Dept. 56 Snow Village Cookie Table

Well, the plan was... a table full of Christmas cookies with a few scattered Snow Village pieces.

 But my husband got involved, and it ended up as a table full of Snow Village with a few scattered Christmas cookies.

It's my fault for being lazy and asking him to bring in some houses from the cabinet in the garage.  He just kept bringing in more and more.
"Look at this one!" he'd say. "And this one!"  And the village grew and grew.

"What about the Village Bakery? You could have the cookies spilling out of it."
"No."
"The Market?  The Coke factory?"
"No. No city pieces, just houses."  (I didn't even know we had a Coke factory.)
"Oh look! Cows!  And the barn!"
"No. Just houses."  And on and on it went.

And then he started with the little people.  The skaters, the sledders, the ice rink, the Santa...
"Sorry, there just isn't room for much."
"But you have to use the dad putting up garland," he said with a sad look in his eyes, as if rejecting the dad was the equivalent of rejecting him.
"Well, of course we need the dad," I replied, and handed him a cookie.

In the end, I promised that next year we would put out every single piece.  It's been quite a few years since we last put it out, under the Christmas tree.

It is rather enchanting, especially at night.

 I'm actually looking forward to next Christmas. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a cherry cheesecake bar with my name on it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Be sure to visit Susan at  Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

A Formal Christmas Eve Dinner

Now that you've seen my Christmas breakfast table, it's time to set the dinner table. 

On holidays, we use "the good stuff" for our most special honored guests...  family. 

The dinnerware is Royal Doulton Carlyle. White with a teal cloisonne pattern outlined in 24 k gold.

The crystal is Waterford Lismore Tall.

The deer are craft store papier mache, sprayed with gold enamel.

Fostoria crystal napkin ring with a "fleur de lys" napkin fold.  Flatware is Wallace Grande Baroque sterling.

The charger plates are Godinger Baroque, from Amazon.com.

The sequined votives are from Stats.

Let's light the candles...

Be sure to visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

My First Tablescape - Christmas Breakfast

Hello and welcome!  This is my very first blog post, my very first attempt at tablescaping, and my very first time using my new camera. So much to learn!



The breakfast table is set for Christmas morning.

The dinnerware is Lenox Winter Greetings-Green Band. The dark green chargers are by Gibson. I first tried Fiesta scarlet ones, but they photographed a little too bright.  You might catch a glimpse of them in one of the pictures.

I just love Catherine McClung's bird artistry on Lenox China.

This adorable "Joy with Cardinal" tablepiece  came from Stats in Pasadena, my favorite Christmas supply store.

The table runner was on sale at Kohls.  It looks like it was made-to-order for my tablescape.

 

And the back side of the table in natural light from the bay window.   The goblets are Mikasa French Countryside, brand new with the tags still on.  Our oranges are ready to be picked, so the goblets will hold fresh-squeezed juice on Christmas morning.

The peppermint and pine candle was a gift long ago.  Too pretty to burn.  The holly was snipped from the garden. It comes in handy this time of year.

Nighttime approaches.

Hmm, I think we need votives and a Christmas tree... 

The sequined votives are from Stats.  I suppose I should light them.

There, that's better!  All done!

 I hope to join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

Merry Christmas, everyone, and thank you for visiting.