by: Bob Kiefer
You'll be slaving over a hot stove for hours, preparing a feast fit for kings this Christmas. From the turkey to the desserts, you put love into every recipe, and your family digs in with gusto. Why not add some festive touches to the table as well, and make the presentation as breathtaking as the dishes you'll be serving? It doesn't take much time or money to transform your table from humbug to very merry.
Choosing a Theme
The easiest way to coordinate your decor is to choose a theme. Your theme can be as specific as a single Christmas carol, or as broad as a certain style or colors. For example, you could choose "Jingle Bells" as your theme, making the centerpiece a miniature one-horse open sleigh, and attaching bells to everything that doesn't voluntarily move. Or, choose a "Country Christmas" theme and add lots of country touches to your table, like felt cut-outs and cross-stitched napkins.
If you're planning on selecting colors for your table, stick with one main color and a maximum of two accent colors. Holiday colors of green, red, and white look very festive, or accent with silver or gold for a more elegant touch. Blue and white work nicely together for a winter theme.
Table Coverings
You may have your great-great-grandmother's handmade lace tablecloth stowed away, ready to use for your Christmas dinner. There's nothing wrong with this, of course, but if spillage and possible staining are a major worry for you, save the lace for accenting your decorative holiday displays instead and pick up some inexpensive cotton or other fabric to cover your table with, or use clean sheets in various colors. You can even use two contrasting colors of fabric, and use the second, smaller piece to hang at an angle over the larger one. Christmas prints are cute and charming, but try to steer clear of anything too busy or bright, as the fabric will overshadow any other accents you add.
For a children's table, cover the surface with butcher paper or inverted wrapping paper and provide crayons at each setting. Christmas crackers are also great fun for kids, and look cute sitting on each dinner plate.
Centerpieces
Centerpieces can be as simple as a small grouping of different sized candles. You needn't go overboard and spend hundreds of dollars on fresh flowers and a beautiful decorator's vase to hold them in. Potted Poinsettias make a pretty centerpiece, as do small baskets filled with pine sprigs and pinecones, or clear glass bowls full of bright Christmas tree balls.
Keeping your chosen theme in mind, choose a centerpiece that will stand out among your dishes of food, and become a conversation piece for guests. If you plan to use lit candles, never leave them unattended, and choose unscented candles wherever possible.
Napkins
You don't have to limit yourself to simple linen napkins, although these work perfectly well. Use facecloths, small hand towels, or handkerchiefs instead if you prefer. Roll your napkins and fold the roll in half, securing with a pretty bow, or fold them origami style into an interesting shape.
Napkin rings can be made from pipe cleaners, mini wreaths, licorice strings, ribbons, artificial flower stems, or anything else you can think of that will look festive and do the job. Tie bells, small ornaments, pinecones, silk flowers, or even small toys onto each napkin ring for added decoration.
Serving Dishes and Platters
Your serving dishes don't need to match each other to look pretty. A mixture of different styles and colors add whimsy and a country feel to your presentation. If you don't have enough trivets for all of your dishes, cover pre-cut pieces of thick cardboard with aluminum foil and use these as shiny mats that will protect your table and still look nice.
Place Cards
If you want to use place cards to prearrange the seating at your table, use your theme to come up with imaginative ways to create or display them. Gift tags are an easy idea, and they can be attached to each napkin or wine glass with ribbon or pipe cleaners. Miniature artificial poinsettia pots are available at many dollar stores, and they make gorgeous place card holders. Simply fashion your cards and attach them to straws or toothpicks, then secure them into the pots.
Pinecones can hold name cards as well, if you maneuver the cards so that the 'teeth' of the cones hold them in place. Create shapes out of clay or dough, thread the cards through candy cane sticks, or simply place your cards on the top of each dinner plate. The possibilities here are endless.
Extras and Finishing Touches
Adding candles of varying heights and colors will add warmth to your table setting. Scatter tea lights, votives, pillars, and tapers around the center of the table, making sure that they are secure and not interfering with anything that could be flammable.
