I did four luncheons for friends during December -- one before and three after -- I used a lot of the same elements -- tablecloth, china, cutlery and for the two smaller luncheons used the same poinsettia while the last two with more guests, I used white mums and frazier fir cuttings

My menus were different for each luncheon:

Luncheon No. 1 - lobster stew, artichoke and lemon chicken with white and wild rice, pear clafoutis

Luncheon No 2 - maple roasted carrot salad, chicken with 40 cloves of garlic and white and wild rice, French apple tart

Luncheon No. 3 - strawberry salad, chicken spaghetti and cheese biscuits, fairy cakes (there were 4 children at this lunch so a little different menu)

Luncheon No. 4 - Linderhof Italian Salad, rotini with lemon cream sauce and cherry tomatoes and spinach and a hot roll, French apple tart

Here is a picture of my Christmas Eve dinner table for my family. Oysters on the half shell, avocado and pink grapefruit salad with poppy seed dressing, lobster stew and popovers, and red raspberry sorbet with fresh raspberries, mini cream puffs and dark chocolate sauce on the side for those who wanted it. It was delicious! We have the same thing every year - can't possibly think of an improvement!

Pretty tables and the food looks delicious. Sadly, I once again forgot to take a picture of the table after it was set. I get so busy with prep that I forget almost every year.

Such such beautiful tables! On Christmas, it's all about ease for me. Permanent press tablecloth, not too much ornamentation, and a simple menu. Nice to have a relaxing meal with family after all the holiday hullabaloo.

We are having Giada's Osso Bucco tonight, followed by Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. One couple had to cancel due to illness so there will be four of us.

Each and every table is absolutely gorgeous and the menus are truly awesome. You all had some very lucky guests. Bravo!

Anglophilla -- we had lobster stew and popovers for Christmas Eve as well -- but our dessert was cookies and fruitcake . . . and we had no salad to start!

Wow-impressive tables but even more impressive menus! I wish I could cook like you all!

Here are my Christmas tables. Forgive some of the details. These pics were from when I was playing around with it and not the final production. I did iron the tablecloth and had some glass/silverware washing to do prior to the event. I served 20 family members and we had typical Thanksgiving fare. It was fun but a lot of work!

Also, note my GW nod to fashion...the table deer! :)

Wow, this is very inspiring for next year!

Fabulous tables - china, crystal, decor! And such a treat to hear those scrumptious menus, thanks for sharing. Next year I will take some pics...

Moms2sulu, love your dishes! and your deer!

Thanks, lovemrmewey! I enjoyed them as well. :)

They are both new purchases this year. The plates are from William-Sonoma and the deer is Pier 1.

Thank you all for sharing your pictures. I love seeing everyone's gorgeous tables, menus, and all the thought that went into everything. I just sat down to try to share a picture of my Christmas morning table and I realized i did not get one. So sad! Of course things were very exciting that morning since I have two boys ages 2 and 6, which is probably why I did not get the picture. I will try for next year. I was inspired a few years back by a friend who had a tablescaping blog. She helped me to create a beautiful Easter table, and she also advised me on Christmas china (I went with Winter Frolic by Juliska). What I learned from her is that a table can really create such a festive mood at a party. It can really delight guests. You can pull out family heirlooms and mix and match with new serveware. I just love it. I too used to help my mom set the table for holidays, and I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for starting this thread. Let's post pictures for Easter too!

We had a small group this year and my table was made up of a series of old reliables put together at the last minute. I decided to forego the tablecloth and took this photo seconds before we sat down. I love Christmas tables!

Absolutely lovely displays. We had a family dinner last night as a going away party for our daughter who is moving to Europe for 6 months. I bought a new tablecloth for that and like it so much I went back to Home Goods today to get it in a larger size for when we have the table fully open. Also scooped up some candles.

Here here are some previous threads, which includes kswl's lovely tables:

Christmas tables 2014

And this is another one:

Christmas tables 2013

I enjoyed looking at these so much! Any idea where to look for cut lace (if that's what it's called) tablecloths like the one in the first few pictures? I have my Mom's, but it's in pretty bad shape. Managed to cover some spots with china etc because it was only immediate family.

Beautiful table settings and delicious menus! As someone else said, inspiring!

Question for mom2sulu: would you mind sharing the source for your minature evergreens on your first table?

Arapaho,

Those trees came from Pier 1. I just checked the website and they are no longer listed; it looks like they have tidied up their Christmas stuff and either sold most of it or are saving it for next year because they don't have much left. Anyways, they were listed as cedar trees and were very inexpensive. I had a discount but each were only $10 after that. HTH! :)

Meg I did a search for lace tablecloths and some nice options are Etsy and Ebay (vintage lace). I used to have one that wore out too.

newmember4,

Oh, I wish you had pictures of your table. I looked up Winter Frolic by Juliska--gorgeous! Love it!

I love seeing all the gorgeous tables!! I didn't take any pics of mine from Christmas entertaining-- I love using the good stuff & keep vowing to myself that I'll use it more often. For one gathering of about 30- I had the guy from the local "street tacos" come & make fresh tacos & quesadillas-- it was so much fun & different for our family.

Anglophilia, we have the same sterling goblets.

LOL, ours doesn't look any different than the 2013 and 2014 threads.

Martha Scott, I like your plaid plates. Are those Williams-Sonoma?

