A beautifully-set table is crucial to your holiday entertaining. However, unless it’s a formal affair, you don’t necessarily have to use good china and crystal; and that will be great news to those who don’t have good china and crystal. Furthermore, because some people don’t even have full sets of dishes or glasses, the even-better news is that mixing and matching tableware happens to be a big trend right now.

Actually, all you need is creativity. If you don’t have a Christmas tablecloth, you can easily turn a plain, solid-colored cloth into one, by using Christmas place mats and napkins, along with red, green, or gold doilies. No holiday plates or glassware? Get the doilies in several sizes and put them under plates, bowls, glasses, and between cups and saucers, and tie ribbons around the stems of wine glasses.

A striking centerpiece is essential as well, but, once again, you don’t have to spend any money; just use things that are already in your home or backyard. Fill a clear bowl with ornaments or foil-wrapped party favors, or use evergreen and/or berry branches, and some pine cones, tied up with ribbons. Gild some pine cones to make gorgeous place card holders.

Candles are also important, and can be of different sizes and colors. Place them on mirrors for extra shine, float votives in a clear bowl, or use your odd dishes, especially ones with winter scenes, as candle holders.

Many people have a few, mismatched pieces of Depression-era glass, which, in colors such as blue, amethyst, pink, green, gold, and yellow, will be anything but depressing on a holiday table.

If it’s a sit-down dinner, keep the centerpiece low enough so that people can see each other and converse across the table. If you’re having a buffet and people are scattered throughout the house, don’t be shy about using picnic table benches, patio chairs, folding chairs, or even ottomans, for extra seating. If you have enough space, you can even bring in your picnic table or outdoor dining set, and decorate it, too.

These are just a few of the hundreds – nay, thousands – of things that you can do to make your home, your table, and your party, bright, festive, warm, and welcoming.

In fact, I hope that describes your entire holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Kathy

Autumn is, without a doubt, my favorite time of the year.  There’s no overstating its beauty, especially in regions like this – Western Pennsylvania – where the leaves turn to magnificent shades of gold, crimson, russet, and orange; and I wouldn’t want to live anyplace where they didn’t. 

It’s one of the pure joys of the season, to take a walk in the woods, breathing in the crisp, clean, fresh air, and being swept away by the breath-taking splendor of the trees, or getting caught up in a heavenly shower of glorious color, as they shed their gorgeous foliage.  Of course, you don’t actually have to be out among the trees to enjoy the show; because it’s going on wherever you look, you can watch it from the comfort of your own backyard.

For this, there’s no overstating the importance of a garden bench.  No doubt, yours is already positioned to be the perfect vantage point, from which you have been drinking in the colors and scents of your garden all spring and summer; and if you planted fall-blooming flowers, the scenery will be that much more brilliant now.  So, you have only to sit back, relax, and get ready to be dazzled by nature once again.

If you don’t already have a garden bench, however, now’s the time to get one.  CedarStore.com has one of the largest selections available, including red and white cedar, treated and select pine, oak, teak, cherry, cypress, polywood, vinyl, aluminum, synthetic wicker, galvanized steel, and thermo-plastic coated steel benches.  

Not only do we offer over a hundred garden benches in a great assortment of materials, colors, sizes, and styles, but we have some of the most comfortable designs that you’ll ever find.  Our Royal Highback model, for example, which has been featured in ‘Parade’ Magazine, is actually recommended by chiropractors for its deep, curved seat, high, contoured back, and built-in lumbar support. 

We also have rocking garden benches, Adirondack garden benches, planter benches, settees, outdoor sofas, around-the-tree benches, and even an amazing convertible Picnic Table/Bench, as well as soft, comfortable cushions in dozens of colors and patterns.

Oh, yeah, another great thing is that, besides providing free delivery of all of these benches, we can even ship some of them in as few as two business days.  That means that you still have plenty of time to get one before the leaves peak.

Yours Outdoors, 

Kathy