Tablecloth Tip

Sorry about this blurry picture!  (The photo was taken at least 15 years ago.)
This is a simple holiday tablescape in which I used a plain red tablecloth as a base but "dressed up" the tablecloth by laying two strips of red and green plaid ribbon across the width of the table and two strips across the length.
I pinned the ribbon from the underside of the tablecloth to keep it in place, but double-sided tape could be used to secure the ribbon as well.
This is a easy way to make any plain tablecloth more festive.

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

The winter of 2010 was one for the record books.  It snowed early and often that year.
One of the many snowstorms of the winter began early in the morning on December 24th.
I had baked and decorated sugar cookies to resemble gift tags for each of our Christmas Eve guests.
I planned to place a cookie on the plate at each place setting in lieu of place cards. 
It was not to be, however.  As the snow continued through the day, we could see that we would be having a quiet Christmas Eve without our out of town guests.
Once we got over our initial disappointment, we enjoyed a quiet celebration followed by lots of leftovers on Christmas Day!

Christmas Tablescape

I employed a red and white theme for the main table on Christmas Eve, 2009.  The red chargers came from WalMart.  The white on white patterned china is Shannon from Montgomery Ward purchased in 1978.  The red goblets and red bowls came from Herbergers a few years ago.  The white textured tablecloth has a poinsettia pattern on it.
I didn't use any candles or flowers on the table.  I filled a large glass vase with red ornaments and laid a string of red beads in the center of the table.  I also set out several crystal candle holders but topped them with red ornaments rather than candles.