A terrific idea for a hostess gift or house welcoming too (or any occasion, for that matter!). I love gifts like this.

Sandra Lee said...

This is a great idea and I love the one you've assembled. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, have a great weekend.