Setting the christmas table and table gifts for guests

dragonlily

Thanks so much, some brilliant thoughts! I really appreciate it

If you have time some tea lights in jam jars look quite effective if the jars are spayed with etching spray. I've also sprayed holly from the garden silver and popped it in a vase with some assorted greenery. amazing how good it looks although I think my star centrepiece was a very plain cylindrical glass vase with white lillies and green energy shoved into some oasis and cranberries poured into the vase which covered the oasis. It got lots of attention and was dirt cheap.

Sorry to be really dim but what is green energy and what is oasis?? Finally what is etching spray? I so need to get clued up lol x

Scottishminnie, your ideas are super. Thanks for the ip too boy the dishwasher, we do use liquid so will brave it and try! xx

A simple decoration I'm doing this year is putting tea lights in some small jars (jam/sauce, etc). I'm decorating them with frosting and I'm going to add some garden twine and a few leaves of holly and yew, I can pick from my neighbourhood. I'm going to put these on a silver tray I have as the centre piece of the table.

Saving pennies, loving the idea of jam jars x

scottishminnie

dragonlily wrote: »

Thanks so much, some brilliant thoughts! I really appreciate it




Sorry to be really dim but what is green energy and what is oasis?? Finally what is etching spray? I so need to get clued up lol x

Scottishminnie, your ideas are super. Thanks for the ip too boy the dishwasher, we do use liquid so will brave it and try! xx



Saving pennies, loving the idea of jam jars x

You aren't being dim, I should have read my thread before posting to make sure the auto spell check hadn't changed any words!

The green energy should have said greenery:o I go round the garden snipping leaves off various bushes. Anything which is still green at this time of year petty much works. Oasis is a block of green foam type material you can buy in florists, craft shops or garden centres. You cut it to fit the vase or dish you want to use for your flower arrangement and soak it in water. It then softens and you can use it to hold the flowers and leaves in place by poking the stems into it. Can make the simplest flowers look really professional.

Etching spray comes in an aerosol can (think the likes of B&Q would have it) and once sprayed on glass it covers it with a sort of frosty look. Like a car window on a frosty morning. If you cover bits of the glass first with masking tape the spray doesn't cover that bit and you can make patterned frosted jars.

I'm not terribly good at explaining so I'll see if I can find a couple of links showing them.

Ok - here is a decent example of using the etching spray to make candle holders (or luminaries to use the posh name!)

http://mysimplegifts.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/solar-luminaries-look-ma-no-flames.html

And some oasis (comes in all shapes and sizes)

http://www.oasisfloral.co.uk/oasis-ideal-mini-60-floral-foam-brick

SailorSam

I'll have a tray in front of the telly.

clickerty-click

Another vote for the sheet table cloth along with a table runner.
With regards to your table decorations think how much space you will have available with 10 place settings. If you have the space to spare a tiered cake stand with fruit and baubles is quite simple to put together and cost effective as you just use whatever you have to hand.
If the only purpose for the table gifts is to mark place settings a gift tag tied to one end of your cracker with the persons name on should do the trick.

polr

dragonlily wrote: »

I'd like to do a little table gift for each person as a place holder with their name on a tag. Has anybody done anything like that or any ideas. Would be ok spending about £3.00 per person.
x

I like to make my own crackers so it's a customised and useful gift. I got the makings of the crackers in Oxfam last Jan (about £1 inseats of £3) which is enough for 6 crackers (outer, hat and joke).

For £3 you'd probably be able to fill with an alcoholic minature or if you went to Home Bargains you'd get packs of 3 Forrero Rocher (spelling?) for under £1 each. For kids you could get hairslides there - I got Minnie Mouse for 50p a pack or you could get santa chocs etc

Reminds me, I need to make mine!