DIY: A Holiday Tablescape That Won’t Break The Bank

Getting yourself ready for the holidays, while exciting, can be just as overwhelming. With shopping lists to complete, grocery carts to fill, and holiday decor to be bought, the price tag that comes with the Holidays is not always an easy one for our bank account to take.

Anna Gosselin, owner and lead designer from All That Glitters Inc., shares with us some great ideas that will not only make our holiday table look like a page out of a catalogue, but one our pockets and our watches will thank us for.

Creating Your Canvas

To create a beautiful tablescape you first need to start with a great blank canvas, your tablecloth. Tablecloths don’t have to be silk or satin to make your table look like it was set by a designer, here Anna used Special Event Rentals Signature Ivory Linen and for an extra touch to start, her chair’s were wrapped with Sage Organza Chair Ties pinned with nothing but simple holiday ornaments that have been attached to hair clips with a hot glue gun.

A bit of the outdoors with homemade Chargers

With our table ready for place settings, Anna sets down her handmade Chargers.  These gorgeous Chargers are made from taking varied branches cut with a mitre, or chop saw, for various sizes of wood discs. Drilling holes with a drill press (or hand drill) connect each disc with yarn (or string, ribbon, leather, etc) to create your desired shape of Charger. These chargers can be used for any holiday!

No need to worry about Dishes

Finish by placing your dinnerware on top of the Charger, wrapping your napkins around your dinner plate. To help with the holiday mess Anna has used Special Event Rentals Whittier Square dinner plates and Square Bowl, Como Cutlery, and Regale Wine Glasses, and Solid Nova Napkins in Sage. Spending so much time cooking in the kitchen, why waste more time that could be better spent with your family and friends? Renting dinnerware, linens, and napkins means no laundry, no clean up, and best of all…no dishes!

A fancy touch for Guests: Place Cards, Menus, and Favors

To add a fancy touch Anna has created menu cards, favors and name cards. Simple and easy to make all you need is cardstock, a computer and printer, double sided tape, ribbon, a hot glue gun and a few embellishments of our choosing. Anna’s menu cards have a mini Christmas ornament glued to the bottom, while her favors have a foot print of a member of her family.

Last but not least, an expensive looking Centerpiece with a Dollar store Budget

Last but not least, every table needs a gorgeous centerpiece. And what’s better than having that gorgeous centerpiece cost only a few dollars to make? Anna’s centerpiece seen here was put together with nothing but a Styrofoam ball, ornaments, ribbon, cinnamon sticks, a few branches, fake moss and a vase, all available from any dollar store.

Wrap your vase in the ribbon of your choosing using your hot glue gun to hold in place, when cooled add your cinnamon sticks to the outside of the vase as well. To create the middle, take your Styrofoam ball and hot glue the ornaments you have selected. To finish add your fake moss to the inside of the vase, place in a few branches finished off with your Styrofoam ball. And there you have it, a designer table without a designer price tag!

Looking for something extra?

With your table set, and some extra time on your hands, why not add a ‘Remember When’ Board? Have your guests select a piece of paper out of your holiday box, write a note to you, and pin it to the board. Remember when we met? Remember last Christmas? Remember When…? An alternative to a guest book this keepsake is a wonderful memento to past and present holiday memories.

Anna Gosselin, is the owner and lead designer of All That Glitters Event Planning and Design Inc. Experienced with all types of social events, corporate and school functions, All That Glitters Inc. also offers wedding planning services ranging from full to day-of coordination to vendor sourcing, decorating, stationery design and even thank-you cards. All That Glitters Inc. is also one of the only event planning companies to offer proposal planning.

For more information on All That Glitters Inc. and Anna Gosselin visit allthatglittersinc.com or check them out on Facebook.