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Several months ago I found a lovely set of Christmas dishes at Goodwill – service for 8, in a pattern called Woodland Santa by artist/illustrator Debbie Mumm. I purchased four of each piece and knew I would be doing a woodland-themed tablescape with them! What I love about this set is that the various plates complement each other rather than match, and the salad plates each feature a picture of Santa doing chores out in the woods! They are simply adorable! So here is the table I set with them.

I didn’t use a tablecloth for this one because the pine top of my table makes a nice backdrop for a “woodsy” table. Instead I chose these sweet denim placemats with plaid trim. I thought the denim suggested the “dungarees” Santa would most likely be wearing if he was outside doing chores! While the apple is not a traditional Christmas motif, it’s mostly covered by the plates so it wasn’t a key part of the table.

The place setting keeps the salad plates hidden until you take your seat and remove your napkin from the twig-and-berry ring. That way you get to enjoy the little surprise of discovering which “chore” your Santa is doing.

Here are each of the salad plates, showing Santa hard at work chopping wood, hanging bird houses, making garland, and feeding the animals.

The dinner plate has a beautiful rim featuring acorns, pine cones, red berries, and greenery.

The salad and bread plates feature a simple checked border with clusters of acorns or pine cones. Here are the edges so you can see them together.

We’ll be enjoying both an iced beverage and a cup of coffee for this meal so I’ve provided pink Whitehall tumblers by Indiana Glass which pull their color from the border of the dinner plate… and denim-blue coffee mugs that again echo Santa’s hard-working outfit!

Flatware is “Chandelier” by Oneida – the pattern my grandmother gifted to me a few decades ago.

For our centerpiece, I laid a bed of faux greenery and then nestled in a piece of driftwood, plus pine cones, acorns, and other natural bits I collected during my woods walk back in October.

And, because one of Santa’s chores is feeding the woodland critters, I included a few sweet birds as well. Finally, I added a few of my favorite shimmery pine cone and acorn ornaments right from the Christmas tree that sits on my sideboard table.

Here are a few more views around the table…

… a bird’s-eye view…

… and the put-away shot, with everything gathered up and waiting to go back into the cupboards.

I would love to hear about your Christmas table – what dinnerware did you use? Did you do a special centerpiece? Also, I’d love it if you would join me over on my Facebook Group, Thrifty Tablescapers! We are so far a very small group sharing pictures and ideas for setting pretty tables on a budget.

Finally, here is an image you can use for Pinterest if you would like to “pin” this tablescape for future ideas.

I’m sharing my Woodland Santa tablescape for Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch! 

Christmas is almost here! If you come by for lunch I promise we will use this pretty tablescape featuring sets of very very vintage (maybe almost antique!) red and green transferware! Oh friends, I struggled so much bringing this simple table together – but I’m happy to report it turned out just lovely.

Why the struggle? I knew I wanted to use the red and green together, but when I set the table by just alternating colors at each place setting, it looked very sparse. Pretty, but sparse. Once I brought out more pieces, though, and actually layered them, well that’s when it hit me: I’ve been spoiled by stacking! Meaning, I have now done so many tables with layered plates that suddenly single layers can seem like they are unfinished! LOL

I hope you will agree that the red and green are perfect for a small Christmas luncheon!

Our plates come from two different sets: red “Shannondale” by Ridgways of England, and green “Roxbury” by Alfred Meakin, also of England.

Here is a better view of the Roxbury –

And the Shannondale dinner plate –

The tablecloth is a very light pink and was a garage sale find this year. I should have ironed it – I actually do not own a regular ironing board, and my present iron does not have a non-stick surface, so I was reluctant to try. I alternated napkins in a very light green and light cream color – they are by Pier 1. I would have liked to have done all green – alas, I only have two of those on hand, thus the need to bring in another color. The napkin rings were a flea market find; I love that they echo the red from the plates and evoke a bit of Christmas with the star motif. (They also sort of look like the drums used in a marching band – Fourth of July table, perhaps?)

Flatware is genuine silverware via this past summer’s flea market trips, and drinkware is thrifted crystal (possibly Waterford? I’m not sure).

Our centerpiece is very simple – a Shannondale bowl filled with silk tussy-mussies and a few Christmas baubles. There is also a different pattern used for the butter plate (with silver server) – it is stamped on the bottom, “English Ironstone England.” I love the home depicted in the center – it is quite charming! The plate itself is actually a saucer; I would love to find the teacup that goes with it.

Here are a few more views –

Finally, here is the “mood board” or put-away shot for this table. I love how pretty everything looks when gathered together like this!

Are you serving up any special Christmas brunches or luncheons? Will you be hosting a Christmas dinner in your home? I’d love to know your plans!

I am sharing this sweet luncheon table for Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch.

Here is an image to Pin in case you would like to save this post for future inspiration!