Love this thread every year. Thanks for posting.

gsciencechicrk, No, they are Royal Dolton Tartan (I know how to properly spell Dolton -- the computer keeps changing it). In 87/88, they came out with three Christmas china patterns -- the tartan, ribbons and then one with a green and red slim border. It was meant to be "mixed and matched" (for it was shown that way in the department stores). In 88, we went to England and visited the potteries (which were still at Stoke on Trent) and found ourselves in the RD factory outlet. There was the tartan -- cups, plates and saucers only.. I had been wanting Christmas china (I had been wanting Spode Christmas tree but DH didn't like it) and there it was -- DH liked the tartan so we bought. 8 cups, 8 plates and 8 saucers -- all for $8 (dollars not pounds). NOW, I guess I was just counting chairs for I only bought 8 at that ridiculous price! Why didn't I buy 24 sets? Well, I have increased it over the years to a set for 12 and since I didn't have dessert/salad plates, I found Lennox Holly on sale and eventually bought 24 of those. I must admit that it has stood the test of time for I still like it and even though it looks really like Christmas, I think it could be used at other times of the year. There was a period of time that it was pricey but it isn't so much anymore. (Although it is still way more than I paid for the originals).

My iPad was MIA but here is one of our family holiday tables ...

Anglophila and Peppapoodle, I had those same sterling goblets. My late mother would surely disown me because they were a gift from her, but they got carted to Goodwill in one of my "I hate to polish silver" moods. This year I cursed as I polished the sterling flatware, but once done it sure did look nice!

Those sterling goblets are trophies given at polo matches, won by my late uncle in the 1920's. Some where from the time he was stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco; a couple say "New York State Horse Show Polo". He was a Cavalry officer until near the beginning of WWII when the Cavalry became the Armored Division. He was a very fine equestrian - was sent by the Cavalry to Saumur, the French Cavalry School, and was an alternate on the US Equestrian Team to the Berlin 1938 Olympics. Sadly, he was badly wounded in his leg at the Battle of Kasserine Pass in N Africa during WWII and could never ride again. They're beautifully engraved and they tell quite a story.

Bonnie, I could cry that you took those goblets to Goodwill, but hope they found a loving home. I don't really mind polishing silver - I just get tired if I try to do it while standing. So, I hire my wonderful yard man to polish all my silver for me 3-4 times a year. I set it all out on the kitchen counters, he hauls it to the basement wash tubs, polishes and dries it all and brings it back upstairs. Well worth the money as I like lots of display silver and I want it GLEAMING!

You know, if you use your sterling flatware everyday, you will not need to polish it. I use mine - just who is coming to my house that is more important them me? Ha! The Queen isn't traveling these days! It sure makes canned soup and a grilled cheese sandwich a bit nicer!

What an incredible history associated with yours, Anglophilia!! Do you put your sterling silverware in the DW?

Ill have to ask about mine- given to us from DH's family. Maybe I should teach the man that helps us how to polish silver-- that's a great idea!

Bonnie, it must've been the best decision for you & your life. I'm sure my son will donate what he gets- I hope not. He's only grandchild on that side & will have quite a collection. Guess I need to do a better job of developing an appreciation for him.

You know, if you use your sterling flatware everyday, you will not need to polish it.

My mother gave me the same advice, and so I did use my silver everyday. 15 years and three kids later, I am missing ton of spoons, have a surfeit of knives, many of my forks have bent tines, and more than a few items were gnawed by a garbage disposal. I put it away and bought Laguoile for everyday. The irony is I also now have a set of my Mom's silver, and I keep it in a chest and use it for holidays.

OTOH, I like a warm patina to my silver, and that is hard to do if you store it and polish it right before you use it.

PS I put mine in the d/w and it is ok, but it depends on the silver, the water, your detergent, the d/w model and the cycle you use.

Anglo --- love the goblet back story!

mom2sulu, Thank you! I picked Juliska Winter Frolic because it was really a winter scene moreso than Christmas. We use them for 3 months of the year. I enjoy them so much! My mom has been adding to my collection. This year for Christmas she gave the ice cream/cereal bowls to me. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the Christmas morning table, but I will try to describe it. I had a traditional red tartan tablecloth on the table. I used a woodland santa and a whimsical reindeer as decorations. A vintage milkglass cake stand with a ruffled edge held the almond king cake. It was set up as a buffet, not a sit down breakfast, as we were busy unwrapping presents!

I use grandma's China and silver, but add rustic touches. We left the vintage crystal in the cabinet this year.

Happy Twelfth Night, or Night of the Three Kings! I am so late to this party, but I hope I can still add my pics. We host Christmas Day dinner here every year. This year we had fourteen, including three darling but very active little boys, aged 5, 4 and 15 mos. With them in mind, I created centerpieces for our 9 1/2 foot long dining room table that also had a 6-foot table set at one end making a T-shape. I didn't take pics of the entire set-up then, as I was pressed for time, but here is our table, minus the addition. My goal was to make the centerpieces kid-friendly, meaning semi-unbreakable, colorful and fun.

I made up 3 of these glass bowls and filled them with different Santas, snowmen, miniature sleds, reindeer, artificial snow, tiny twinkle lights, large battery-operated candles that the boys couldn't blow out (and yes, they did try-LOL).

But on Christmas Day, I moved the center bowl to the T-table and added my large, musical snow globe in it's place. The boys loved it. Close-up of it. It was too heavy for them to turn upside down and shake, but the boys had fun turning on the music.

This is my dinner dish set for the season:

I'm going to have to add the rest of the pics in my next post here.

For dinner we had various appetizers, Chateaubriand, a rich potato dish that my best friend made, several hot veggie dishes, to-die-for homemade rolls (made by best friend, who is a home ec teacher), wines, many desserts. hot mulled cider, etc.

These are the napkin/place cards I made/used:

I always drape the chandelier in greens, etc. Close-up of one of the bowls (above).

And on one wall of the dining room is a bookcase filled with Christmas books and toys. The boys had fun after dinner looking at the books. The doll near the bottom there is a very old one from Russia.