A 12 Days of Christmas Tablescape

The idea for this 12 Days of Christmas Tablescape has been in the back of my mind for a while but I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to create it. From time to time I browse several of my favorite stores online and when I saw these 12 Days of Christmas dinner plates at Pottery Barn recently I decided to buy them and start working on a tablescape with this theme even though I thought that it might take me a few years to gather everything and pull it all together. As it happened, I was able to finish it this season. The tablecloth choice changed a few times but I finally settled on this red paisley pattern tablecloth. I found it at HomeGoods several years ago, it was made by Ralph Lauren. I love using it on my more formal Christmas tablescapes. I used it on a Christmas Reindeer themed tablescape two years ago. You can see that tablescape and 270+ other tablescapes that I have created that are posted on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes . I have the matching napkins for this tablecloth but I decided to use ivory napkins on this table setting to match the background on the dinner plates. My daughter and her wife came over and they helped Hubby move the table and add the two leaves to it (it is a Stickley table and it is all really heavy). They also helped with the design. My daughter is a tablescaper too and it’s fun to work on tablescapes with her. Each of the twelve place settings on this tablescape has elements that illustrate one of the twelve gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas song.

For many years I have collected children’s picture books with full page illustrations. This goes back to my days working as a Children’s Librarian fifty years ago and conducting story times when I wanted the illustrations in the picture book that I was reading to be easily seen by all the children. Now I mostly just buy a new children’s Christmas book every year and sometimes the theme has been The 12 Days of Christmas. Here are a few examples from my collection. I put them out at Christmas time and I enjoy seeing them and reading them again.

One of the Christmas children’s books that I bought this year is about the story behind the 12 Days of Christmas song. If I knew about it before I had forgotten it. The "12 Days of Christmas" in the song references the 12 days following Christmas, also known as Twelvetide in Christianity. The period begins with the birth of Christ on December 25th, and ends with the coming of the Three Wise Men on January 6th, also known as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. I was going to get really organized and post one place setting from this table every day during that time period and then the full tablescape on the last day but…life happens and I decided to just post them all in one post now.

These Pottery Barn stoneware 12 Days of Christmas dinner plates illustrate the twelve different gifts mentioned in the song around the rim of the plate starting with a partridge in a pear tree at the top on the right and ending with the twelve drummers drumming at the top on the left. I didn’t like the salad plates that were sold to use with these dinner plates so I found these 12 Days of Christmas ornaments on Etsy to set on the center of the plates to add some interest to the plate stack. They are laser cut wood and I love the graphics and the colors on them. There is one for each gift mentioned in the song.

I found these Chunful wood 12 Days of Christmas ornaments that I am using as napkin rings on Amazon. I attached them temporarily to a metal gold colored napkin ring that I have. I bought the Gee Di Moda ivory cloth napkins on Amazon. There is an interesting story about my search for things to use on this tablescape. I found a 12 Days of Christmas cloth garland from Scotland on Etsy and I bought two of them. There were 12 rectangles illustrating the 12 gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas on each one. (I didn’t look at it really closely, my mistake!) I figured that I could hang it on my hutch in the background or use the rectangles in some way as napkin rings. The napkin rings were one of the last things that I put on the table because Hubby cut them off the garland for me and then attached them to the napkin rings. I was at 9 ladies dancing and I suddenly realized that instead of 9 ladies dancing it showed 9 drummers drumming. As it turns out a Scottish version uses different gifts for the days. It was quite disappointing because the garland was really cute! Thank goodness I had found these other ornaments that I could use instead.

The gold plated flatware on this tablescape was a gift from Hubby a few years ago. I had bought a cheap set of gold flatware several years ago. It was poor quality and the gold started flaking off. You get what you pay for! We found this set on major sale at Macys. It is made by Wallace and it is called Mikasa Duchess Gold. It is heavy and I love the elegant design on the handles. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I decided to use my Waterford Lismore goblets on this table setting. The shorter ones were part of our wedding registry and we bought a set of the taller ones for our 50th Wedding Anniversary. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

The centerpiece on this tablescape consists of a faux pine garland from Michael’s, Waterford Lismore candlesticks, a few small gold and red ornaments from Michael’s, and a set of 12 Days of Christmas glass ornaments from Sharper Image online. The ornaments were illustrated by Mark Roberts. These ornaments don’t photograph well but the graphics on them are wonderful. I set them close to the place setting that they match. They are larger 4 inch ornaments and I love the designs on them.

I bought the wood place card holders on Amazon and set them on an acrylic stand. They are easier to see in some of the other photos. I was really lucky with this tablescape. The graphics on the 12 Days items are all wonderfully done. I found the metal gold chargers at Crate and Barrel several years ago. Crate and Barrel never disappoints me, their products are well made and of great quality.

