Last week, I took a walk to Marshall’s to stretch my legs and check out some candles (what’s new?) and the next thing I knew, I was walking out with everything I needed for a Christmas tablescape for a round table. For the most part, everything I got is from Marshall’s, so I won’t be able to link most of the items. But hopefully, this provides some inspiration for how you can make a Christmas tablescape for a round table (or a rectangular table with the right adjustments.) Truthfully, I have zero plans to have anyone over in this pandemic so this Christmas tablescape won’t be getting much use. But at least this was good practice for future dinner parties!
Tablecloth and placemats
The purpose of my tablescape is to maximize use, so I wanted to go with a tablecloth that matched the general vibe of my living room, but also could transfer from season to season with no issue. My gingham tablecloth is actually a rectangular one, but because of the size of my table, it covers my round table just fine.
As for the placemats, if you have a round table, I suggest sticking with round placemats. The ones I got are also perfect for transferring to other seasons and combined with the tablecloth they give the table a little bit of a farmhouse vibe.
Plates
I already had the plates at home and mentioned them in my kitchen makeover. Though they aren’t from Marshall’s, they’re basic white beaded plates that you could probably find there, on Amazon, or at Target like I did.
Napkins
When I was looking for napkins, I really wanted to find basic white ones for the sake of transferability to other seasons. But I’m not mad at the festive napkins from Rae Dunn that I found because they add a subtle touch of personality to the table with the holiday words and phrases on each one. I used artificial holly and berries and tied them in the napkin with twine. If I were actually having people over, I might have tied fresh rosemary in the napkin as the herb makes a great garnish for holiday-themed drinks like one of the drink recipes in my Ayesha Curry cookbook. Instead of making this napkin setting manually with twine, you could also use a napkin ring like this one.
Centerpiece
This is probably my favorite part of the table. For a round table, the centerpiece will probably make it or break it. I wreath added the perfect amount of holiday decor. It has to be small enough to not overpower the table and take up too much space. In the center of the wreath, I placed a wooden finish bowl on top of a porcelain stand. I placed pine cones from a potpourri.
Candles
To add some levels to the table decor, I knew I needed some taper candles. I tried really hard to find some at Marshall’s but I couldn’t so I got these candles and the candle holder from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Once I had those, I knew the table was complete!
Other ideas
I considered playing around with other things but didn’t because I wanted to keep it simple and reasonably priced for my Christmas tablescape for a round table, especially considering this table is not actually going to get used for a dinner party. Here are some of the ideas I considered:
- holiday wine glasses, tumblers, or champagne flutes (Marshall’s had them)
- tea light candles to set the mood (not enough space on my table to add)
- holiday-themed taper candles (mine are a solid gold color but there are holiday-themed candle options as well)
- poinsettias as a centerpiece instead of pine cones because those are seasonal flowers
- incorporating candy canes into the napkin holders instead of or in addition to the holly/rosemary
- instead of holly (or with it too) add some eucalyptus with a garland
In conclusion, there is a lot you can do to create a Christmas tablescape for a round table!
I hope you found some inspiration for this post. Be sure to check out my post on Black-owned holiday scented candles!
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Psalm 23:5
