Hosting the holidays at your house doesn't have to make you want to run and hide behind your Christmas tree or spend all your shopping budget on dinner. Just in time for the Christmas festivities, here are three tips for hosting the holidays in your home:
1. Get creative with seating
It's ok if you usually eat meals at the island in your kitchen or on the couch (not that I know anything about that, cough cough). You don't have to have a table for 20 in your dining room to bring everyone together. Get creative with your space - just because it's not a dining room now, doesn't mean it can't be tomorrow!
Tonight we are seating 14 people, so we moved the furniture out of the family room and brought in two folding tables and voila...instant massive dining space!
2. Dress up your plates
You don't have to own an entire line of fine Christmas china that looks beautiful, but cost you and arm and a leg and only comes out once a year. You can dress up your everyday plates for less and still look fancy and festive! Chargers are a great way to take up more surface space and dress up your tablescape with a pop of color. (you can find some like mine HERE)
You can also add just one holiday themed accent or salad plate to your dinnerware to still give you that festive feeling at a fraction of the cost! I fell in love with these Joy plates that I found at Hobby Lobby (you can find similar HERE) and snatched them up pre-season at half off! (see, it does pay to look at the Christmas stuff before Labor Day, ha!)
3. Simplify your decor
You don't have to be a professional florist to create a beautiful yet simple tablescape! Chargers tend to take up a lot of real estate on the table anyways, so that leaves you with less space to need to fill. Grab a few candles, add in some fresh holiday greens (Trader Joes sells them CHEAP!) and spray paint some pinecones from your yard and boom. Instant classy table with a rustic touch.
Psst...can I tell you a secret? The plates are real, but the gold flatware is not. It's plastic! I only have silver flatware for 12 in my house, and let's be real, I want gold flatware to go with the decor anyways but don't have budget for 14 sets right now. So I bought some higher quality plastic flatware and boom. Done. One less thing I have to wash anyways. ;) (You can get the same plastic flatware HERE and HERE)
We're off to go prepare the main course for tonight's dinner, but here's hoping you fill your table this holiday season with lots of laughter and love.
Happy Holidays!
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