Styling Your Christmas Tablescape with Home County Co.

Everybody knows that the best part of any British Christmas is the dinner. Your fondest festive memories are likely those in which your entire family was crowded around a too-small table marvelling over turkey, roast potatoes, and copious amounts of roasted veg.

From the perfect garland to thoughtful dinner favours, a well-designed table will set the mood for a warm and joyous celebration. We’re going to take you through how we created our stunning Christmas tablescape in just four simple steps!

1. Craft your garland

A Christmas garland is the centrepiece of any great festive tablescape; it brings warmth, texture, and natural fragrance to the setting.

When creating our centrepiece, we like to start by laying down a faux pine garland before weaving in some fresh sprigs of rosemary or eucalyptus. The faux garland acts as a sturdy but malleable base, while the fresh sprays bring it to life by layering some different textures. Next up, we weave in red berries, pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and dried orange slices to add colour and fragrance. You’ll notice we refer to fragrance a lot- not only because it is our passion, but because scents play such a huge part in that warm feeling of nostalgia that we experience at this time of year.

Christmas is not complete without a bit of sparkle, so we like to finish up our table garland with a delicate string of twinkling fairy lights, interwoven between the fresh and faux elements. The size and complexity of your garland should depend entirely on the space you have- if you are hosting a lot of people around a relatively small table, then make sure that your garland doesn’t overwhelm the space.

2. Lay out your crockery

Now that your garland is in place, it’s time for some crockery! There are so many different options when it comes to crockery- you could tie everything together by pulling colours from your garland and buying green or red plates, but we always opt for simple, elegant white. An easy way to level up your Christmas crockery is by layering your usual dishes atop a charger plate. It adds a touch of elegance and formality to the table you use everyday, and sets this dinner apart from all of the rest.

You might want to rope in some helpers for this one, but polished cutlery and glassware will make all the difference to your formal table setting. You want your wine and water glasses to sparkle and reflect the glittering fairylights. The type of glasses you use are a matter of personal preference, but we like to go for scalloped or ribbed glasses because they look more lustrous in low lighting.

3. Choose your festive fragrance

Fragrances, in general, are powerful vehicles for memory, and even more so at Christmas time. Festive scents can rekindle fond memories of childhood Christmases spent with loved ones and bring about that warm feeling of nostalgia.

We like to incorporate our festive fragrances by dotting a few soy wax candles about the table. The easiest way to add in candles without risk of them causing an obstruction is to nestle them into the curves of your garland (we alternate sides for a balanced look).

Our Winter Collection fragrances are the perfect Christmas table scents: The Spices is a rich blend of cinnamon, ginger, and citrus fruits, The Mulled Wine boasts a complex, warming scent of simmering red wine and rich winter spices, and The Pines is more of a fresh, outdoorsy scent.

If your table is feeling a little overcrowded, a reed diffuser in the corner of the room will provide the same aroma.

SHOP THE WINTER COLLECTION

4. Add some favours

Dinner guest favours are a thoughtful yet inexpensive way of making your guests feel special, but they can also help decorate your tablescape.

Our Christmas soap bar crackers are a thoughtful and more sustainable alternative to traditional Christmas crackers whose contents typically end up in landfill each year. Adorned in beautifully illustrated and fully recyclable packaging, our soap bars are made using natural ingredients and come in our three Winter Collection fragrances.

Place the favours at each setting, either on each plate or aside them. Not only will these favours make your guests feel appreciated, but they will also serve as lovely mementos for them to take home and remember the evening every time they wash their hands.

shop soap bars

And there you have it! The perfect festive tablescape. All that’s left to do is to light your candles, pour yourself a glass, and let the festivities commence!