Hello fun job! This holiday season, I’m working with BIG W on a series of Christmas themed posts. I had a blast looking at their fab Christmas range and my best pick this week is Battery Operated LED light set (20 lights). They are only $2 and brilliant for all kinds of festive decorations and especially the table because they set that magical tone, and don’t need to be plugged in.
When it comes to decorating the Christmas table, I start with an easy centerpiece and work my way out from there. For the middle, I like to couple every day items from around the home with festive decorations. Then, once I have the centerpiece sorted, I look at extending a theme to the rest of the table with items like napkins, name place tags and bon bons.
Decorating the Table in Three Steps
- Start with a table centerpiece theme
- Use everyday items around the home
- Introduce colour and styling through festive decorations and items
Below are ideas on how I bring these three concepts together.
1. White Christmas in a Jar
Concept: a mini fantasy world in a jar
Colour scheme: silver and gold with white highlights
Everyday items: glass cookie jar, salt, glass tumblers (or glass jars)
Festive items: gold table runner, mini Christmas trees, silver mini bonbons, small gold baubles, LED lights, candle
Tip: instead of trees, use an angel or snowman figurine inside the jar
2. Baubles in Glass (with a holly garland)
Concept: easy to bring a pop of colour and a garland ties it all in
Colour theme: traditional red and green with silver highlights
Everyday items: large vase or bowl
Festive items: red table runner, garland, baubles
Tip: bring out the silver highlights with silver napkins and bon bons
3. Stick Christmas Tree
Concept: celebrate with nature
Colour theme: natural tones with diamond (clear) highlights
Everyday items: vase or large jar, tree sticks
Festive decorations: gold table runner, potpourri balls, LED lights, silver birds, diamond tree decorations, small gold baubles
Tip: Make joke tags with paper and hang on the tree
4. Candle & Beads
Concept: bring romance, fun and colour to the table
Colour theme: pink & green with bright highlights
Everyday items: vase/candle holder
Festive decorations: beads, baubles, candle
Tip: Christmas doesn’t always have to be in traditional colours
5. Tea Candle & Glass Tumblers
Concept: Simple! 6 to 8 glasses with tea light candles lined up in the middle of the table
Colour theme: gold, gold and everything gold with glass highlights
Everyday items: glass tumblers (or empty glass jars)
Festive decorations: LED lights, tea light candles, small gold baubles
Tip: attach ribbon to mason jars and use instead of glass tumblers
6. Light Jar
Concept: sparkly lights add a touch of magic to any setting
Colour theme: gold & brown
Everyday items: large jar, bowl or vase
Festive decorations: baubles, potpourri balls, LED lights
Tip: use different coloured baubles to match any theme
7. Fruit feature
Concept: decorate the usual, because it’s Christmas
Colour theme: blue and orange with gold highlights
Everyday items: large glass bowl, oranges
Festive decorations: diamanté stickers
Tip: add eucalyptus leaves and gum nuts along a table runner and add a scattering of LED lights
8. Ice Sculpture
Concept: make your own ice sculpture
Colour theme: white, red with silver highlights
Everyday items: water, balloon, tray/plate with sides
Festive items: candle
Tip: add poinsettia or red rose petals to the balloon before adding water
Good-good times are coming.
Video
The White Christmas in a Jar setting took under 5 minutes to set up. Below is a speedy version.
Giveaway
Get organised early this Christmas with a chance to win a $100 BIG W gift voucher. (I’ll have another 3 vouchers to giveaway in the upcoming weeks).
To enter, leave a comment below to the answer to this question (and your answer could be featured as part of the BIGW_HintSquad):
What food item is essential on your Christmas table and why?
T & Cs – Must be over 18 year of age, Australian residents only, judged on merit. Please read full terms and condition in the link above
Congratulations Rebecca Roffman!
Items I used available at BIG W:
LED lights ($2), 12 silver baubles-60mm ($3), mini bon bons-8 ($4), bird decoration pack ($3), diamond drop decoration-12 ($5), bead garland ($3), table runner ($13), 20 small gold baubles-40mm ($3), 92 tree decorating pack ($15), tinsel holly garland ($5), mini tree table decoration-3 pack ($10), tea light candle-60 ($9), large pillar candle ($8), wave tumbler-6 ($8), potpourri balls pack ($18), large candle vase ($20), large glass bowl ($20)
Disclosure
This post is sponsored by BIG W. All views and materials (including photographs) produced are my own. You can read my disclosure policy here.
