Christmas cheer, straight to your plate
Let’s face it — the holidays can be a lot of work when you’re the one who has to bring it all together. Santa’s got elves, but the rest of us have everything we already do for the family including a full-time job, regular meals, school work, decorating and making time to visit with those we love to celebrate the season. On top of that, there’s Christmas shopping and crowd-navigating, wrapping the gifts and likely assembling a few.
But before you have the holiday meltdown, know that there are ways to making it look like you spent hours and a fortune when really you bought the right elements to make a lovely holiday dining table, an elegant holiday bar and a super fun setting for Christmas. Nothing from these settings cost more than $20, and without the added holiday elements, there is no reason you can’t use these straight through the year. Dining table: In the past, families had two sets of dishes divided by “everyday” and “special occasion.” What if you could make a holiday table, using the everyday as the special occasion? Simply add a festive runner down the centre of the table. The gold chargers at $3 each from a Real Canadian Superstore are a great way to add the holiday bling.
The one thing that takes a table up to the level of super elegant is the glasses used for wines — we found them for $20 for the set. Champagne flutes are lovely and choose stem-less for variety — plus they’re perfect for, say, orange juice at breakfast or, really, anytime. Add some holiday elements with fresh evergreen boughs as a centrepiece, some red candles and a golden reindeer. Bar: A bar is certainly not holiday specific and I’d never suggest holiday themed glassware. They take up storage space and have to be found and cleaned at the start of the season.
You may not like the glassware you currently have, but it doesn’t have to of the holidays: use a sprig of evergreen bough and a few ornaments to round out the look. Kids breakfast fun: Start with bright colours to create some excitement for holiday meal time. Seat youngsters at their regular brekkie spot, like the kitchen island, to keep the routine of the morning, but add the Santa mug and the shatter-proof Christmas mitten to bring the focus to the big day. At just $4 for the mugs, you won’t break the bank.
Everything else can take you right through the winter without being out of place. be expensive to look good. The rock glasses and the decanter have been placed on an elegant black-matte tray with gold interior. That matches the martini shaker, coasters and the nut bowls as well.
Put that together with rusty red-coloured napkins — which again do not scream “Christmas!” — with a great ice bucket and you have all the basics of a bar. Now add the details
The bright red snowflake placemats add a great punch of colour to the setting, combined with the owl-themed plates and tea pot for warm cocoa. Each place setting is less than $20 from PC Home. Glen Peloso appears every two weeks in New in Homes & Condos. He is principal designer of Peloso Alexander Interiors, national design editor of Canadian Home Trends magazine and a design expert on The Marilyn Denis Show on CTV. Contact him at pelosoalexander.com, follow on Twitter at @peloso1 or @glenandjamie, and on Facebook.