As I prepare my menu and table ideas for our upcoming holiday dinner, I have been thinking about my mother and all the table arrangements she made over the years. Above is just one example where a picture was taken of the table before a dinner party. For our holiday dinners my mother would go out into our yard and clip evergreen branches and holly branches. She would add to this a few ornaments or store bought roses. As I remembered these details, I decided to make a table arrangement this year.
Long ago I had seen a succulent wreath made by a local botanical garden. I remember being impressed and thinking I would like to try and make one like it. This time of year is not ideal for such an idea, however, when I saw a sphagnum moss wreath for sale, I became interested in the idea again. I was able to get succulent clipping sent to me from an online source. They were not like I expected them to be, so I am unsure of how successful the growing process will be. The looks of the wreath are not bad, and I will try again next year. I see it as a learning process and I am a beginner.
I decided that in order to be a holiday dinner arrangement I would need to add more seasonal items, so I went out into my yard to see what I could find. I was surprised and delighted to see that the holly bush in our front yard (that I had never been able to successfully eradicate) had grown tall because of my neglect, and was full of red berries!
After completing this I began to think about how I would set the table. I had inherited wooden plates which will work well as a base for more decorative holiday plates. I am still working on the table at this point. Here is a table setting idea. I will continue to work on more ideas. Hopefully when the table is all set for our dinner, I will update with a better picture. I just learned this week that “tablescaping” is the word used these days for making centerpieces and coordinating dinnerware. There are a lot of great ideas out on the internet.
P.S. I have a clear vinyl tablecloth protector over the cloth. This should be removed before a formal dinner, however with my family, I might keep it on.
Update 12/21/23 — The succulents are growing, and it receives bright early morning sun which makes the wreath have a lovely glow!
movingforwardslowly 