Apr 11 2008

Scottish winter evening Table Decoration

Published by dodo at 11:01 pm under Candle, Decoration, Plate, Texture

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the shepherds in Scotland would gather together in their huts, known as bothies, to tell stories, sing, drink and simply get warm.

The Scots have retained elements of this along with many other good old traditions. They still get together to talk about the day’s events,to exchange news and spend some time together over a cup of, tea and a snack.

Even if friends have just dropped round for no particular reason and you’re only having a snack, you may still want to decorate the table and make it look different.

What to do:

If you have a wooden table, then don’t bother with a tablecloth. Wood looks good in this simple, rather rustic table decoration.

If you do use a tablecloth, then atartan one is particularly suitable. The traditional red and green colours in tartan appear again and again in many elements of these decorations: in the crockery, candles, napkins andribbons.

Kitchen EssentialWith a wooden table, the tartan appears in the ribbon tying up the napkins. Also tartan ribbons tied around bunches of holly look very attractive.

Together with red apples and perhaps a few pine cones, holly forms the “floral” decoration for this table. Above all, the table is defined by its natural charm. Artificial glitz has no place in this decoration.

Tip:

Red and green are the well-known tartan colours. But perhaps your china would match yellow or blue better? There are Scottish tartans which also contain these colours, an indication of the Viking origins of some Scottish clans, and they are just as traditionally Scottish as the more usual colours.

A sledging party Table Decoration

What on earth gets into people? They build wooden things with iron-shod runners; if it snows they head for the hills, the wooden contraption strapped to their backs; they struggle through the snow up the hill, breathe deeply when they get to the top; then their eyes light up, they leap more or less elegantly onto the sledge and thunder down into the valley at breakneck speed.

And what’s it all for? Because it’s loads of fun. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or old, everyone has tales of sledging parties where the greatest fun was had despite the effort involved, especially when a whole gang went sledging.

But when the night descends early, cold noses and freezing feet soon drive the sledge specialists back inside, where tea, mulled wine and other treats soon help them to warm up.

If you want to surprise the homecoming sledging party with adelicious winter meal, served on a table which is almost as beautiful as the sledging slope outside but much warmer and more comfortable, then the idea for this table decoration can provide the impetus. Bring winter onto your table.

What to do:

Obviously a white, unpatterned tablecloth is best suited to providing a background for a winter scene. It isn’t lak flat on the table though, because a sledging party on flat ground is no fun at all. With a few cardboard boxes or small cushions, built up under the cloth in the centre of the table, you can create a hilly landscape whichprovides slopes for ‘sledging‘.

The table is then “snow covered” from the centre out, with the help of a handful of salt. Natural salt crystals create the best glitter effect, but you can also use sugar as snow.

Decorate the hillsides with a few Christmas trees borrowed from your children’s toys or bought from a specialist shop. They should also be “snow-capped”, but use icing sugar this time, because it clings better to the branches.

The little sledges stand for the wintry activities, and they are filled with Christmas-time treats, to which guests can help themselves, but only after the meal!

Christmas gift tags are used as place cards; in this case they show a sledging party from olden times. The name of each guest is written on them and they are placed on top of the napkin.

Tip:

Do you want to provide your guests with a menu card, and do you feel like making an original menu card holder yourself? Make a snowman out of three balls of crumpled up paper, a little plaster of Paris and any other ingredients you can think of. Later the snowman can hold the menu card in his arms.

Children’s birthdays in winter can turn out to be real celebrations of snow and sledging. If you want to decorate the table for children after the sledging party, you can use red and white paper plates. The little sledges on the table are fully laden with sweets sure to appeal to any child.

More about: Scottish winter evening Table Decoration

4 Responses to “Scottish winter evening Table Decoration”

  1. # Fabric Table Runnerson 27 Jul 2008 at 1:54 pm

    The best part is that they won't wilt like real roses, and you can pick them up and use them again! … Fabric Table Runners

  2. # Holiday Candleson 27 Jul 2008 at 2:09 pm

    The wick housing and the larger extinguishing bell diverge with gentle curves at the end of this candle lighter. … Holiday Candles

  3. # Aromatherapy Candleson 27 Aug 2008 at 12:09 pm

    We select home decorating products for Illuminations with the same care and commitment to quality that we bring to our candles. … Aromatherapy Candles

  4. # White Taper Candleson 19 Sep 2008 at 2:09 pm

    White flowers with two white taper candles and holiday greens are a beautiful decoration for any holiday table… … White Taper Candles

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