Christmas Table

I always romanticize Christmas dinner. I love the idea of enjoying a cozy meal inside once the world turns dark and cold. Christmas feels like the start of winter (my favorite season.) Today I'm sharing how I'm setting the table for Christmas dinner. I already owned everything on the table, so I just needed to pick up some fresh flowers and greenery.

We typically eat the same Christmas dinner each year: filet of beef with horseradish cream sauce, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, and roasted asparagus. It's in my top 5 favorite meals of the year. We typically switch up the appetizer and desserts, but we always have beef tenderloin. I won't be sharing any recipes or pictures of this meal ahead of time, but I will share some snaps from Christmas on Instagram. (@thestayhomedaughter if you're not already following.)

We usually order dessert from a local bakery, which removes a lot of the meal preparation stress. This year, we ordered a German chocolate cake from our favorite bakery, Piece of Cake.

While I usually try to keep the table setting simple, this year I decided to put in a little more effort since we have extended family visiting. I have zero abilities when it comes to floral arranging, but this table runner garland was surprisingly easy. I placed bunches of white roses in mint julep cups. You can probably find silver-plated cups like these from your local restaurant supply store. My grandmother, Annette, taught me that odd-numbered groupings look best, so I used 5 cups with 5 roses in each. I interspersed my mom's crystal candlesticks between the bouquets. From there, all I had to do was tuck sprigs of cypress and Fraser fir around the cups. I filled in any sparse areas with red berry floral picks, which you can probably find at any craft store. I love how this turned out, especially considering how easy it was.

If you choose to use real greenery, avoid using any special linens, as the branches may ruin the fabric with sap. Real branches smell incredible. If you have an artificial tree, this is an easy way to get that Christmas tree smell into your home. The branches will stay green for at least a week so you can set the table ahead of time and add the roses the day before.

I kept the rest of the table neutral to avoid competing with the garland. I used my great-aunt Geraldine's china with dove gray and platinum rim. (If you want some classic southern name examples, look at my family tree - ha!) I added my favorite linen napkins and my grandmother's silver flatware. (Her name was Bobbie Lee - another great name.) My favorite French wine and champagne glasses add an elegant finishing touch.

To anyone who does calligraphy - you have my respect. I planned on writing everyone's names in cursive but got fed up and ended up scribbling every name instead. Oh well, at least the place card designs look nice, despite my scrawl.

To balance out the greenery on the table I hung a preserved boxwood wreath over the mirror and tucked extra berry picks into my mom's silver tea service. Adding festive touches to your preexisting decor makes your home feel cheerful without too much extra effort.

---

Thanks for reading!

- Sam