Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Eve Dinner

Welcome to Christmas Eve dinner at the Gazebo House!

We had my daughter, her husband and my three grandchildren join us

along with my husband's son & wife who are visiting from Australia.

We sat five adults at the dining room table, shown here and

I was happy to be at the children's table with all my grands around me.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures of that one.

I used the same dishes but a different centerpiece.






I used my Lenox Eternal china on red chargers

along with the Presentation salad plates by Lenox

and their Eternal Christmas soup bowls and bread plates.




I made herb encrusted beef tenderloin

with a horseradish-dill sauce,


buttery mashed potatoes and salad with various choices of dressings.

I served Dijon vinaigrette marinated green beans in the crystal bowl shown above.





A close up view of the Eternal Christmas soup bowl.

You can see some of the scalloped ribbon

design on the salad plate.

I think they look like little wrapped packages

with their bow at the top!






I've had the French horn centerpiece for years

but this is the first time I've used little French horn

ornaments as napkin rings.

My grandson, Charlie, kept trying to toot his but it didn't work!



The napkins have some of the words from the

almost 1000 year old song, The Holly and the Ivy

written in gold script.






♫ The holly and the ivy, ♫
When they are both full grown,
Of all trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown:
O, the rising of the sun,
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.

The holly bears a blossom,
As white as lily flow'r,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
To be our dear Saviour: Refrain
The holly bears a berry,
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
To do poor sinners good: Refrain ♫

The holly bears a prickle,
As sharp as any thorn,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
On Christmas Day in the morn: Refrain ♫

The holly bears a bark,
As bitter as the gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
For to redeem us all: Refrain ♫

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown: Refrain ♫






The tablecloth with the gold embroidery and cutwork

was purchased last year at Tuesday Morning, on clearance.

I was very disappointed in how it wouldn't lay flat

around the areas of the cutwork.

I also managed to get a scorch mark on it

from a spark when I blew out the candles.

"C'est la vie"


This sofa table was moved to the wall where the big mirror previously hung.

I set all the desserts up in this area, along with some Christmas tea.


These pieces are some of my collection of Christmas Fitz & Floyd.

They were featured on the cover of the December issue of

Southern Living magazine in 2000, the same year I purchased most of them.

I saved that issue!





These were ALL filled with cookies.

Now they are half empty!







The ivory sleigh I've had for years but I just found the matching

Santa this year at Home Goods.

Next year, I think I will try to sew up a sack & fill it with miniature

presents to display in the sleigh instead of just greens.



Last but certainly not least, is my handmade creche,

that I cherish.

This was a gift from my sister in law in 1978

when she took a ceramics class.
















May the warm glow of this holiday season remain with you

throughout the coming New Year!



16 comments:

  1. What a beautiful tablescape!

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  2. Rett that looks so beautiful! Is that a spode tiered dessert dish I see?? Hope you enjoyed your Christnmas and Hope your DH is feeling better. Happy New Year

    Hugs

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  3. How lovely and elegant your table is.
    Merry Christmas!

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  4. What a beautiful, elegant table!! LOVE the horn centerpiece and napkin rings. Merry Christmas!!

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  5. Simply elegant tablescape!!! The red chargers are beautiful with your eternal christmas pieces. Glad to read that someone else also saves their old sl magazines- currently going through and ripping out what i like and pitching the rest. Beautiful creche - I can see why you cherish it!

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  6. I love the red chargers with your classic Lenox china. What an elegant tablescape! --Delores

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  7. HI!!!
    What an amazing table you sat!!! How special for such a special day!!! So happy the entire family was there, makes the day complete!!!!The meal sounded so good, we did not go all out, luckily, as I ended up very sick Christmas eve, still feel sick today not as bad, I think I have a severe sinus infection.Head, ears and throat are so sore!!! Head felt the worse!!!!
    hugs,
    jamie

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  8. Rett, this is a beautiful table. The scalloped ribbon design on the salads is the perfect touch for a celebration, and I know you had a lot to celebrate this year. So happy to know that your husband is home from the hospital and that his son and family were here from Australia. Blessings dear one! ~ Sarah

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  9. Rett
    this is your mmost beautiful table yet!! Everything is so elegant and festive!!!
    hugs
    sara

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  10. How lovely, Rett! So glad you had a good holiday, and your decor is proof positive it was perfect for your guests!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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  11. That looks beautiful, Rett! And it is the first time I have ever seen anyone use Eternal Christmas. I have service for 16 of that..discontinued so very hard to come by.
    I love it..
    Your house looks so festive..and yes, that 4 letter word..not a fave of mine!
    Happy 2010!

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  12. Your tablescapes and pictures of your home are beautiful and provide great enjoyment for your readers! Do you know which Fitz and Floyd Christmas pattern you have collected? I love the neutral palette but have difficulty finding that. Thanks!

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  13. Thanks so much for becoming a Follower.

    I love your Christmas Eve table! The French horn napkin rings bring it all together. I can just picture your grandson trying to blow the horn!

    Your Fitz and Floyd collection is amazing. Looking forward to seeing more in the New Year.

    - The Tablescaper

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  14. I just happened upon your blog and wanted to let you know how beautiful your home is. I can't wait to dig through your archives and see more. Your Christmas table settings are gorgeous.

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  15. I just happened upon your blog and wanted to let you know how beautiful your home is. I can't wait to dig through your archives and see more. Your Christmas table settings are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I read them all & each one is so very special to me & I try really hard to return the visit!

fondly,
~Rett~