Creating a Christmas Tablescape with Rick Mayhew

Setting up an impressive holiday tablescape doesn’t have to be a all-consuming affair. Event planner, Rick Mayhew of Decorations by Rick, shows us his tricks on recreating a simply elegant spread, using elements from the outdoors.

Step 1: Set The Table

Setting up a formal  dinner is not as tricky as you might think! Need some guidance? Check out our tutorial: How to Properly Set a Formal Dinner Table.

Step 2: Set Up Place Cards

To integrate your napkins into your place setting, wrap one over each salad plate. You can place your soup bowl directly on top of the napkin. If you’ve made up place cards, they can go directly on top of the napkin as well, sharing the napkin with the soup bowl.

Step 3: Employ The Outdoors

Gather some materials from outside or from the craft store, such as stems of red berries or small evergreen tree boughs for that classic red and green color scheme. Use these accents to decorate each place setting, taking extra caution to properly disinfect items you find outside. 

Natural items, such as pinecones and red poinsettias, can also make a very pretty, very festive, impromptu centerpiece. Keep in mind, when you bring in these materials from outside, you also bring in the natural fragrances, adding another element to the ambiance of your tablescape.

This idea easy, fast, simple, and very effective – (and to boot, it costs next to nothing). Happy tablescaping!