Just a wee post from me this Christmas Eve to share my season’s greetings with you all, alongside some snaps of this year’s Christmas table setting – another Rosie tradition. This time last year, renovations had finished just in the nick of time for Christmas and we moved in at a frantic pace on Christmas Eve Eve, lives still mainly packed in boxes and decorations minimal. This year I wanted to take things at a slower pace, to enjoy the build-up, to savour small, seasonal rituals and start new traditions. That’s not to say the call of consumerism and the pressure to deliver Christmas perfection hasn’t been felt at all in these parts – but I’m certainly more aware and taking steps to be more sustainable and embrace the ethos of slow living. Once again, all my pressies this year are homemade – I won’t share what they are yet as I know some recipients will be reading, but I enjoyed the process as much as the giving.
My favourite part of the festive preparations is, as always, dressing the table. One of my seasonal build-up activities and new traditions was a thoroughly enjoyable wreath workshop with Pyrus Botanicals (something I’ve wanted to do since moving back to Edinburgh nearly seven years ago!) and so my rustic wreath, made with locally foraged foliage, forms a focal point above the mantle. I’ve certainly got the wreath-making bug and ended up crafting a couple more (one for us, one is a pressie) so they joined the fireplace alongside my miniature Bloom & Wild tree. Led by the wreaths, I went with a mainly green theme, with highlights of red and a few metallic details for the rest of my table setting.
For the table, I added taper candles and greenery in miniature milk bottles to add height and rustic linen for texture. My Denby Regency Green crockery (which was kindly gifted to me three years ago and has been well loved since) takes centre stage, with vintage champagne coupes, cutlery and furniture. Fairy lights and more candles finish things off and set the mood for a cosy Christmas Eve dinner. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Mantle details: candles by Skandinavisk, Everyone’s Designs and Can to Candle; candle holders – vintage (red one from Art & Vintage) and the White Company; vintage star decorations; White Company fairy lights; wreaths made by me with help from Pyrus Botanicals (including vintage ribbon from my ribbon box!); miniature tree from Bloom & Wild (who I have worked with before, but this was a pressie from my lovely Mum).
Table details: crockery c/o Denby; milk bottle vases from Laura Ashley (who I have worked with previously); runner and napkins – Sainsbury’s Home (in the sale!); vintage glasses and crockery, table and chairs.