You can also decorate the stems on wine glasses with purchased wine charms or pipe cleaners, or tie small bells to each one with ribbon. Tie cutlery together in a similar fashion if you wish, or tuck utensils securely inside rolled napkins.
For an added touch, decorate each chair with bows, bits of garland, or pretty fabric. Anything goes as long as it doesn't scratch or otherwise interfere with your guests' enjoyment of your wonderful meal.
With a bit of extra effort, you can take a plain and boring table and create a stunning masterpiece that will impress your guests even before the first course is served.
About The Author
Bob Kiefer is a webmaster of 10 sites. Vist http://www.for-women-only.com for more exciting holiday ideas.
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3 Simple Strategies For Increasing Revenue
3 Simple Strategies For Increasing Revenue
by: Richard Rigor
It's a simple yet common question, "How can I make my business more successful?"
Success can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people but when it comes down to it, the success of your business should only be measured by one thing - profit.
At the end of the day, it's not how many people came in to your store or phoned in. It's not even how many widgets you sold. At the end of the day, what truly matters is how much of a profit you made.
It would make sense then that your efforts focus on profit as the end result. With that in mind, there are only three strategies to increase profits for your business.
1) Increase the dollar size of each order
2) Increase the number of times people buy from you
3) Increase the number of people who buy from you
Most likely, your business is already primed to attack each of these three angles and...
3 Simple Strategies For Increasing Revenue
Candles > 3 Simple Strategies For Increasing Revenue
5 Top Tips To Boost Your Spirits
5 Top Tips To Boost Your Spirits
by: Christopher Green
If you?re feeling like everything is getting on top of you, or you?re finding it difficult to cope or function, or you?re feeling down in the dumps, then try these 5 easy-to-do tips to relieve tension and stress and boost your spirits:
1. Take a relaxing bath. Add music, candles and a glass of your favourite drink: beer, tea, hot chocolate, wine or even champagne. Close the door and forget about everything else for an hour or so. This helps to increase levels of calmness and the calmer we feel, the less likely we are to get stressed out or depressed.
2. Comedy night: get in your favourite nibbles: chips, tortillas, salsa, crackers, cheese, pizza, chocolate, cookies, ice cream etc. Crack open a bottle of wine or pour yourself a beer or two and spend a full evening watching your favourite funny films or comedians. Laughter raises our spirits and is a great antidote to the stresses and...
5 Top Tips To Boost Your Spirits
Candles > 5 Top Tips To Boost Your Spirits
Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation
Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation
by: Bob Kiefer
You'll be slaving over a hot stove for hours, preparing a feast fit for kings this Christmas. From the turkey to the desserts, you put love into every recipe, and your family digs in with gusto. Why not add some festive touches to the table as well, and make the presentation as breathtaking as the dishes you'll be serving? It doesn't take much time or money to transform your table from humbug to very merry.
Choosing a Theme
The easiest way to coordinate your decor is to choose a theme. Your theme can be as specific as a single Christmas carol, or as broad as a certain style or colors. For example, you could choose "Jingle Bells" as your theme, making the centerpiece a miniature one-horse open sleigh, and attaching bells to everything that doesn't voluntarily move. Or, choose a "Country Christmas" theme and add lots of country touches to your table, like felt cut-outs...
Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation
Candles > Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation
50th Birthday Party Ideas For a Sensational Celebration
50th Birthday Party Ideas For a Sensational Celebration
by: Dee Schrock
Is a 50th birthday party coming up and you're at a loss for ideas?
Here are a few tips and ideas to help you get started.
You can create your own invitations by drawing 50th birthday theme such as "50" or over-the-hill gag themes.
A great themed 50th birthday party is 60's memorabilia. Have beanbag chairs handy for a groovy gathering.
Share old stories about the guest of honor.
