Merry Christmas!

Wow…like 99% of the population, I too have lost track of how quickly the past couple weeks have flown by.  Thanksgiving comes, and it seems the next day you are a week away from Christmas!  I’m wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I’d like to share below pictures from what has become a highlight of my year: Friendship Thanksgiving.  Every year, begining 4 years ago, my husband and I host a Thanksgiving meal for all our friends.  It has started to fall on the sunday following Thanksgiving, allowing friends to spend the holiday with family, and still make our annual party.  We have always strived to have an outdoor feast, cold weather and all!  Every year we have been fortunate enough to have great weather, and our friends come bundled for a festive outdoor meal. 

The OCDiva in me, focus’ on the look of the table every year.  If you are like me, you want it to be spectacular. This year I wanted it to be a bit understated, and simple.  Here you can see we did simple colors in browns and greens.  I scoured discount stores until I found a box of the ornate pears for $15 and the laterns I have collected over the years.  I took a piece of wood from our woodpile, and my husband cut it into rounds which we wrote names on in permanent marker, and used as name placards for the table.  we strung simple white christmas lights over the table in a canopy, and added lots of white candles down the middle of the table.  Lastly, every year we leave a simple ornament on everyone’s plate as a reminder of our friendship. 

Name placards made of cut wood!

Simple. Easy.  No stress.  I did not have towering centerpieces, expensive name plates and napkin holders.  I did not have supper fancy dishes, simply a set that matched and was on discount last year. 

For your parties coming up, be it Christmas or New Years, remember that simple is elegant, tasteful, and easy on the budget.  Trying to find the perfect centerpiece items, napkin rings, etc, can add up quickly.  And if purchasing items, try to buy lasting paterns so they can be used year after year.  In this case I have all brown napkins and placemats that I purchased three years ago.  Each year we use the brown, and I switch it up with either a burnt orange table cloth, or green, as we did this year.  But my brown can be used with bright green for summer parties and blue for spring parties.  It can be paired with yellow or orange for fall and winter parties, and in this case the green, felt festive and autumnal.  The same goes with plates: simple white in this case, and I’ll never worry about matching plates. 

So that is a small update from the OCDiva!  My family and I pray you have a safe and blessed Christmas and New Year and worry free party planning! 

Don’t Agonize, Organize.

~ by obsessivecompulsivediva on December 15, 2009.