Pine Cone Christmas Table

I had my bridge buddies for lunch and after a bit of debating, this is the table I put together for them.

This was the inspiration for the tablescape.  This is a Bunswig and Fils fabric that I've had for a while.  I made it into runners for my Christmas table.  I really fussed with the main runner, using two different plain fabrics for trim, and such, but the two perpendicular

runners are more simple.  I love the pine needles and the cones, and the red transferware in this.  I have used it with transferware before, but I am going a different way here.

Yikes, did that charger ever photograph bright red!!! It is really a nice mellow, but not cranberry red.  You can see the main runner here.  Here's the place setting I used.  This dinner plate is from Crate and Barrel some time ago.  I've used this flatware over and over.  I honestly forget where I got the napkins, but aren't they great with this theme?  

I made these cute little place cards with a rubber stamp and then embossed it and added a tiny bow. 

Don't these glasses just make you drool?  They are not old, but I did get them at an antique shop in Cashiers, North Carolina when I was on a bridge trip with this very group of girls.

The bread and butter plate is from Pottery Barn, I think, but it's been several years.  These horn handled knives are antique.  They are really fruit knives, but I use them mostly for butter spreaders.

Here's the way it stacks up.

This centerpiece is so simple, but has won me great raves.  I took it to a church dinner and it was a big hit.  It's just pine cones, ornaments, silk hydrangeas, some small pieces of fresh greenery, and moss carefully placed in a cloche when it is upside down. After I flipped it, I surrounded it with moss.

The saucer is pretty neat.  I got it from Boxwoods in Atlanta.  It looks old, but it is not.

Here's a close-up.

These bark covered votives are from Pottery Barn last year.

Man, that charger is bugging me.  I promise that it wasn't that red.  This dessert dish is from Target and they have them right now in salad size and dinner size.  So perfect!

Aerial view.

Here's the whole table.  Hope you can't see the kitchen counters!!!!

I carried the theme into the guest bathroom. 

These sweet pine cone candles were a gift from my young newlywed friend.  (She must have learned the art of choosing the perfect gift from her mother.)

Caspari makes these hand towels.

Menu

Cranberry Spritzer ("Mistletoe Magic")

Pine Cone Cheese Ball

*Tomato-Avocado Ribbon Salad

*Seafood-Artichoke Casserole

*served over oven cooked rice

Honey/Dill Carrots

Rolls/Butter

Nancy's Coconut Cake

topped with white fondant pointsettia

*The casserole, rice, and salad are from a beautiful cookbook, "Susan Mason's Silver Service - Elegant Savannah Cuisine".  Susan is a caterer, so her recipes are great for fixing ahead.

It was a beautiful lunch with special friends.  It is so much fun to fix a meal for people who appreciate it.  Who's your most appreciative group of guests?