Holiday Table Inspiration
As a member of the Silicon Valley chapter of NACE ( the National Association of Catering and Events) I was fortunate enough to be involved in our holiday inspiration theme for the October meeting. The idea was to design a table that would inspire our members with holiday table ideas for their clients and for their homes. We had five tables, each designed around their own theme: Christmas, the Holidays, Winter Wonderland, Thanksgiving, and Halloween.
I chose to do a table themed around the holidays and I pulled inspiration from a party I threw for my husband last December when he graduated from the University of San Francisco. USF’s colors are green, gold, and white which makes for a perfect holiday palette. I chose to layer different shades of gold with the linen, chiavari chairs, chargers, flatware, and china creating a very warm and luxurious effect.
I chose to use a deep forest green accent in the printed menus, place cards, and lamour napkins.
I also wanted to incorporate a personal touch: since my inspiration came from my husband’s college graduation, I asked myself, “what do college age adults do around the holidays?” The answer: they come home and spend time with their families. To my husband and I that means curling up by the fire with our parents and siblings watching classic holiday movies like “Miracle on 34th Street, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “White Christmas”, and “Charlie Brown Christmas”. With that in mind I made a place card for each of our favorite characters and they were the guests of honor at my inspiration table.
Some other personal elements worth mentioning would be the vintage frame that I incorporated as part of the centerpiece. This frame used to hold a picture of my great grandmother on her wedding day until most recently it hung on a photo booth wall that my uncle custom made for my wedding. It is now a design element that has deep sentimental meaning and brought a feeling of “home” to my table.
Lastly, I incorporated a DIY project, which I will be blogging about shortly, and that is the white and gold tipped antlers. I loved the idea of incorporating something that in its natural state was very rustic, but had been transformed into something glamorous. I loved the outcome, and my only regret was not having more gold tipped antlers to incorporate into the design.
I would like to thank my sponsors:
Napa Valley Linens
Stuart Rentals
Three Sisters Floral
Penny Ann Designs
Miranda St. John Party Rentals
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