The Easiest (And Cheapest!) Ways to Upgrade Your Holiday Table

It’s dinner party season, people. I’m here to give you a few inexpensive ideas to jazz up your holiday table and make the most out of this rare occasion where we all put down our phones (hopefully), drink too much holiday punch, and linger with friends, over an absurd amount of delicious food.

Name Cards

Nothing says ~sexy socialite with discretionary income~ quite like fancy place setting cards for your guests. Luckily, if you set aside a little bit of time, these can be extremely easy to make and really act as the “frosting” atop your holiday table. After quickly sketching out what I wanted my cards to look like and what color scheme I would be pursuing, I headed over to the craft supply store and purchased heavy-ish weight paper stock, in white satin and silvery grey. Each sheet costs about .20 cents, so no excuses here. Materials are CHEAP. You could buy the pre-made name cards which are typically found in the bridal aisle, but I prefer to cut my own and further validate the design degree I’ve got, in ways other than sitting in my cube at my 9-5. Simply measure the size of the cards you’d like, cut with an X-Acto knife or scissor, and fold. (If you want the cards to stand on their own at each setting, simply double the height of the card that you want since they will be folded in half.) In addition to the paper, I picked up sparkle ribbon to cross each card with, mini adhesive pearls and small tags on which to write each person’s name. Pinterest is a wonderful resource for name card ideas/inspiration. These are easy & beautiful, so give them a whirl!

Chargers

Pick up a set of these bad boys — the decorative plates that go under your real plate — to go on each place setting. Again, craft stores usually sell each chargers for $2-$3 a piece and you can reuse them until they begin to breakdown…and they’re plastic, so basically UNTIL FOREVER. Good investment here. I picked up mine in silver. Chargers act as the divider between the place setting and the tablecloth and add an additional layer of color and give each setting an ~elaborate~ yet tasteful look.

Pinecones

Now if you live somewhere where you have access to FREE pinecones via the conifer tree in your backyard, this is the time of the year where they will start to drop off. All one must do is,  A.) put on a red cape B.) grab yourself a wooden basket C.) frolic, never walk. But seriously, I collect a ton of these from my backyard for our holiday table and they smell great and add a natural touch to an otherwise glitzy looking table. If you need to, you can pick up a bag of pinecones for around $2 at your local craft store, which usually sell them by the bundle. If you felt so inclined, you could spray the pinecones with glitter spray paint, which adds a lovely touch. It looks especially beautiful near candles in the evening, where the glow from the flame casts a beautiful warm halo of light around everything.

Candles

This one seems trite, but candles set a tone that is elegant and relaxed. A lot of the time your holiday table is groaning under the weight of so many savory dishes, that decorations gets brushed aside or moved to make room for the different dishes. At my house, after doing an initial pass of all the dishes as they comes out of the oven, we set up a small, long table near the back of the dining room, where we can set down most of the dishes. (We leave the essentials on the table, like gravy, cranberry sauce, etc.) This allows the decorations on the table, such as pinecones, candles and anything else you may have added, to remain there throughout the course of the meal.

There you have it! All the toolz to upgrade your ~*hOliDaY tAblE*~.

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