Friday, December 30, 2016

The Children's Table, December, 2016



 Christmas Eve dawned, and I was, for once, really well organized.  I had the entire morning to finish wrapping gifts for the local kids tree on Christmas morning.  Our Christmas Eve tree and dinner was scheduled with our family toddlers in mind...tree at 2:p.m. and an early dinner at 5:00 p.m. to include a few extra friends.  The kids planned to take the little ones home for an 8:00 bedtime, in order to have plenty of time to prepare their tree for early Christmas morning.  I was thrilled to know that I would have plenty of time to clean up after our dinner and wrap the last of the gifts to travel to Dallas mid-Christmas Day, after the Santa Claus tree at the kids' house.  At about 9:00 a.m., Christmas Eve morning, the phone rang.  "Mom, David and I are really sick.  We both have 102-3º temperature.  We think that we should head to the Urgent Care doctor as soon as possible.  We think that the most efficient plan is for us to go together, but that means that we need daddy and you to come take care of the kids while we're gone.  Is it possible for you to be here by 10:30 a.m.?  We shouldn't be away from the house very long.  We are determined to rally for your tree tonight."  "Sure," I said, as I envisioned my lovely day beginning to unravel.  What's the saying?  "We make plans, and God laughs."  He must have been howling.  Cutting to the chase...we returned home after 4:30 p.m.  The extra guests had been cancelled because we didn't want to expose them to sickness.  I threw the King Ranch Chicken in the oven as we started our tree at 5:00 p.m.  Dinner for the 6 of us happened at 7:00 p.m.  The little ones were taken home to go to bed around 8:30 p.m., I proceeded to wash dishes and put food away, and I finished wrapping gifts for the Santa tree and the Dallas tree shortly before 4:00 a.m.  We were up early, dressed to drive across town, and at the kids house before 8:00 a.m.  The trip to Dallas was postponed until a 6:00 a.m departure the day after Christmas.  Can you say, "Keystone Cops"?  I can say that the babies had a great time at both trees and never knew that Chaos was making every effort to run rampant through our Christmas.  I was so grateful that I had finished setting my tablescape days earlier.  Turns out that it was about the only thing that was really ready to go for our Christmas Eve celebration.  Well, the lovely yeast rolls that I left rising that morning as we drove away were more than ready...way more than ready.  Let's just say that they were..."interesting". I originally set the dining room table for 8 diners.   Come on in and take a look at what was supposed to be...


The photos were snapped just before the food came out of the oven.  I hope I can give you an adequate view.  I called this year's tablescape "The Kids' Table".  I wanted it to be fun for our little ones.

The Bormioli red glass charger was an obvious choice for my tablescape...

The Castleton Sovereign dinner plate with its gold bead edge was the perfect mate for the Oneida gold tone flatware and...

the Williams Sonoma Night Before Christmas series salad plate.  The salad plate is a new addition to my collection.  I couldn't resist it.

Traditional Christmas colors were added with the Vietri optic green goblet and the AJKA Arabella red wine.

A place setting for the kids' table....kids from 2 to 92!

I knew immediately that this year's centerpiece would include my old Fitz and Floyd Santa's Car cookie jar.  I fell in love with the 6 red lighted mercury glass trees, found at New Leaf Florist.  They had to be included in our Christmas Eve tablescape.  The quartet of red Mercury Glass hurricanes happily added another healthy shot of Christmas red.  They each sat in a festive and glittery green candle ring from Hobby Lobby.  The heavy red and white runner is from a local store called North Pole City.  Really!
On a whim, I added 6 jars, each with a needlepointed Santa Claus lid.  I stitched them many years ago and had forgotten about them.  I just happened to open the drawer in which they had been stored.  So glad that I found them!




Voila!  We have a centerpiece for "The Kids' Table".

Beatrice Emaline (now age 4), seems to be pleased with my design.

We're ready to celebrate the most important birthday of every year!

Candlelight shots seem perfect for Christmas Eve...






As thrown together as the evening came to be, it was nonetheless a precious time to share with our beloved family.  I think that I may always want to be seated at the children's table!  I hope that you had a marvelous Christmas.  I love that our babies are becoming old enough to understand that we give gifts at Christmas to remember the amazing and priceless gift that God sent to us when He gave us His only Son, Jesus Christ, my Lord, the Lover of our ragged souls.  Have a safe and Happy New Year's celebration!

This week I'm joining:























Entertaining Women
Entertaining Women

Hello, I'm Cherry Kay I was 40 before I realized that I am an artist. I love to paint, work in clay, rubber stamping, design tablescapes, entertain, and share ideas. I'm an interior designer wanna-be...no credentials, but lots of experience.

9 comments:

  1. As always, a beautiful setting! I love all of the red trees and candle holders - so festive! I have always admires the WS dishes! Happy New Year, Cherry Kay!

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  2. Your needlepoint is wonderful. So glad you found and shared the covered jars. Happy New Year!
    Sandra (Dinner at Eight)

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  3. A very pretty table. Love the needlepoint lids for the jars, too. It's a great Christmas table. And the best laid plans . . .

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  4. What a weekend! I'm glad you were there to rescue the grands and hope their parents are back on the road to feeling healthy. Your table is as fabulous as ever. Love the truck for the centerpiece, and you already know I'm crushing over your needlepoint Santa jars. Hope your New Year's weekend is festive. Happy 2017!

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  5. Your table was beautiful. I love the needlepoint pieces in the table. They add a wonderful personal touch. You had a very hectic day! But God saw you through it. Happy new year! Xo marlis

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  6. Cherry Kay, this is a beautiful table. Your dish stack was perfect. I've seen the dishes from W-S but never displayed as effectively as you did. The red Bormioli chargers are wonderful! I can tell that, albeit somewhat hectic, your Christmas was a great success. Happy new year!

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  7. Pure magic!! A spectacular holiday table, befitting the special occasion of our Savior's birth.
    You had me laughing at all your plans that went awry. Hoping you didn't come down with the bug that started it all.

    Your Beatrice Emaline is gorgeous! I am blown away that she is already 4!!! I remember when she was born & I feel like it was just last year. *sigh*

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  8. Cherry Kay, I can't believe that with all the hectic adventures of those days you were still able to take pictures of your beautiful table! Yes, when the kids call (no matter how old they are!) all other plans are dropped and we happily rush in to help. This will be a year you remember for a long time! And I would love to be seated at this "kids table" with the fabulous chargers and those WS dishes. Your Santa truck and the needlepoint jar tops added a little Christmas magic for the "kids" to enjoy. Hope you are well and that everyone has recovered! Happy New Year to you, Cherry Kay! Linda

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  9. Amazing table. Anyone would love to be seated at this kid's table. The red Santa car is adorable. The chargers are so pretty with your WS dishes. The needlepoint is fabulous. I am having a ball looking at all of your inspirational tables.

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