Setting a holiday dinner party table.

This post is sponsored by Staples.

One of my favorite shows on tv is House Hunters.  If you haven’t seen it, the premise is a buyer(s) looks at three houses for sale and buys one at the end. It’s always interesting to listen the prospective buyer’s comments.  9 times out of 10 they talk about what a great entertaining space the living room or dining room would be.  When the Mr. and I were house hunting we said the same thing.  The funny thing is we are so not the entertaining type.  Family life has consumed us.  We’re all concerned about making a comfortable space for our guests that we have over once or twice a year.  I’m curious, how often do you people host a party?

 Even though we’re not the “let’s throw a party” type we do we try and make it special when we actually host guests.
Luckily Staples approached me and asked if I’d like to participate in their holiday hack challenge called #HandmadeHolidays with some items of my choosing from their store .
I was a little skeptical…décor it up from an office supply store? Hmmm?
However, after doing some shopping at their store I could have gone a hundred different directions on making something cool for the holidays.
So I decided to throw our once-a-year party…Staples style!

The first thing I did was cover the table with brown Kraft paper.  Not only does it look cool but it makes a perfect disposable table runner.

Kraft paper is the best supply EVER! I use it for table runners, art paper for my kids, wrapping paper and décor.   I even put it down on the floor as a protector if I have workers in the house doing maintenance.  It’s just so versatile.
If you’re going to use it to wrap presents I would recommend a 40# weight. 30# works but can be just a tad thin for my liking.

Next up: DIY place cards.

Staples carries these very chic jumbo gold paper clips.
Using my glue gun I attached them to some pine cones I picked up in my yard (feel free to come get some, I’ve got about 500).
Next, I found these cool stencil letters from Staples which were perfect for designating the first letter of the name for where everyone was supposed to sit.

Some of the pine cones sat lop-sided so I put a little dab of hot glue down right under the pine cone then they sat perfectly. You can also put them in a small glass tea-light holder.

For the center pieces I used these mini trees.  The containers weren’t very pretty.  No worries, more Kraft paper to the rescue!

1. Put a large Ziploc baggie around the container so the moisture doesn’t leak.
2. Wrap Kraft paper around the container and tie it up with twine. You can leave it like this however, it took up too much space on the table with the paper wings sticking out.
3. Roll the paper “wings” down and under to mimic the look of a rolled down paper bag.

The holidays about giving.  A special gift left at your guests table setting doubles as table décor.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. I can’t stand gift bags, they are so impersonal. No one wraps presents anymore.
Julie Andrews was right on when she sung, “Brown paper packages tied up with string…these are a few of my favorite things.” Mine too sis-tah!

1. I used my favorite Kraft paper to wrap up the gift.
2. I found this Bordette at Staples which teachers often use on their classroom bulletin boards.
3. I cut the scalloped edge off to make a present wrapping accessory.
4. In addition to Kraft paper being one of the most versatile materials ever I will also say that brown twine ranks up there too. I use it for everything.
5. I cut a little sprig of this whatever-bush-it-is from my front yard to garnish my gift and table with.

Another one of my secrets for adding flowers to a table on the cheap…

You can often find grocery store flowers that are really inexpensive. By breaking them up and putting them in small bud vases you can make several small arrangements.

I’m also sold on desert being something de-lish but simple. I found these glass cups of chocolate mousse at a wharehouse grocery store.

I put them at each place setting with dinner…that way people could indulge when they were ready. Plus it wasn’t something major I had to make a big production of after the meal.

Party went off without a hitch.
If you don’t have a Staples store close to where you are you can always order from their online store.