Holiday Progressive Dinner Party Blog Tour: Holiday Entertaining & Tablescape Tips

‘Tis the season of blog hops, y’all!  As a home decor blogger, I love to inspire others with my ideas, but also find and share inspiration, too.  Therefore, I am joining some of my talented home decor blogger friends to bring all the holiday tablescape creativity in our Holiday Progressive Dinner Party Blog Tour.  At the end of the post, I will link the super these super creative bloggers on the home tour, so you can soak up all the holiday inspiration that you need to host your own holiday party this year.

Now, let’s take a look at my fun and festive holiday tablescape.  By request of my family, I have decked the halls with traditional Christmas colors and fun holiday plates and dishes.  I have a crush on vintage Santa; he is so charming! Of course, he is always invited to my holiday party.  The vintage Santa set really inspired me to just have a really fun tablescape with traditional reds and greens this year.

My husband’s grandmother that was lovingly called ‘TaTa’  had a vintage Santa mug set that was always on display at her annual Christmas Eve party. Later on, my mother in law inherited the set when she passed away a few years ago.  It is a family favorite to see during the holidays.  When my mother in law and I were antique shopping, we found a very similar set.  She was nice enough to gift it to me so that I could have a reminder of Tata in our home.  It is memories like these that make the holidays the most wonderful time of the year.

Holiday Entertaining and Tablescape Tips

What’s that smell?

I love how smells can bring back memories, so I always want my home to smell amazing.  Whether it is the aroma coming from the kitchen, holiday scented candles, or fresh garland and flowers, the nose knows!  For instance, pick up some fresh flowers to make the room feel alive, or add a few sprigs of fresh greenery in with your faux garland.  Burn holiday scented candles, but be careful not to use the strong scented candles in respect of guest’s with sensitivities.

Holiday Entertaining Tip: Use candles, fresh flowers and greenery to make your home feel inviting. 

Set the table prior to your party!

Pick a theme for your tablescape and have fun creating an eye catching centerpiece for your tablescape. Whether your style is elegant or casual, do what makes you feel happy!  I used plaid wrapping paper as an inexpensive alternative to linen tablecloths and layered it with a narrower Kraft paper.  Both papers are available at most craft stores or Walmart and Target.  With a calligraphy pen, I added a holiday greeting on both ends of the Kraft paper. I love to personalize my decor so that it is unique, but do so with inexpensive items and fun DIYs. Next, I added greenery, strands of red and white beads and vintage inspired post cards along the center of the table.  Then, I added glass cake stands and jars made into ‘snowglobes.’  It is a simple project using my collection of holiday bottle brush trees and collectibles and a little faux snow.

Tablescape Tip: Start with a tablecloth, table runner or placemats.  They soften the look of your table and provide a good base for a centerpiece or place settings.

Tablescape Tip: Try a few DIYs to personalize your decor. 

Tablescape Tip: Think outside the box. For example, I loved these kitchen towels so much that I decided to use them as napkins.  Plus, I repurposed these trays as chargers.  Mini stockings make cute silverware holders, too! What items do you own that could be repurposed into something fun and functional for your holiday tablescapes.

What’s on the Menu?

When our family gathers for holidays, we all bring a dish, so that we can all enjoy each other’s favorite recipes and not put too much pressure on the host.  Buffet style meals are served on the kitchen island with self serve drink stations near the sink.  Keep it casual for family and friends to enjoy themselves!  We usually decide on a menu ahead of time, and allow everyone to bring a side dish or dessert. Here, I included a hot cocoa bar with the dessert bar.  I laid out all my holiday serving platters and dishes so that they can quickly be filled with delicious treats before the party.

Holiday Entertaining Tip: Plan out your menu ahead of time.  Don’t be afraid to ask local guests to bring something to share.

Holiday Entertaining Tip: Set out serving dishes ahead of time. If they are pretty or holiday themed, they become instant decor.

Set up a holiday drink station or hot cocoa bar!

Besides a drink station with sweet tea, (it’s the south, y’all), I like to set up a festive drink station out of the kitchen where guests can gather before or after dinner.  If you are hosting a holiday party for adults, you can serve adult beverages on a bar cart or side table.  But around here, we keep it kid friendly and serve hot cocoa all month long.  If you love hot cocoa bars like I do, I created a Pinterest board full of cute inspiration that you can check out, here.  You can check out more pictures of our hot cocoa bar, here, that I shared for a Merry and Bright Home Tour.  Most importantly, cheers to a happy holiday season!

Holiday Entertaining Tip: Create stations for the meal, drinks and a dessert bar. Serve the main meal in the kitchen, but set up snack bars (appetizers, desserts) or drink stations outside of the work area to make guests feel welcome.

I hope you have enjoyed all my holiday entertaining and tablescape tips.  If you have some favorite ideas to share, leave me a comment.  I would love to hear from you!

Y’all, I have some amazing friends!  Just look at those beautiful tablescapes!  As a result, I am stealing all their ideas!  Let the tour continue by stopping by Maui in My Heart, the elegant home of my instagram friend Debbie! Don’t forget to Pin these to your holiday tablescape Pinterest board!  I know I will!

Sarah Sofia Productions | Cuter Tudor | Maui In My Heart

Worthing Court| Lemons To Lovelys

The Pickled Rose | Gratefully Vintage | Wool and Vine Design

Amy Williams

Related posts:

July 4th Tablescape Tips that Transcend any Holiday Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour: A Cozy Living Room for Christmas Tips to Create a Cozy Holiday Home Sponsored by Mohawk Rugs Christmas Home Tour Blog Hop: A Cozy Christmas Living Room