As December approaches we start thinking about our Christmas dinner parties, planning who to invite, what to cook, what drinks to serve, what music to play and something we’re going to focus on here – how to dress the table. We think this is a key ingredient to creating the perfect ambience for a festive feast from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day.
Christmas is the time to go to town with tablescaping and sets the scene for sharing special moments with loved ones. So where to start? Well let’s get creative together as you take a seat at our Christmas dining guide:
Colour Schemes
Picking a colour scheme for your festive dining table will give the ultimate sophistication. Perhaps align it with the rest of your room décor or look to your Christmas tree for inspo.
Here’s a few ideas if you’re still struggling to decide:
Zen-Like Feels
Be in touch with nature by bringing the freshness & beauty of the great outdoor to your table with natural garlands, calming colours, tactile textures and handmade craftsThe Traditionalist
We’re talking forest greens, berry red, rich plumb and raspberry shades. A touch of gold and maybe a heritage checkered cloth would be a lovely finishing touch to your traditional settingMagical Monochrome
Simple but striking. A metallic touch will give the look a lift and create a crisp, bold, contemporary statement ready for the arrival of your dinner guestsA Fun Feast
For something that suits all ages bring some fun into your home with rainbow brights, pretty pastels or cute character themed tableware – it will definitely have the fun factor!Create A Centrepiece
A centrepiece is central (quite literally!) to a showstopping Christmas table. When setting the table this needs to be the starting point. You can lay a table runner along the table as the base and layer up from there firstly with the centrepiece followed by the addition of small eye-catching pieces for the place settings.
For the centrepiece, perhaps a garland or wreath dressed with seasonal foliage and pine cones, possibly wrapped with fairy lights for a more modern look.
Candles also make a wonderful centrepiece. Creating a candlescape of different size vessels alongside Christmas foliage (placed with candle safety in mind!!), will add a warming glow to the table and the scents will lift the whole ambience. We have given you some suggestion at the end of this article to help you create your personal candle garden.
From the centrepiece you can add all the lovely finishing touches
Spoil Your Guests
I know it’s rare for us to entertain in a formal way but it’s Christmas so go for it! Search out the cotton napkins (with a festive ring of course!), finest cutlery and crockery you never use, if you don’t do it at Christmas, when will you! If you have little ones, make them feel special too with some fun, festive dinnerware sporting candy canes, nutcracker dolls, snowflakes, snowmen, stars (you get the idea!) We promise, your guests will be so impressed with the extra effort you’ve gone to for their night with you.
Placecards
You might think – why? But honestly, you’ll guarantee more mingling amongst the guests with some strategically placed name cards and may even help ensure Christmas dinner parties remain drama free! We love using small Christmas baubles and decorations with a small paper tag so they can be taken home as a keepsake
Christmas Favours
Welcome your guests to their places with a cracker, small ornament or a gift – perhaps homemade bakes, handcrafted bon bons or a Christmas posy. It definitely will make them feel special and help get the party started with a pull of the crackers
Christmas Candle Advice
We invite you to experience Apsley’s festive spirit at your Christmas Dinner Parties and get-togethers with a few of our top pick Christmas candles .
Here at Apsley and Company we pride ourselves on creating collections for all tastes, personalities and occasions. With over 200 home fragrances available, we feel sure you will find something you love or would love to give as a gift this Christmas. Our premium soy wax candles are encased in a range of beautiful vessels with Apsley’s opulent hand-blown glass, Abode Aroma’s art deco inspired cut crystal glass and Scented Space ’s classic range of vegan leather, metallic glass and botanical candles
Scented Space Botanical Candles – For the ‘Zen Like Vibes’ table setting there can be nothing better than a botanical candle. We have created beautifully fragranced 900g pillar candles and 1.3kg rectangular candles decorated with hand placed botanical elements for you and your guests to enjoy. This year we’ve crafted a charming glazed ceramic plate decorated with stylish edging for you to present your candle on.
For the ‘Traditionalist’ we have a few options for you which can either be standalone pieces or grouped together for a wonderful showstopper of a candlescape centrepiece!
Scented Space Scarlett Candle – a candle that is regal in design with its rich scarlet red tinted glass, gold rim and intoxicating blend of sparkling prosecco, Seville orange and French vanilla. It is the perfect fragrant addition to a Christmas stocking, family gathering or cocktail party. Also, a winning teacher gift – so much better than chocolates. Cheers!
Scented Space Celebrate Candles – a collection of candles that offer a classic yet contemporary stylized approach to Christmas with the addition of a few sumptuous gems of festive character. Our Celebrate range of candles are perfect for bringing Christmas to any dinner party without overwhelming your space. Our gold candles were so loved last year we’ve introduced angelic silver candles for 2023!
Scented Space Spiced Orange Candle – This limited edition Christmas fragrance has been crafted to make your seasonal celebrations even more special. Spiced Orange brings ‘all things festive’ into your home with its comforting notes of exotic spices and warming mandarin. The gold mercury metallic glass sparkles, enhancing the evening’s festive ambiance. And as we all deserve a bit of indulgence over the Christmas season, we’ve crafted a beautiful limited edition room diffuser to sit alongside this stunning candle in your home.
For the ‘Magical Monochrome’ table dressing what better than Apsley Luxury Candles to create a wonderful monochromatic masterpiece with a combination of fragrances and sizes from 400g right up to the 2.4kg Decorator candle. We have an array of scents available in black and white handblown glass – Halfeti , Santorini , Tempest , Eclipse , Twilight , Glimpse Noir and the pure ice white vessels of Reykjavik and Glimpse Blanc
Abode Aroma’s crystal collection is clean, crisp and timeless in design perfect for all Christmas décor and dinner party themes. There is so much choice within this range, perfect for the most decadent of tablescapes – here are just a few suggestions to get you started: Bevelled Crystal Glass Candles , Cybus Crystal Tealights , Cybus Piller Taper Holders, Grand Pillar Trio . There’s even a Crystal Presentation Tray to help get you started on your table centrepiece
We look forward to helping you in the creation of a very personal Christmas Wonderland for you and your dinner party guests. See you soon at www.apsleyaustralia.com
Team Apsley xxx