265 Comments
Rebecca Smith
November 21, 2013 at 11:36 pmAwesome ideas!
Shylee
November 21, 2013 at 11:38 pmmy mums icecream pudding! because you can’t have christmas dinner without the best aussie christmas dessert ever made!
Megan Hammond
November 22, 2013 at 12:31 amFresh seafood!!! Enough said really. C
Belle Harris
November 22, 2013 at 1:59 amPudding!! You have to have pudding!
Shannen Bielby
November 22, 2013 at 2:45 amIce cream/fruit dessert. I don’t eat fruit cake or pudding and being in Queensland for Christmas I always make a frozen fruit and ice cream dessert.
Kylie
November 22, 2013 at 4:33 amPavlova…….it’s Christmas and a pavlova loaded with cream and fresh fruit is the perfect way to end a delicious lunch.
Kellie cross
November 22, 2013 at 4:42 amHam otherwise my husband would have a tantrum like our 16 month old
jody
November 22, 2013 at 4:57 amMums rice salad. And for dessert, pav!
Angela Oldfield
November 22, 2013 at 5:04 amCold chocolate truffles because they remind me of making them with my family as a child at Christmas time.
Tara Lucas
November 22, 2013 at 5:08 amI love the use of the large class jars!
Our essential food item for the Christmas table is the beef and the pork which is cooked on a wood fire roast spit. It’s essential because it brings back so many happy childhood Christmas memories and it’s something EVERY one raves about!
Michelle
November 22, 2013 at 5:46 amMy Mum’s famous Rum Balls!! They have been on out Xmas table every year for nearly forty years!!
Amy
November 22, 2013 at 6:14 amCheesecake, my mum, older brother and I always used to make a cheesecake together at Christmas when I was growing up, now we are grown I have to have cheesecake at Christmas, such wonderful memories.
Vicki
November 22, 2013 at 6:21 amChocolate Truffles are our Chrissy Staple! I have to
make about 5 batches & none survive the day!
Shelley Crawford
November 22, 2013 at 6:27 amMy homemade rocky road. Yum!!!
Kat Hannifey
November 22, 2013 at 6:42 amTrifle ! Made by Mum , passed down through her family.
What better to celebrate Christmas with traditions &family , past &present , than through the splendor of food (:
Jodi Hewitson
November 22, 2013 at 6:47 amSanta’s biscuit crumbs. We set our table the night before Christmas so that Santa can sit on everyone’s chair to drink his milk and eat the biscuits my children have baked for him ( he always leaves a mess). It always makes for amazing Christmas stories at lunch time
Michelle Kobzday
November 22, 2013 at 6:49 amTurkey, gravy, stuffing and mashed potatoes – they are a must have, every year, no matter what!!
Kokila
November 22, 2013 at 6:51 amMum’s gravy.
Cath Dee
November 22, 2013 at 6:55 amChristmas Trifle! It’s a family tradition. It’s easy for all the kids to help make, and is loved by everyone. So festive in colour and texture.
Amanda
November 22, 2013 at 6:57 amChristmas Cake decorated with Christmas figurines that were my grandmothers and have been in the family for years. Last Christmas was the first Christmas with out my Nan and we will be making another special Cake this year. The figurines remind us of her spirit and all the fun times we had with her.
Jodi
November 22, 2013 at 6:57 amLeg of ham! It’s great on the day, straight out of the oven and is awesome for left overs too.
Christine
November 22, 2013 at 7:01 amMy sisters roast pork – or more importantly the crackling!! My mum, my sister, my nan and I clamber over each other to make sure we all get plenty. It’s the bomb!!
angela freund
November 22, 2013 at 7:14 amA beautifully glazed leg of ham…it just isnt Christmas without ham sammies for th next week!
Katie
November 22, 2013 at 7:14 amMy grandmothers deviled eggs. Her secret is crushed BBQ chips. She only makes them once a year and every year they are absolutely perfect. Christmas lunch would not be the same!
Claire
November 22, 2013 at 7:36 amA gingerbread house. We grew up with strong German traditions and baking and decorating the house is part of the anticipation and spirit of Christmas.. Fill the inside with treats or extra surprises:)
Lyndel
November 22, 2013 at 7:55 amAlways have to be mums chocolate balls, they are a crowd pleaser.
Barbara
November 22, 2013 at 8:08 amSeafood – especially prawns. Yum!
