Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Christmas in the Dining Room

If you were reading my blog last Christmas, you will recognize that my dining room looks the same as last year. I rarely change things in this room as I display my cherished Bethlehem Christmas dinnerware. If you are new to this blog, welcome. If you have seen this before, please indulge me a little. I designed this dinnerware in 2003 and had it mass produced. It can be purchased at Bethlehem Christmas.com . (By the way, it is on sale now at the lowest prices ever!!!)
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I purchased a nativity set that coordinates with the colors of the dinnerware that I use in the center of the table.
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The nativity set is elevated on cake plates to give it more presence. Then it is surrounded by artificial greenery and a few angels that I have collected over time.
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I use silver trays as placemats to add more sparkle.
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I use red goblets and my sterling flatware. However, I have to place the flatware on the wrong side due to the size of the tray since the knife and the goblet will not fit on the same side of the tray. Everything fits, if I put the forks on the right side (which is also the incorrect side) and the knife and spoon on the left side of the plate.
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The dinnerware tells the Biblical Christmas story in 8 verses. Each verse has an illustration.
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Having the table set makes a big impact with very little effort. The dining room stays this way throughout the Christmas season. When we eat in here, we use the dinnerware, run it through the dishwasher, then return the plates to the table so that it is ready to go for the next meal.
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This is by far the quickest and easiest of my decorating! I still have much to do! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
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I’ll be linking to Tabletop Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch and to the Christmas Tablescape party at the Lettered Cottage.
I'm also linking to the Holiday Dining Party at No Minimalist Here.
I'm also linking to Holy Days at Imparting Grace .

13 comments:

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

Beautiful table! Looks so festive.
Thanks for sharing.
Hope to see you on my blog::)

Jewel Sauls said...

Your table and your china are both lovely! Love how you found a nativity set that coordinates with the dishes!

Unknown said...

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing Joann

Designing Lady Jane said...

Wow, what an incredible table setting. I love the rich, old world look of your nativity, esp. the angels. The plates telling of the birth of Christ as so beautiful. I really like your idea of keeping the table set, very practical.

Beeutiful by Design said...

Divine! I love the plates-so perfect for this season. Jennifer

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Love how you have individual silver platters and the forks don't really matter to me.

Anonymous said...

Your dishes are so nice, as is your centerpiece, but they are over shadowed by the incorrect placement of your silverware.

http://education.missouri.edu/TDP/CAPS/tips/dinner_etiquette.php

Pat@Life At Lydias House said...

Dear anonymous reader,
Thank you for the constructive criticism, I always strive to have things correct. However, if you will go back up and read, you will see that I clearly stated that the silverware is place incorrectly so that the goblet can fit on the tray too. If I place the knife on the right side of the plate, the goblet will not fit on the right side so I chose to reverse the silverware. Since this was not an etiquette class I chose to take artistic liberty over following the rules.

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

This is so beautiful ---- I can see why you would set this every year throughtout the season. Love your silver trays.....I think it was quite smart of you to find a way to set the silverware to make this work.

Carolyn said...

This is all so beautiful!!! The plates are perfect too.

Carolyn

Zuni, Chickadee Home Nest said...

This china is beautiful, as is the entire table!! Thank you for sharing (and for re-posting, because I wouldn't have seen it last year).

Anonymous said...

I love this! it's such a sweet reminder of the season! Your table is gorgeous!

Richella Parham said...

What a beautiful table! Your dishes are lovely--what a wonderful way to tell the story! And your centerpiece is so pretty. I love the fact that you leave the table set this way; that's a wonderful idea.

I find it a little funny that someone would comment on the placement of your silverware when you had specifically talked about that in your post. This makes me think that many people must just take a quick look at pictures rather than reading posts--and that makes me think that I should be a little more thoughtful with my own picture-taking! :)

Thank you so much for linking this lovely post to Home for the Holy Days. May you have a blessed Christmas!