Creating a Christmas Tablescape Video

These videos offer some great hints on creating a fun and beautiful Christmas tablescape without having to spend a fortune. The first one shows how to get started with some basic items.



The second video demonstrates how to add the beauty of lights to this tablescape.


The finishing touches for the table are shown in this third video.



In a final video, learn how to add decorative lighting to a room with a bowl.



Tomorrow is the day for the Christmas in July Tablescape Party--Week 2 on my other blog.

I just wanted to post a reminder here in case you have forgotten. The party is scheduled for Saturday, but I will have Mr. Linky up for you to...link to on Friday afternoon. I've heard from many through comments and emails that they are planning to participate. I hope we have quite a few tables to share. There is still time if you want to participate. (you could even do a post with photos from last year. Many of us are new and would love to share some holiday spirit through tablescapes)

If you need more info, just click on my white button meme for CIJ Tablescape Party in the sidebar.



If you can't participate, be sure to stop back by during the weekend to visit and enjoy the tables.

CIJ Weekly Giveaway Week 3 for July 15

I'm giving away this cute snowman advent calendar for CIJ Weekly Giveaway 3.


Sign-ups will continue through midnight of Wednesday, July 15. Be sure to click on the logo in my sidebar for complete information.


In order to add your name to my weekly Christmas in July giveaway, leave me a comment on one of my posts. Entries for the weekly drawing cut off at midnight on each Wednesday in July. The winner will be announced on Thursday. Be sure to check back to see who wins each week.

To have two chances to win, also add my Christmas in July meme to your blog. For a third chance in this drawing, give this blog and the weekly giveaways here a shoutout post on your blog. A fourth entry can be added to this drawing by adding your name as a follower of Christmas Memories in My Heart. Refer someone new to my Christmas blog and have them mention your name/blogname for a fifth chance in the drawing.

If you don't have a blog and are entering the drawings for the giveaways, be sure to leave me an email address to contact you. You can just post in the comments that you are sending me the email address.My email is www.printersdevil72@yahoo.com
That way you don't have to post yours on the web.

Week 2 Giveaway Winner is...

Aggy at Love of Christmas is this week's winner of my Christmas in July Giveaway. She will receive this cute little silver colored metal mesh Santa sleigh. It is includes some body and bath items inside the shrink wrap.



Aggy, please email me your address so that I can get this on its way to you. After I drew your name it took me a minute to find you. (printersdevil72@yahoo.com)
I thought for a moment we had two Aggys, since when I clicked on your name in the comment, it brought up several blogs that aren't current. However, it was your precious dog's photo that I remembered. I had just been reading some of your posts from a link on my sidebar earlier tonight and the poochy caught my eye and heart. I see you have changed out to a new holiday blog this year. You might want to update your info on the Dashboard in case someone else is trying to locate you.

I feel like Santa or one of the elves! This is so much fun. It is a lot of work keeping track of all the people who comment all week plus the new followers.

I will post the giveaway item for Week 3 later in the morning. I want to make sure that people checking in see this one. I combined both last week and it was confusing to some. I have a great giveaway for some lucky someone next Wednesday.

Congratulations Aggy!

Santa Live Now Weblog

I read the other day that Christmas in July is really big in Australia because this is the coldest time of the year, just like it is amid the hottest time in the north. Today, I was reading some holiday blogs and ran across a link to Santa Live Now weblog that has a great post about this as well as additional info about our Aussie neighbors.

I read the post and then realized that I had stumbled onto something much more than one good post. This weblog is amazing. I have just started to explore the countless videos and stories that are there. Santa himself talks to us from the videos and believe me, I will be back over and over to view all the wonders of this site.

Click on the link above, but be prepared, there is more there than you can handle during Christmas in July. This will be a long term exploration and delight for me.

According to the weblog, there is a 2009 tour across the US with stops planned in major cities and it is linked to raising money for juvenile diabetes. Caution: I have NOT checked this out. Please do not click and send money or sign up for things without investigating this thoroughly. I am going to try to check this out, but in the meantime, the site has a marvelous wealth of Santa and Christmas information.

It shows that the fun starts on July 10 at 10:30 a.m. I will be checking back to see what all this is about.

Memories of Christmas School Programs

These performances were always some of my favorites. When my children were young, we often had numerous school musicals or holiday programs each year. Add to that, there were programs that my neices and nephew were in, too.

The high school that I taught at for 17 years also had a night of Christmas one acts that were done by the theatre arts classes. These were not always very polished performances, but were wonderful to view. The kids that I never thought would appear on a stage were there. Sometimes, these kids didn't even have a speaking part, but they were so thrilled to have a part in a play. This was a chance for everyone to take part. In our small high school, even the homemaking departments got involved. They provided refreshment for the crowd. This gave the kids taking those classes some practical experience. Not only did they make wonderful cookies, scones, dessert bars and punch, they also learned how to dress appropriately for such an event and polished their manners. Kudos to Jan Stewart, theatre teacher; Kay Manning and Jeanne Guilloud, home economics teachers, for providing such a wonderful life lesson. The students and the audience were better off for these yearly experiences.

