Tomorrow is December 1st – 24 more shopping and planning days until Christmas! Isn’t it exciting?

Since it is Monday and we spent all the Mondays in November talking about getting ready for Thanksgiving, we will spend each Monday in December getting ready for the 25th.

Are you hosting dinner?  We are, and when Crystal requested yorkshire pudding for Christmas dinner, I thought, why don’t I just serve an entire Olde English Christmas feast?  They’ll be roast beef, yorkshire pudding, chocolate brioche bread pudding, trifle and some other side dishes yet to be decided on.  We’ll have crackers that we have to pop and then we will wear the paper crowns during dinner. You know about crackers, right? Here is a photo if you have never seen one.

Perfect for Your Christmas Table

The color scheme will be red, silver and white -  I’m riffing on this fantastic tablescape from Eddie Ross.  I’m even going to go all out and make the carnation centerpiece.  I just love this look!

The How To for Eddie's Fab Table

I love that he touts flour sack dish towels as napkins. We all know how I feel about my Ikea towels, don’t we?

But unlike some of Eddie’s champagne picks, instead of real silver chargers, mine are silver colored and from Target – $5.99 for 4. Such a deal! I bought 3 boxes – you just never know if there will be 6 or 12 people at dinner. I like to be prepared.

Silver Chargers on the Cheap

I also love all the milk glass Eddie uses. You can almost always find these pieces at the Goodwill or any thrift store.  They really dress up a table and any color pops when next to them.

For the tablecloth, I saw lovely red ones at Ross for $9.99. I need to go back and pick up a couple (my table is so big one doesn’t usually work).  Hoping to find napkins that match or I might just go with white to offset the red.

So, I am all set for Christmas dinner.  Now I just have to prepare for the cocktail party for 70 we are giving on the 12th.

Let’s see – I’ve hired the bartender and a helper in the kitchen.  The case of champagne is ordered and a few fab friends are bringing some of their tastiest tidbits.  I want to whip up some yummies too, so I have been perusing Martha’s site for some simple, yet gorgeous hors d’oeuvres.  Here is a really cool one that not only will taste fab, but will wow the guests with how cool it looks.

Olive Straws!

You can go here for video of Martha cooking up these lovelies, or for the recipe, look below.

Olive Straws

Makes 12

• All-purpose flour, for work surface
• 13 ounces Rough Puff Pastry(I think store bought would work fine here)
• 15 large green pimento stuffed olives, about 1 1/4 inches long
• 1 medium egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon milk

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a large sharp knife, cut the rectangle into a 5 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle and a 7-by-6-inch rectangle. Place both rectangles on a baking sheet and transfer to refrigerator; let chill 20 minutes.
2. Place the 5 1/2-by-6-inch rectangle on a baking sheet. Place 5 olives, end-to-end, in a straight line along the short side of the rectangle, leaving about a 5/8-inch border. Repeat process two more times to make three lines of olives.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and milk. Brush egg mixture on all exposed spaces between olives. Cover with the 7-by-6-inch rectangle of puff pastry, pressing the whole surface of the dough between the olives firmly with your fingertips. Transfer to refrigerator; let chill 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a very sharp knife, trim edges of dough; cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide straws. Lay flat-side down on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until pastry is golden and crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer straws to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm.

There’s a nice little start for your Christmas gatherings.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you have planned this holiday season!

xoxo, Patti

But time to discuss Thanksgiving again. This time it’s about table settings. For me, this comes second only after the food. I only allow myself to enjoy setting the table after I have done everything else. It’s like dessert for me.

This turkey will find about six (so far!) of us gathering around. I decided to go for cute instead of elegant. Here’s the inspiration from Martha for my table.

My Table is the Big Kids' Table!

I have a huge pewter boat that I use for hors d’ouevres that would work perfectly for this. Hmmm, but what to put in the boat to hold the cute sign? Mashed potatoes? That might work.

And, I know this is another of Martha’s ideas, but how many chickens do you need to eat before you have enough wishbones? But it sure is cute. You collect and wash all your leftover poultry wishbones (maybe from the time you gave that medieval feast for 100?) and paint them chrome. Then, you tie the ends together (wrapped six times and sacrifice a kewpie doll…wait, wrong recipe…) and voila! You have napkins rings. Looks like I’ll be saving my wishbones from now til next Thanksgiving. I am wild for this idea. However insane it is.

Take All Your Wishbones Just Laying Around The House.....

Here’s one that would be easy and crafty, too, from Blissfully Domestic! I don’t know if it’s my style, but I like how festive it feels.

Don't Pass the Turkey Over With This Setting - You Could Get Singed!

Even if you don’t have the budget for decorations, you can still spruce up your table for free. How about taking a glass bowl or vase and filling it with fallen leaves found while taking a walk? You could also take one of your favorite scarves and use it as a table runner (first make sure it’s washable before someone spills the gravy). Fresh apples or any type of fruit could adorn the center of the table, too. Set apples and/or pears/persimmons/whatever is around and scatter them down the center of the table, perhaps on more of those fallen leaves (be super careful with your candles, if you have dried leaves on the table – votives might be the answer here.) Another solution would be to take all your fruit and pile it up on a cake stand in the middle of the table – maybe stick a few leaves into it or the turkey art the kids brought home from school. Even having the kids make those paper traced turkey hands as placecards would be super cute.

I also liked this idea, which reminds us of why we are at dinner this day. Take strips of paper, write what you are thankful for, and attach with double sided tape and read aloud at dinner. Easy, but it could start a special tradition.

I'm Thankful For You!

And how cute is this little placecard? Take those nasty things that fall from trees and turn it into something memorable. And easy. I love pretty and easy.

Gum Tree Spurs - Now For The Table!

And for the easiest centerpiece yet – got a candle? a glass holder for it? some popcorn? You have a centerpiece.

Corny, but Cute!

The fine folks at HGTV came up with this beauty. Really, this is the time to break out all your prettiest tableware and make it work. I’m inspired by this because bff, Vickie, gave me some beautiful gold glass vases and these are now going on the table. Along with my boat.

Ohhh, Gold!

if you have the time and inclination, you could visit your local Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware or Pier 1 for lots of inspiration. But I like to use my imagination (and the imagination of style mavens like Martha) to create something that you can’t buy out of a catalogue.

Next Monday we’ll discuss the last minute prep. Don’t panic – it’s just dinner, Darlings!

xoxo, Patti