Thursday, December 31, 2015

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Visions of Sugarplums Children's Table



Sometimes kids get too old, and by old, I'm talking 8, to think they belong at the “kid's table.” Sometimes my rugs disagree. So, if you want to entice kids to a specific table in your house, I have devised the perfect plan: dazzle them with your centerpiece!
I held my annual Boxing Day dinner on a soggy Saturday and fixed my traditional roast beef dinner. It is something that everyone, including me, looks forward to. It's a wonderfully mixed crowd of young and old, all excitedly talking about their holiday gifts, and ready to relax and enjoy a nice meal.
Few kids (and adults, as it turned out) can resist the sparkle of fairly lights from the tree reflected on glass apothecary jars filled with candy. This centerpiece with an ice skating Santa that used to be a part of my mother's collection attracted kids like a magnet. Their eyes were like saucers as they stared at the contents of each jar, knowing that at evening's end, they'd be filling a bag with as much as they could to take home with them.
Equally enticing were the napkins folded into trees that I first showed you here. I was honestly surprised at how many comments I received on these from young and old, male and female, alike. Everyone seemed quite captivated by these.
The green transferware dishes are something I use solely at Christmas. The pattern is called Old Curiosity Shop and it’s made by Royal China. It strikes me as a pattern that is more Christmassy than almost any other because it reminds me so strongly of Dickens.
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Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!



I am taking the blogging day off. This is not to say that I will be sitting idle beside this table with a member of my mother’s Santa collection and an ornament-filled exhibition lamp, my feet up, watching movies. That is my ideal, but what I’ll really be doing is spending the entire day in the kitchen making a ton of food to feed my crowd of 16 who’ll be arriving around 2:00 p.m. tomorrow for my annual Boxing Day dinner. I’ll also be setting tables, folding napkins, and wrapping gifts.

Enjoy your day whatever you do, and Merry Christmas!