Be sure to include items such as a "magic bus", peace signs, and candles luminating the room.
Wear your flowered pants, John Lennon glasses and peace sign, or go all out with your leisure suit.
Don't forget your hippie wig!
Have the guest of honor wear a birthday crown or Happy Birthday hat.
Be sure to complement their outfit with an "over-the-hill" cane
Serve your food of choice on these tie-dyed party plates and tableware.
Candles > 50th Birthday Party Ideas For a Sensational Celebration
Five Fantastic Holiday Decorating Ideas
Five Fantastic Holiday Decorating Ideas
by: Jennifer Thoden
It's that time of the year. My favorite time of the year... when we pull out our greenery, lights, ribbons and wrapping paper! It's a family time, hopefully a happy time and a nostalgic time. And I love all of it!
Every year, I celebrate the meer act of decorating my home. And I wanted to share some of things I plan on doing this year... and hopefully spark some ideas for yourself.
1. Wreaths aren't just for doors. I hang wreaths everywhere. On all my windows (facing in)... on any blank wall I can find... my front door... my porch posts... and small ones on my staircase. I've even been known to hang a few on my kitchen cabinets.
I'm talking about plain, simple green wreaths of your preferred greenery (fake or natural), and hung with a ribbon. Hang them everywhere!
2. Garland galore! Hang garland anywhere you can. Across table tops, around candles, on top of your mantel...
Five Fantastic Holiday Decorating Ideas
Candles > Five Fantastic Holiday Decorating Ideas
Destination Wedding - Maui?s Maluaka Beach Park
Destination Wedding - Maui?s Maluaka Beach Park
by: Diane Page
A couple seeking a truly magical wedding may opt for a destination wedding on the beautiful Maluaka Beach in Maui. Maluaka Beach is an ideal location for a destination wedding because it offers the picturesque scenery of a typical beach that is also adjacent to a beautifully landscaped park and picnic area that is ideal for the reception of your destination wedding. The landscaped area serves as...
Destination Wedding - Maui?s Maluaka Beach Park
Candles > Destination Wedding - Maui?s Maluaka Beach Park
The History Of Jelly Beans
The History Of Jelly Beans
by: Gray Rollins
Jelly beans have some pretty interesting facts buried in their history. These are a favorite confection that have been around for quite some time, just over a hundreds years or so. While info about the exact time and place that jelly beans first came on the market is not available we do know that they began to emerge in the early 20th century. They were sold at stores as a penny candy and they became quite popular....
The History Of Jelly Beans
Candles > The History Of Jelly Beans
photo printer Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation Candles
For Better Gas Mileage, Have a Better Car
For Better Gas Mileage, Have a Better Car
by: Ken Reno
In today's world of contemporary society, we have many cartels and monopolies, but the one, which stands out for being the most profitable, most effective, and most powerful is the one involving oil.
This is the main reason why oil prices continues to escalate in the market area. On a global basis, this high-pricing of oil is considered as a worldwide dilemma.
Hence, in order to cut down extra...
For Better Gas Mileage, Have a Better Car toyo tires Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation Candles
Candles > For Better Gas Mileage, Have a Better Car
Clear Natural Vision Is Just One Of The Possible Benefits of LASIK Eye Surgery
Clear Natural Vision Is Just One Of The Possible Benefits of LASIK Eye Surgery
by: Nicola Kennedy
There are several LASIK benefits, which can be easily realized by going in for an experienced eye surgeon. It is necessary that you weigh the pros and cons before going in for an eye surgery. And much to your relief, as far as LASIK is concerned, the benefits far outweigh whatever minimal risk is involved. LASIK is by far the most preferred procedure when it comes...
Setting A Festive Table ? Tips For A Striking Presentation Clear Natural Vision Is Just One Of The Possible Benefits of LASIK Eye Surgery
Candles > Clear Natural Vision Is Just One Of The Possible Benefits of LASIK Eye Surgery