The Waterford Lismore crystal candlesticks I am using on this tablescape are two different heights. There is a shorter one too but I decided not to use it on this table. They come in 6 inch, 8 inch, and 10 inch sizes. We bought them over the years for our anniversaries and other special occasions. I set a gold candle in them to match the other gold that is on the table.

This photo shows the french hen dinner plate center, napkin ring, place card holder, and centerpiece ornament on this place setting.

Though some scholars believe that the 12 Days of Christmas song is French in origin, the first printed appearance of the song was in the English children's book Mirth with-out Mischief. It was published in 1780 though it was a poem, not a song with music. The lyrics have evolved, with early versions featuring different gifts. In the original lyrics, the "four calling birds" were actually “four colly birds." The term "colly" is old English slang for blackbirds. In other old versions of the song, the partridge was replaced with a "very pretty peacock upon a pear tree." It wasn't until 1909 that British composer Frederic Austin wrote the version of the lyrics that we know today. By the way, for 2025, buying one set of each gift in the 12 Days of Christmas costs $51, 476.12. Since 1984, PNC Bank has been tracking the price of giving each gift mentioned in the song. The true cost including all 364 repeated gifts, totals $218,542.98, an increase of 4.5% from the previous year due to inflation in labor, gold, and agricultural costs.

To see over 270+ different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,000+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, (270+ members) click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers last January in the Los Angeles area and we hope to have others in the future.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Peppermint Christmas Tablescape

I love decorating with peppermint at Christmas time. This tablescape took a bit of extra time to pull together because I kept changes things a bit and then had to wait for things to arrive. You can see and read about some of my other Christmas candy themed tablescapes as well as 200+ other themed tablescapes that I have created on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,000+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392 I can’t remember where I bought this peppermint tablecloth but I just looked and I used it on a tablescape in 2013 so I have had it for a long time.

When I saw these red peppermint plates at HomeGoods I knew that they would be coming home with me. I don’t usually buy matching salad and dinner plates but in this case I did. They are so festive! They are marked NOCAL, NDA, Made in Portugal.

I love the true Christmas red color and they are heavy and well made.

I needed bright green placemats for the next tablescape that I will be doing and when they arrived I decided to use them on this tablescape too. I bought bright red ones too. They are from Rinpon and I bought them on Amazon.

This Milano Red flatware is called Ginkgo International LePrix. I have had this set for years. Not sure where I bought it. I now have it in other colors as well. I use it several times a year on tablescapes. The simple design is perfect with this busy tablecloth. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware here.

I think I found these white napkins decorated with peppermint candies at HomeGoods. I found the LemonRoad peppermint napkin rings on Amazon but I can’t recommend them because half of them arrived broken and Hubby had to glue them back together for me because I really wanted them for this tablescape.

To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

These peppermint candy place card holders came from Pottery Barn a few years ago. I love it when I can gather all the things that I want for a tablescape that really carry out the theme that I am working on. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

The green goblet on the left came from Macy’s a few years ago. They are called Qualia Glass Meridian. I like the height and the beautiful green color. I can’t remember where I bought these Cristalleria Fratelli Fumo red glass goblets but I love using them at Christmas time. I like using these two goblets together because of their similar shape. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

The centerpiece for this tablescape changed several times until I settled on this one. I found this DIF DECO small ceramic peppermint jar on Amazon. I set it on a red ceramic cake stand I have had for several years and added a peppermint candy garland that I found on Amazon to make it a bit more festive.

Finding these peppermint glass pillar candlesticks at Michael’s online was serendipity! They were a perfect addition to this tablescape. As soon as I saw them I sent Hubby to buy them for me. They are a delicate thin glass and I love the shape. I realized that I didn’t have any short white pillar candles so I bought these on Amazon. If you add a taller pillar candle they will really make a statement on your tablescape but I wanted a shorter one for this table setting.

To see over 270+ different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group (4,000+ members) for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, (270+ members) click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers in January in the Los Angeles area and we hope to have others in the future.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Christmas Village Tablescape

I have had these Christmas Village plates for several years and I have never used them on a tablescape, I decided that it was time! You can see my 20+ other Christmas tablescapes and my 270+ other themed tablescapes on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes . Each blog post will tell you all about that tablescape, where I found all the pieces and parts for it, and how I put it all together. This Snowy Winter Village tablecloth came from Spoonflower online, they have been having some sales recently and I took advantage of them. All the snow covered houses on this tablecloth remind me of our cabin in the High Sierra. I recently had out patient heart surgery for the fourth time and I am still on meds for a few weeks that really slow me down so I pulled this tablescape together pretty quickly.

These plates are marked Exclusively by Park Designs, Beth Albert, Vintage Hometown. There are different designs on this set of plates but I am only using these six designs on this tablescape. The sun was coming in the window when I was taking photos so a couple of the plates have streaks of sunlight on them. I found these plates on Ebay several years ago.

I set the square plates on a FIesta square dinner plate in the color Scarlet. I bought them online somewhere but I can’t remember where.

