Red toile patterns are wonderful for winter table settings. The line drawings provide a lot of visual interest, but they’e subtle enough that you can really go to town with the accoutrements.
Santas galore!
Who doesn’t love a great old-fashioned St. Nicholas?
I used a deep red tablecloth from HomeSense with an all-over pattern of holly and pine cones as the base for the setting. The napkins are from Wayfair a couple of years ago. The red Martillo Wine (discontinued) dinner plate and the charger are both from Pier 1.
I couldn’t resist Mr. Moose, the picture frame holder, also from Pier 1. I thought he made a nice addition as a place card holder. I bought eight of the little guys, knowing the little granddaughters would go nuts for them.
The little cardinal sitting on his nose – adorable…
There are four different scenes on the generously sized salad plates: a covered bridge with a horse and sleigh,
Kids building a snowman in front of a log cabin, complete with porch,
A church with a stone bridge in front,
And a riverside path leading into a country village. The scenes cover the body of the plates beautifully, and are framed with a delightful holly border.
The whitewashed ceramic salt & pepper shaker from eBay continued the theme.
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- Such a gorgeous beard…
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- Basket of pinecones and berries
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- Snowshoes
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- – love the bells for buttons on the sweater!
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- Shepherd’s hook
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- The little toggle clasps!
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- Sack of gifts
The Santas all came from HomeGoods. I loved the kind and patient expressions on the faces of the figures, as well as all the wonderful detail in their clothing. I got five in total and they’re now lined up on the mantlepiece at the Cape, waiting for our return.
Santos looking in all directions.
With the subtle browns of the pinecones in the tablecloth, I stuck with more subdued tones for the glassware and grapevine napkin rings.
The goblets are smoke Bohemian etched crystal with a twisted stem, from Laurel Leaf Farms. They were a one off. I’ve never seen anything like them before or since. I have six of the large ones (one with a chip on the rim, so I’m careful not to use that for guests) and eight of the small ones. I fill in with a couple of Tiffin Franciscan Julia Amber goblets from Replacements to make up eight large goblets.
The flatware is a bronzed version of Twig from World Market (they call it rose gold). I’m not normally a fan of gold-toned cutlery, but this one verges on copper; it escapes the tacky-bright aura that some gold pieces have.
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- The snowmen
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- Love the holly rim detail
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- The church
I almost gave these plates a miss when I saw them at Pier 1. I have a lot of red transferware in Canada, and we don’t spent a ton of time in the Cape in the winter. But I just loved the warmth and detail in the scenes. I see the salad plates are sold out online, but may still be available in stores. The dinnerware (dinner plate, bowl and mug) is still available and on sale.
The table glowed happily at night, with the Santas looking benignly over the settings.
A fun table, with all kinds of winter elements, and warm enough to get us through the chilly months.
Happy Thursday, everyone! I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Lovely table with beautiful photos. The overhead shot is a favorite and the candlelit ones of the santas with the windows in the background are very nice. I need to learn to take good photos.
Hi Lorri. I took an online course for photography – Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It helped a lot with getting a grip on the ins and outs of photography. It’s a bit intimidating at first, but you gradually build the knowledge and get comfortable with the camera. And with digital these days, there’s really no downside. You can just delete the ones you don’t like 🙂 So glad you liked the table! The Santas are my favourite part – even though the plates are showcased. LOL.
Such beautiful Christmas plates. You must have a hard time deciding which plates to use at Christmas! Happy Thursday to you. Cheers!
Thanks Maura. I hope you’re home safe and sound. We use them all at one point or another – just for different things. Christmas day is usually decided based on how many small fry are around, how many people we have to cram around the table, and how much hand washing people are prepared to do. The answer these days is lots, lots and not much 🙂
Santas, Santas, everywhere! The toile plates are so pretty and everything here works so well together. Merry Christmas!
Hi Sandra! I’ve always loved Santas like that, and quailed at the prices. HomeSense, however… My goodness they were reasonably priced! And they all coordinated, but had different features. I had a hard time stopping at 5. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Looks adorable…great idea with the little moose as a placeholder…hmm, might have to try that! Santa’s so cute, I would love some greenery or a roping twisted around to fill in. them
Thanks Jill. The moose won my heart – who could resist? That cardinal perched on the nose and his expression! It’s been a good year for fun Christmas decorations. So nice to hear from you – thanks for visiting.
sorry, around them.
Clever of you to show decor in daylight tablescape and also lovely candlelight glow after dark. I think this table really shines at dinner hour at night. Gives me ideas. Setting winter table might not seem terrific until proper feastive lighting added & time in the evening. Thank you for this inspiration! Sweet dishes and special touches.