Cupcakes, anyone?

For this, my second tablescape of the Christmas season, I have opted to go with a more casual look, using everyday plain white dinnerware because it is not always necessary to have fine china in order to set a festive table.  This setting would be quite suitable for weekday family dinners over the holidays or for casual dinner parties where you don’t want the look to be too fussy and overstated.

The centerpiece consists of three separate arrangements of carnations to look like iced cupcakes with a red cherry carnation on top.  I have left the three arrangements together because my dining table is not large.  They can, however, be separated and dispersed down the length of the table.  To complete the look, I simply added some of my favorite Christmas balls and a couple of decorative votives and, voila, a simple yet attractive centerpiece.

I like these little votives for tealights.  They are very versatile.

These are some of the Christmas decorations that hang on my living room tree and, of course, I always buy extras to place here and there throughout the house to tie the look together.  I often use them in my holiday tablesettings.

 Below is a top view of the cupcake tablescape.

 
For this setting, I decided to just use a runner down the center of the table instead of a full tablecloth.  Keeping the wood of the table exposed lends itself to a casual setting.  For each place setting, I used Christmas poinsettia placemats that work well with the poincettia-themed napkins.  These hard placemats are great because they can easily be wiped off and they protect the table from hot plates.  This is particularly important to consider when opting not to use a full tablecloth with a protective table pad underneath.  If you are going to be serving a hot meal, I recommend these ‘board’ placemats.

 

 
Typically, I tend to use plain-colored napkins.  However, because I was setting this table with plain white dinnerware, I chose napkins with a seasonal pattern of burgundy and green because there was nothing on the table that they would clash with and I thought they would add a splash of color to each white place setting.  If I had used plain white napkins on a white plate that sat on a mostly off-white placemat, the placesetting would have gotten lost.  The napkin fold I used is called the “wave”.  It is a simple fold in keeping with the simplistic setting.  It also works well with the entire tablescape which is low.  I then placed the cutlery on top of the napkin, giving the setting a more informal and relaxed look.

 

 
This is a great setting to use when the event calls for understated, more casual dining.