On the Homefront: Peppermint and Snowflakes Christmas Table

Dalmatian Frost got to play Santa for Christmas!

This year I originally intended to do a woodlands pinecone-themed table for Christmas, but a couple of fortuitous finds at HomeGoods made me change my mind.  A red and white chevron-patterned table runner and some cheery red napkins with white snowflakes put me more in the mood for a wintery design in red and white.  And when I discovered that this was the 15th anniversary of Williams-Sonoma's Peppermint Bark Christmas candy (which has a barking Dalmatian on the anniversary tin), I knew that a Peppermint and Snowflakes Christmas table was our holiday destiny!

From Williams-Sonoma

Here is our festive table for Christmas 2013:

Dark brown wooden bead placemat from Target; round red woven placemat from K-Mart; white dinner plate (Tivoli from Studio Nova); snowflake dessert plate in four different designs from Target many years ago; white flatware from Target; red snowflake napkin from HomeGoods this year; small red candle in small white bowl from Pier 1; clear water glass; pale green glass goblet (can't remember where I got either glass).

Please ignore the fact that two of the plate designs have eight-pointed snowflakes when everyone knows all snowflakes are six-pointed (the napkins have the same problem)!

A simple centerpiece adds sparkle to the table.

 Peppermint puffs, Andes Peppermint Crunch Candy, and
 Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark Cookies on a three-tiered
dessert stand.

This is the first Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark tin I got
several years ago, with two barking Dalmatians.

This is a more recent tin, bought a couple of years back, with
one Dalmatian tugging on the ribbon instead of barking!

I love this view of the table, with the center looking all shimmery
and both sides standing out in bold red and white.

Our Christmas dinner was supremely easy.  We started off with cheeses from Sweet Grass Dairy sent by a dear friend, and they were absolutely delicious (thanks, Ann!).  The main course was a Maine Lobster Seafood Bake from Lobster Gram.  It was very good and simple to prepare, but it did not include sausage like other seafood bakes I have had, which I think adds incredible extra flavor to the meal.  Everything else was purchased at our local Publix Supermarket (the Kale Salad is a prepackaged kit from the produce aisle which includes poppy seed dressing and a cranberry-pepita mix).  In years that I prepare the Thanksgiving feast, as I did this year, an effortless main meal for Christmas is my subsequent gift to myself!

Christmas 2013 menu:

Assorted Cheeses and Crackers

Maine Lobster Seafood Bake

Kale Salad with Cranberries and Pepitas

Cuban Bread

Holiday Spice Loaf Cake

Peppermint candies abounded on our table this Christmas, but the foil-wrapped Riegelein Santa, his Lindt Chocolate reindeer, and the Lindt Lindor Truffles are all simple milk chocolate:

Frost the Santa Dalmatian was not the only Christmas Dalmatian in the dining room:

On the credenza, Dalmatians Snow and Flake flank a lovely candy cane plate from HomeGoods a few years ago, as well as one of my favorite Christmas decorations, a small wooden reindeer that we have had for decades:

I hope everyone had as enjoyable a Christmas feast as we did this year!