Decorating Tables for Christmas

Beautiful tables have always held a fascination for me. I oooh and ah over them in all my magazines, especially during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. I have always wanted to have one of those homes that look like a snapshot from a magazine, but I know that in reality that is just not me and doesn't fit my lifestyle. However, I still love them and I have a serious interest in dishes and tables recently.

I am new to tablescapes and for the most part, my tables rely on dishes set in a relatively simple style. I just don't have that flair for incorporating all the wonderful things that I see on Susan at Between Naps on the Porch's weekly Tablescape Thursday. However, every once in awhile, I surprise myself with something that I think is getting there.

In the mean time, I am having fun playing dishes and my family is enjoying a nice table that gets changed frequently. So, it was a natural thing for me to want to host a Christmas in July Tablescape Party this month. It is an ongoing thing on my Playing Dishes blog. Click on the white button in my sidebar to get all the info and come and join the fun and pick up some chances to win the beautiful Christmas tablecloth that I am giving away on the day of the last party, Saturday, July 25. I will have a post up with Mr. Linky ready for you to add your links by on Friday evenings.

I have been doing a lot of blog hopping---on my own, not on one of the organized hops---encouraging other Christmas lovers to join us for the rest of the parties and to visit here, too.

That got me to thinking about doing a post on tables for the holidays. Then, I thought, what do I really know about tables to pass on to others. So, I spent awhile reading and came up with some hints for decorating tables for the holidays. These ideas were compiled from a variety of sites.

• Select a tablecloth color that compliments your dining room, kitchen or combined area.
• Consider using a cream or other neutral colored tablecloth in either linen or lace on the table. Using a cream tablecloth gives the look of elegance, while providing a neutral background for decorations. A deep red tablecloth also works well, but be sure to use more neutral dinnerware and napkins so that the tablescape does not clash.
• Use mirrors or other materials to make a base for your centerpiece.
• Make use of different levels to add variety to the table.
• Experiment with different textures and materials to enhance the table.
• Use miniature Christmas trees, snow globes and other holiday decorations throughout the tablescape scene.
• Do not decorate more than 1/3 of the table, as it will look too cluttered and people will not be able to make use of the table without destroying the beautiful Christmas tablescape
• Set up each place setting with the proper dinnerware. Break out the best dishes and glasses, providing each guest with a dinner plate, bread plate or soup bowl, and glasses for wine or water.
• Fold napkins in a professional manner at each place setting, or put them through elegant napkin rings.
• Use name place cards to add a touch of elegance and cut down on confusion of where to sit for your guests.
• Place tea lights around the table. They provide elegant lighting as well as a beautiful ambiance. Use pillar candles as a centerpiece, selecting scented candles to provide both light and a fragrant aroma. Add festive decor such as mini pine cones or small groups of pine branches with holly berries and pine cones surrounding a large pillar candle. Candy canes work well with any decor; place them in glass vases along with a tea light.
• For variety also decorate a coffee table buffet or entry table for the holidays.
• If candles are used, be sure not to place them near anything flammable or leave them unattended.
• Add a touch of whimsy to your tables.
• Decorate the rest of the room to complement the Christmas tablescape. Add a few Christmas figurine.
• Play background holiday music.. For a dinner party, instrumental Christmas carols or music is best so that it does not drown out the conversations of the guests, but still provides music for enjoyment

Memories of Christmas Cantatas

Part of the beauty and warmth of Christmas to me is attending the annual cantata at church. I have to admit that I am not a frequent church goer in recent years, but I am a very spiritual person.

Some of my fondest memories are of this event and I attend one every year. Sometimes, I go to one at another church.

In my early years, the programs were all musical, featuring a variety of Christmas carols or hymns about the birth of Christ. These Sunday evening performances and later Sunday afternoons, were so filled with the Christmas spirit. I have always wished that I had a wonderful voice, but I was left out in that department. I still enjoy singing and Christmas songs are among my favorites.

The magic of the program was made complete by hearing the message of the journey to Bethlehem and the miracle of the birth of the Christ child to Mary and Joseph. Something in me always sparked at hearing this wonderful story year after year.

In more recently years the cantata has been expanded to include the acting out of the Christmas story. I love this even more. One year, I attended three different performances of this at area churches. It is a story that is so filled with wonder and promise.

I remember one year when my daughter, Tracie, and I attended the program at another church because one of her friend's husband was in the production and their new born baby was the Christ child. We went to a Sunday afternoon program and happened to have one of my young nieces and nephews at the house that day. We took them along and young Caden was so enthralled with the story that he leaned up on the pew in front of us and rested his chin there throughout the production. The two of them are just several months apart in age and couldn't have been more than four or five. I have never seen them sit still and so quiet for that long. It was a wonderful thing to witness as they experienced this live story for the first time.

Another Christmas must for me is to visit a live nativity each year at one of our local churches. There is just something about this outdoor event that brings chills to me. One year, I was coming home from shopping in Dallas on a Saturday night and pulled off to get gas in a town along the way. There was a sign about a live nativity that night. So, my sisters, DD and I followed the signs and sat in a long line to drive by to witness this event. It was worth the wait and a perfect ending to our long day.

I love the holidays and enjoy the decor and fun of Santa as much as everyone, but the true magic of the season comes from this wonderful story of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus. After all, Jesus, IS the reason for the season.