Home for the Holidays Experience

Home for the Holidays Experience
(This recipe is part of "Home for the Holidays Experience")

The Joy of the Holidays

I LOVE the holidays. I love the hustle and bustle and the buzz that it brings. I LOVE the shopping and Christmas music that plays over the store speakers. I LOVE the parties, the get-togethers, the feasting and stories that are told around the table. I LOVE the snowy winter wonderland and cozying around a fireplace with Caramel Apple Hot Toddies or Homemade Aged Eggnog.

Home for the Holidays Experience

New Dinnerware for the Holidays

I’ve been in planning mode for a bit. I’ve been shopping these past few months and I have to confess that I splurged a little on table settings for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s been probably 10 years since I purchased dinnerware for a holiday meal. And those were all conveniently white in order to accommodate the table year round. Don’t get me wrong, I adore white dinnerware. There is so much you can do with it. But every once in a while, I have to break out of my simplicity. Color and fun seem to add a little excitement to my life.

Home for the Holidays Experience

Breaking out of My "Cheap" Mentality

I always thought it a little extravagant to have a table setting for just one season. But this year, I gave myself permission to be a little more fanciful. I’ve been stretching beyond my frugal (or should I say cheap?) mentality and venturing into a new realm of treating myself every once in a while.

Home for the Holidays Experience - Thanksgiving Table Setting

This year, for Thanksgiving I went with a leafy design and gorgeous Fall colors. It has a warm feel to it. I could've highlighted any one of those colors - green, yellow, red or orange, but in the end, I pulled in the orange tones. I found the dinnerware on sale (yay!) at Pier One. And no, they are not paying me to say that. I just fell in love with them and the next thing I knew, I was walking out of the store with two extremely heavy bags of breakables.

Home for the Holidays Experience

Home for the Holidays Experience - Christmas Table Setting

For Christmas, I went with an elegant yet simple feel - black, silver, and white. It’s like that perfect black dress you pull from your closet then add a string of pearls around your neck. Nothing fancy, just completely classy and striking.

Finding the Right Pieces

I had in my head what I wanted it to look like. I went all over the universe for two solid days, trying to find matte (not shiny) black plates. I thought it so odd that no-one had what I was looking for. Until, thank goodness, I ended up at World Market. Lo, and behold, there they were sitting so quietly on that shelf. I believe I heard angels from on high singing at that very moment. 20% off and then another 20%. How could I walk away? Well, I didn’t. Again, I left the store with two extremely heavy bags of breakables.

You’ll notice in the photos that I found classic white plates with Christmas words elegantly displayed around the rim. I added small white appetizer plates (the 10-year-old ones) to the collection and topped the whole arrangement with black mini Dutch ovens. It’s exactly what I saw in my head. I love it when that happens.

So… my pocketbook is a little less fat this season. But, hey, I am happy and sassy about my purchases. And my table is going to bring in a few new “wows!!" this year.

Non-Traditional Menus

I have several wonderful recipes to share with you this “Home for the Holiday” Experience. I went with more non-traditional main dishes. Click on the photos below for some fabulous recipes.