Quick and Simple Table Setting

I can't believe it's been five years since I saw this little face for the first time.

My Ada is five today.  Love her so much.  I'm parent helping at her preschool this morning and am bringing cupcakes, then we'll go out for lunch and have a special dinner and presents at home later.

And then my little one, Ellie, will be three on Friday.  And we move into our new house on Monday.  And Christmas is nine days after that.

So as you might imagine, I've had to try extra hard this year to make sure that my sweet girls' special days don't get lost in the chaos.

Last weekend my parents came up to visit from PA and my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece came over for a takeout pizza dinner with birthday cake.  Since I'm delaying my girls' birthday party with their friends until the new year, I wanted them to feel like this little birthday gathering was special.

To set the table for their "party" I cut a piece of butcher paper-style wrapping paper to the length of the table, then folded it in half to make a runner.  I set out charcoal and white graphic placemats, white plates, and pale blue water goblets.

I threaded dark red hemstitched napkins through beaded napkin rings and placed them on the plates.

I used the layer cake I made for dessert as the centerpiece and arranged a few evergreen clippings from the yard and some mini pyramids of clementines to finish things off.

I'm not usually much of a table setter but this was so easy and so fast, I might just change my tune.  And the look on Ada's face when she came into the kitchen and saw the table was priceless.  She gasped and said, "Oh, it looks beautiful!"

Ada and Ellie were practically jumping up and down after dinner to put their own candles in the cake.

We turned down the lights and sang "Happy Birthday" to two smiling faces.

Then they blew out their candles and we dove into the cake!

Ada wanted a coconut cake with vanilla frosting and coconut on top, Ellie wanted a chocolate cake with raspberries, so I combined all of their requests into one.

I was so happy to have an evening carved out to focus on my birthday girls - life has been so hectic getting ready for our move and I think we all needed a little break.

And I definitely learned that a pretty tablescape doesn't have to be difficult, expensive, or time-consuming!  Just look around at what you have and what's seasonal and it comes together pretty easily.

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I'm thrilled to be working with Haagen-Dazs as a DIY brand advocate on their "Moment for Me" campaign.  The campaign is all about recognizing and appreciating little moments we grab for ourselves in our busy lives.  They provided me with the hemstitched napkins and napkin rings.  I'm so happy to be part of such a positive campaign!

 

All opinions are my own.  This is not a sponsored post.