I am excited to share some Holiday Entertaining ideas with y’all! This year Tyler and I hosted our first Thanksgiving in our little 1950’s cape cod home in Ohio. I was thrilled and honored to host, but so stressed to think where I would fit everyone along with all of the delicious dishes.
I don’t think EVERYONE has the ideal home to entertain in and not everyone likes to do a formal tablescape, so I hope my tips help and inspire you to invite people into your “not ideal home”.
I started about 3 weeks ago running up to Target, Pottery Barn & Hobby Lobby to start planning. I knew I wanted to use really nice cloth/linen napkins and dishes that can mix with any holiday. I went with THESE cloth napkins from Pottery Barn and Robert Stanly white dishes with a tiny gold rim on them from Hobby Lobby to be versatile for every occasion. I scored them at $3.99 a plate, plus 50% off each! HECK YES.
I REALLY hate plastic flatware. I just can’t stand eating with it honestly, let alone have family using it for the biggest feast of the year, so I searched. Of course Target delivered, once again. I grabbed THESE forks, knives and spoons. Seriously, for $2 a piece, they are awesome! Also, my salt & paper shakers are HERE.
I really enjoy natural elements for a centerpiece. Candles and greenery are just lovely and packs a big punch. I went to a local floral store and picked up some Douglas Fir and seeded eucalyptus. I think it turned out beautiful and smelled wonderful. I had seen a friend decorate with oranges and loved the idea, so I added them to the table! Henry even dug in and peeled one.
Before you start setting up for a party, DECLUTTER! I like to clean off my counters and put things away in a box and hide it in a room or the basement. Meaning- put away the toaster, blender, basket of papers anything that you don’t need for the party and that is taking up precious counter space and doesn’t feel or look good.
I have two dining areas in our home. We have converted the front living room into a “formal dining” since we love to entertain. (We have a big den off the back of the house and a finished basement) so to have another living space didn’t make since. I had 7 people in that room, 4 at our round breakfast table and set up a pop up table in the den with 8 of THESE gold bamboo chairs that I seriously loving having on hand. They just look SO much better than metal fold up chairs.
Create a station for everything! Think of your home as little vignettes. A station to get drinks. A station to get desserts. It’s helps with the flow of things.
Thank you all for stoping by to check out my first post and to learn about how I entertain in our small space!
Xo,
Blair
BLAIR GEORGE 