Christmas Table Settings

Anyone who knows me knows i'm big on Christmas table settings. 

I don't know when i started to 'up' my table setting game but its become more extravagant as the years have progressed...probably when my consumption of Kirstie's Handmade Christmas and Escape to the Chateau episodes reached new levels!

This year (if you follow me on instagram you will know all about the burgundy placemat saga!), burgundy, navy and gold became the colour scheme with green accents. Its all Dunelms fault...they had a fabulous navy and burgundy place setting in their store and that was it...i could not be swayed so out came the sewing machine and the rest as they say is history. 

To help bring a variation in colour to the table, i layered up lots of tonal colours and textures with some eucalyptus foliage (fake so it can be reused), some gold ornaments, lots of candles (LEDs for safety!) and hand made paper christmas trees with stars cut out. I found a great star holepunch in The Works and I placed an LED candle underneath them; they gave a lovely soft glow. Everything will be reused next year in a different colour setting and i try and use things that i already have rather than buy new. 

If you're looking to lift your table settings, look at these handy tips for inspiration...

• Consider how many people will be at your table and how much space you will need. We usually have between 8-10 people so i try and keep my settings to a long and thin shape to allow for placemats and extra dishes that usually appear at Christmas. You can always go high, but not too high as it can disrupt conversation over the table. 
• Look at 2-3 colours that go together and combining different objects in those colours in the table arrangement. If you have a themed christmas tree in your house, you can always start with this but if your tree is a bit random in colour (like ours!) then picks something you like or colours that go together. 
• For example; try red, gold and green or blue and silver. These can always be swapped to different combinations for following years so nothing gets wasted. 
• If you have any ornaments that could work with your colours or table setting, do use them. It adds a personal touch to the table. 
• Or any handmade crafts from kids as these always look lovely. Kirstie Allsopp had some great crafts on this years Handmade Christmas series that were quick and could be made from items already in the house. 
• Think about candles to change the tone of light or mood of the tree. We use LED ones as there are small children (safety first!) but these are great to put inside jars, hide amongst leaves and place in different candle/ tea light holders that you may have lying around. 
• Greenery! If you watch the lovely Angel Strawbridge, you will have seen her stunning table centre pieces that have foraged ivy or pine cones from her garden. Sadly, i dont have access to a forest and the garden doesnt provide this type of foliage, so this eucalyptus length was found on Amazon instead and can be draped and twisted in a variety of ways to suit any arrangement. It can also be reused each year.