Melanie
November 22, 2013 at 8:36 amI always look forward to Christmas for the leg of ham, just gotta love cutting pieces off and eating it straight away
Emma
November 22, 2013 at 9:02 amIt has to be the trifle afterwards … it’s an old family recipe that just reminds us all of what Christmas is all about
Suzi
November 22, 2013 at 9:16 amOur must is a traditional treat – you know it! It’s cranberry sauce! Whether it’s a cold or hot meal, whether it’s chicken, turkey or ham. This condiment just HAS to be there. We love love love it. 🙂
Marny Mackay
November 22, 2013 at 9:49 amVibrant, fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables! Christmas is often seen as a time to overindulge and it’s too easy to fill up on rich, unhealthy options…. If fresh healthy options are available and presented beautifully, they are always a favorite on our table 🙂
Kathy
November 22, 2013 at 10:22 amCheesecake…because once you’ve created a favourite you can’t escape it – but who’d want to disappoint people at Christmas!?
Amy-Leigh Karban
November 22, 2013 at 10:32 amI was going to say prawns but then I realized it has to be a bottle of Rum!! For the rum balls of course 😉
sapna
November 22, 2013 at 10:48 ammy mum’s chocolate pudding is a must for everyone at our place…
Isabelle Pearce
November 22, 2013 at 12:29 pmThe foie gras!! It’s a French delicacy and being French born in. New Caledonia we couldn’t have it at every Christmas as it was so expensive. It because cheaper and more popular as the years went, and now leaving in Australia it’s a must for me, my Aussie husband and kids love if and mum and dad bring us some every year.
Michelle
November 22, 2013 at 12:56 pmWatermelon is always a must, QLD, Christmas and children make for a fun watermelon time.
Mary Preston
November 22, 2013 at 1:00 pmHas to be my Mother’s potato salad. There would be rioting in the streets if this did not grace the table.
Lyndal
November 22, 2013 at 1:44 pmFresh Cherries, we always go to the cherry farm just before Xmas and get the best cherries they have and then we eat them day long on Xmas day along with all the other yummy food 🙂
Karen
November 22, 2013 at 3:07 pmPrawns – every year my brother doesnt have to ask what he is bringing for lunch he knows he is off to the fish markets for fresh prawns. My little boys eat them faster than they can be peeled!
Catherine walters
November 22, 2013 at 4:40 pmXmas ham, its my favourite since i was a kid. A perfect excuse to buy a ham and freeze some for later :). (30 yr old mum of 1 )
Tenneeka Noble
November 22, 2013 at 5:20 pmOh the fresh prawns! what else is there to say!?
Louise
November 22, 2013 at 7:08 pmHas to be my mum’s carrot salad which is easy to make and yummy too xx
Lisa Wood
November 22, 2013 at 7:46 pmThis year we are celebrating Christmas without one of our sons {he is overseas on deployment with the navy} so our most important ingredient on our Christmas table will be his favorite dish – Pork with Crackling. We will be celebrating thinking of him the whole time, and will also celebrate when he returns next February….guess you could say we will be having two Xmas Days!
alana
November 22, 2013 at 7:59 pmHam – no idea why – its just the way its always been from the time I was a kid! Nothing like keeping to tradition!
Karen Edwards
November 22, 2013 at 8:01 pmA yummy hot lunch with Turkey and all the trimmings and it just wouldn’t be Christmas without Pavlova YUM!! Bring on Christmas I can almost taste it my mouth is watering. This Christmas is extra special as it’s our baby girls first Christmas 🙂
Jade
November 22, 2013 at 8:05 pmTrifle! Layers upon layers of jelly, cream, custard and sponge cake goodness!
Danielle @ Several Kinds of Crazy
November 22, 2013 at 10:12 pmA trifle, without the sherry (because it made my now 30 year old Brother sick when he was 2) so 28 years later we still steer clear of the alcohol in the trifles. We make the trifle in Nan’s trifle bowl that her Sister bought back to us last year, 20 years after Nan died because it was her signature dish and we all miss her so very much xx It is nice to have Nan with us.
Kim
November 23, 2013 at 7:27 amHam, Roast meat & vegies. Yum!!
Penny
November 23, 2013 at 8:14 amI LOVED your video Kell. It was fantastic. You are so talented and you made decorationg look so easy. I couldn’t help laughing my head off when you couldn’t get that candle to light though, he he he. It was super cute.
Penny
November 23, 2013 at 8:16 amOh and the essential food on our table is a trifle. Honestly, my Grandma made the best trifle there is and it wouldn’t be Christmas without that!