I bought these square faux wood brown charger plates at Pier 1 several years ago, they are some kind of melamine.

This flatware set is called Madeline Green flatware and I bought it at World Market many years ago. I use it often on my tablescapes. The frosted green color is great for any time of year. This photo shows the tablecloth pattern clearly, it’s a cozy one.

My sister-in-law gave me these brown napkins, they belonged to my mother-in-law. I am so glad to have them and use them. They are a perfect match for this tablecloth. I love true traditional primary colors that aren’t some weird modern variation. These ceramic Christmas Village napkin rings are marked 1993, W. C. Designs, and they came in a set of four with a house, a bakery, a toy maker and a country store. I bought them on Ebay many years ago. I still see them there from time to time.

To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

i can’t remember where I bought these red and green wood house place card holders. I have had them for a few years now. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

I think these are Artland Iris Ruby water goblets but they might be a similar pattern. Hubby found them for me at an estate sale. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

I struggled a bit with the centerpiece for this Christmas Village Tablescape and I finally settled on this one because I ran out of energy. I found this set of wood pine trees at Michael’s online a few years ago but the trees were different colors and patterns. I decided to go and take a look at the set and Hubby went with me. When I saw it I knew Hubby could paint it for me and he agreed. I am really happy with the way it turned out and I use it as a Christmas and Winter decoration too. I found these three Christmas village buildings on Amazon recently. They are made by Bshine and I bought the Church, the Post Office, and the Gift Shop. They have light cords too.

I added two red tree candles that I found at HomeGoods.

To see over 270+ different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Table Settings and Tablescape Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers in January in the Los Angeles area and we hope to have others in the future.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

A Gingerbread Christmas Tablescape

I love gingerbread decorations and every few years I create a new Gingerbread tablescape. This tablescape repeats a few elements from the Gingerbread tablescape that I did two years ago but I added some new pieces to this one. You can see my other Gingerbread tablescapes as well as 260+ other tablescapes that I have created on my blog here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapes I bought this white faux fur runner on Amazon. I have had the beige tweed tablecloth for years, I can’t remember where it came from.

These stoneware matte brown gingerbread salad plates came from Pottery Barn. I have added several pieces from their brown gingerbread collection to my dish collection. I love the different white icing designs on these plates. They look really nice together on the plate stack.

They are sturdy heavy plates. The dinner plates and chargers have different white icing designs on them.

I didn’t buy the chargers at first but when they went on sale I decided that they needed to come home too. I seldom buy full sets of plates like this with a charger, dinner plate, and salad plate but Hubby is giving me some for Christmas.

This frosted deep red flatware set was made by D & D Inox in Italy and the pattern is called Roma. I bought them at Neiman Marcus or Bloomingdales during a major sale many years ago. I really like the marbleized design on the handles. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying flatware sets here.

These brown gingerbread napkin rings came from Pottery Barn and they match the plates. I bought the red polyester napkins on Amazon.

To read about the What, Where, and How of napkin rings please click here.

These brown gingerbread place card holders also came from Pottery Barn. To read about the what, where and how of place card holders, please click here.

These Swirline red ribbon glass goblets came from Pier 1 many many years ago. They were some of the first goblets that I bought when I started tablescaping. You can read my blog post about what to consider when you are buying goblets for your tablescaping collection including the colors that I use most often here.

When I did a brown gingerbread tablescape two years ago I used a gingerbread house as the centerpiece, (I will add a photo of that tablescape at the end of this post), but when I saw this reindeer and sleigh set at Pottery Barn that matched my plates, I had to have it. I also bought the matching small gingerbread figures and animals that matched it all too. I put some hard candies in the sleigh with Santa for filler.

I added the tall and short gingerbread candlesticks too because I couldn’t resist them!

I saw this cream and sugar set on a tray at HomeGoods and I knew it would work on this tablescape too. It is marked Heather Goldminc, Blue Sky Designs, 2020.

I think this gingerbread butter dish came from HomeGoods too.

This is the brown gingerbread tablescape that I created two years ago. I love coming up with new ways of designing and displaying the same themes in different ways.

To see over 270+ different tablescapes that I have created please click here. If you are on Facebook, join my new Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas Facebook group for lots of tablescaping inspiration! Just click on the Facebook Search box at the top of the page and type in Tablescape and Table Settings Ideas or click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2553689988183392

For lots of other Tablescaping DIY tips and tricks click here: https://www.whispersoftheheart.com/tablescapehowto

If you live in Southern California join our Facebook tablescaping group Southern California Tablescapers BTS Group, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/440356398581157 We had a gathering for tablescapers in January in the Los Angeles area and we hope to have others in the future.

I put a new tablescape on my blog every week, please check back!

This blog post was featured at My Wee Abode, https://myweeabode.com/ and This is My Everybody, https://thisismyeverybody.com/ Please visit these blogs, you will enjoy them!