A Crafty Holiday Table Setting

You don’t need a lot of time and money to throw a festive holiday dinner party. I bet you probably already have everything you need to create a beautiful table setting at home! Check out my tips for creating a cheap and easy Friendsgiving tablescape with a creative twist in this article. 

California is my second home. I moved here 11 years ago, and most of my family is back in Minnesota. While I often make it back to the Midwest, I typically stay on the West Coast for Thanksgiving. I can’t seem to convince my family to fly out every year, so I am all about a good Friendsgiving!

This year I am inviting some of the friends I’ve met while vending at craft fairs over for a holiday meal. Since they are all creative people, I thought it would be fun to create a unique tablescape with them in mind!  

 In this blog, I’ll share these six tips for creating a holiday table setting for your artsy pals:

1.  Set The Table With Dishes You Already Have 
2. Hand Print Your Linens 
3. Place Greenery Directly On The Table 
4. Decorate With Seasonal Produce 
5. Place A Small Gift At Each Seat  
6. Serve A Signature Cocktail

Are you ready to begin? Let’s set that table!

Set The Table With Dishes You Already Have

I live in a 120-year-old house with very little storage. There is no room for special plates that I reserve for only holiday use. Instead, I invested in beautiful, everyday ceramics that delight me each time I use them. My dishes are handmade by Heath Ceramics in Sausalito, California. For your place setting,  I encourage you to use what you have! If you’re in the market for new plates and bowls, support small makers!

Hand Print Your Linens

In an effort to eliminate single-use products we use only cloth napkins in my home. Utilizing them for daily meals and special occasions adds a little bit of extra warmth and personality to our kitchen. These napkins are also unique because I printed them by hand!  

Want to make your own? Check out this tutorial in which I update some plain napkins with block printing. In it,  I cover the basics of block printing and walk you through how to print on fabric. Click here  to learn how to carve a stamp, apply ink, and print. 

Place Greenery Directly On The Table 

I am lucky enough to live near a walking path with lots of eucalyptus trees. Last week, I went for a walk and collected fallen branches and leaves to decorate my table. Trader Joe’s is a fantastic place to shop for flowers and greenery if you live in a more urban area! Alternatively, visit a flower market if there is one in your town.  

The base of my arrangement is a bed of eucalyptus branches. I laid them out in the center of my small round table and allowed them to fill in the spaces between the plates.

Decorate With Seasonal Produce

Instead of flowers, decorate your table with fruits and vegetables! I chose apples, gourds, and pumpkins to finish my arrangement.  

Image Courtesy of XO Stacy

You can also use citrus to decorate your table, like XO Stacy. I love the look of this wintery table  

Place a Small Gift at Each Seat

Many of my friends are professional artists or work in art-adjacent fields. I plan on including a little gift at each place setting this year: a nice watercolor set and paintbrush. I love how the colors in the kit tie together the produce, my napkins, and the dishes. Plus, I know my friends will enjoy using their gifts!

Serve a Signature Cocktail

Image Courtesy of Cookie and Kate

Nothing screams the holidays like a glass of mulled wine. This recipe from Cookie and Kate is my favorite- it truly is a mulled wine for wine lovers. It is spiced and delicious, but the flavor of the wine still shines through. I like to use a Zinfandel for my mulled wine recipes, but feel free to choose whatever varietal of red wine you want. Merlot, Grenache, and Pinot Noir all work well.  

More Craft Blogs to Get in The Holiday Spirit

• DIY Tutorial: Macrame Snowflake Ornament
• Holiday DIY - Make a Miniature Star Piñata Ornament
• Holiday DIY - Make a Miniature Star Piñata Ornament
• Let's Make a Christmas Sweater Ornament

Happy Holidays! You can check out all of my DIY blogs here. Please let me know how your parties turned out in the comments!