Christmas Dinner, 2010

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. As the holiday season progresses I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.




It's been a whirlwind day, but the Christmas table is set and ready for dinner on the 25th.  I've spent a great deal of the afternoon making Brandy Ice to deliver tomorrow to close friends.  We like for them to have it as dessert for their Christmas Eve dinners.  If you are interested in this delicious treat, check HERE for the recipe.  It was my mama's recipe, and it is soooooo gooooood!


We shall have a small group for Christmas dinner.  My daughter and her husband, my sister-in-love and her friend, and two friends who are unable to join their families this year will join Sweet Mister and me at the table.

The bones of my table are pretty much the same as my post for Snow Bird.  I've maintained the same greenery, and the white Poinsettias are making an encore performance.  

New to the tablescape is Nana's wonderful antique silver, oval presentation bowl...now home to the Poinsettias.  The center bowl is flanked by a pair of vintage Paden City Ruby Glass lidded compotes and Mercury Glass candlesticks.  

The vintage ruby glass pitcher has made the trip from the breakfast room, as seen HERE, to the dining table for our Christmas dinner.  I like to place pitchers or decanters of tea, water, or wine for my guests to refill their glasses during our meal.  This pitcher has been quite useful since I purchased it at an estate sale for a song.

Since we're celebrating the most important birthday party of each year, I've laid our table with one of our precious Nana's lovely antique table cloths and matching napkins.  This cloth is Italian Reticella. Nana loved beautiful linens, and this is one of my favorites.  The Ruby Flash Glass, covered butter dish was a great get from the same estate sale where I found the pitcher.  For our festivities, I'm using our gold flatware, Retroneau, "Holly."  I bought this flatware many years ago.  I periodically look for an additional 12 place settings, but so far no luck....some day.  The hunt is 90% of the fun!

You saw a set of the Lenox, "Original 13 Colonies Wreaths" plates displayed in the Welsh dresser HERE.

Today I've used the plates from the set that belonged to my mother-in-love...we're blessed to be caretakers for this unique set of china plates.  I'm thrilled that some day, each of my children will have a set.

I've layered the plates on a silver beaded charger, atop a red acrylic charger.  Each of the wreath designs is based on items indigenous to one of the original 13 colonies...

Virginia

Maryland

New Hampshire

Pennsylvania

Delaware

New York

New Jersey

Georgia

After everyone is seated... 

...we'll serve the salad course on one of my estate sale finds...$3.00 each...these Ruby Glass plates.  I really like them with the Waterford, "Simply Pink," goblet and the Lenox, "Holiday Gem," iced beverage goblet.

After dinner, served on a plain white Limoges dinner plate with a gold band, a dessert of Brandy Ice will be served in our Barker-Ellis Silver Mint Juleps.  The mint juleps were a wedding gift 42 years ago, December 21.  We use them for many things, but they've never been utilized for mint juleps.

The Brandy Ice will be presented on one of Nana's antique French crystal dessert plates, so the design of the wreath will still be visible.

On the buffet, I replaced the white poinsettias in Nana's silver champagne buckets with a pair of green mesh sparkling trees.  I exchanged the white porcelain angels for a pair of Indiana Glass, "Ruby Flash," compotes to add a punch of red.

I think that our guests will enjoy our candlelight supper.  I'll end my post with some candlelight shots.  I even came close to capturing a few blue hour pics.  This is still an apprehensive endeavor for me.  Hope that you enjoy them! 

Everything is in place and ready for our feast of thanksgiving and celebration for the birthday of our Sweet Jesus Christ.  I pray that your Christmas holiday is filled with His peace and the joy of fellowship with dear family and friends.  Can you believe that another year has flown by so quickly?  I have been blessed to have met so many wonderful bloggers who share my passion for gracious entertaining.  I look forward to visiting with you in 2011. Merry Christmas!

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, "Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "Tablescape Thursday.  Click on the button below to hop on over and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 9:00 pm on Wednesdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

Click Here for Tablescape Thursday


I'm joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.  Click HERE to enjoy the talented participants from all over bogland as they share their favorite visions of the season.  Thanks to The Tablescaper for sponsoring this wonderful meme each week!

You can check out KC's music at www.kcclifford.com, on iTunes, and on YouTube.  I hope that you'll take a few minutes and give her a listen.  You'll also enjoy reading back through her blog on this site.  The girl can really write!  Her latest CD is called "Orchid."  It is available on iTunes or through her website.  KC is currently the featured artist of the week at http://jivepk.jivewired.com/kcclifford.  I hope that you'll give her music a chance.  I know that I have zero objectivity where she is concerned, but I think that you'll fall in love with her music and her!  .