How to Set an Elegant Table For The Holidays – For Less!

Hello friends!! I have a HUGE treat for you today!! It’s a huge holiday entertaining and decorating blog hop with lots of inspiration! I’m sharing with you how to set an elegant table for the holidays (10 ways – for less!) 

…and learn how to make 30 beautiful Thanksgiving holiday entertaining and table setting ideas for memorable family get togethers and holiday parties.

Thank you so much Lory from Designthusiasm for inviting me to join in the holiday entertaining fun!

I LOVE to entertain – especially for the holidays!! Having our family and loved ones around, music, holiday decor….there is nothing better! 

Although I love to add metallics and texture to my everyday decor, the holidays give me a great reason to add a bit more drama and sparkle! 

Today I want to pass on some budget friendly holiday table decorating ideas to show you that you don’t have to break the bank to create an elegant holiday table like this.

 How to Set an Elegant Table For The Holidays – For Less!

1. While your friends and family are gathered around your table for the holidays – wouldn’t it be fun for them to admire something new on your walls and create a cozy, stylish ambiance? Make some new art to hang in your home! These EASY DIY agate wall art pieces are a great way to add instant impact to the spaces you entertain in.

I hung two of these inexpensive DIY pictures on either side of our hutch in our dining room. These agate look-alike pieces are colored with metallic silver and metallic gold (plus cream, gray and black!) so they actually shimmer in the candlelight.

They add a stylish contemporary twist to our trad dining room furniture pieces.

See my paint colors here.

2. Don’t buy a whole new set of dishes – save money and use your everyday white dishes! Layer them with a dressy set you may have inherited or received as a wedding gift or pick up just a set of patterned dessert plates to add color and pattern to your white dinnerware. I picked up these gold metallic oak leaf dessert plates here – for little cashola – and I LOVE how they instantly give my table a ‘holiday look’ to enjoy!

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3. Add a few nature inspired placemats to give your table a touch of elegance, ready-for-entertaining style! You can save money by skipping the head table place settings, or just buy two for the head table settings. You don’t have to add one to each spot.

I picked up 4 of these GA-ORGEOUS metallic gold branch placemats (they are wipeable and I know I’ll be using them a LOT!). I added one to each of the side table place settings and just used a set of placemats I already owned for the ends.

4. Add two table runners to give your table the beauty of textiles. Instead of using one long one down the middle of the table use this updated look: Add two runners that sit across the table so they run under two opposite place settings. 

5. Create a statement centerpiece without dropping serious money at the florist (although florist blooms are so gorgeous – they can be really expensive!) I made this simple yet chic centerpiece using faux silver dollar branches (they look real not cheap!) and I added some gold twiggy poplar branches from our backyard that I gave a quick spray with my favorite metallic gold spray paint.

You can keep the twigs after Thanksgiving to reuse for Christmas and beyond since they are dried and won’t disintegrate.

These silver dollar branches look amazing mixed with pheasant feathers as I did here or mix them with pussy willows for spring.

The point is that you can save a lot of money by reusing faux fabulous blooms/branches and dried botanicals like I do…. instead of buying fresh flowers everytime you entertain.

6. Skip the fancy silverware if you don’t own any. Your everyday flatware will look just great when you have your table set with other elegant decor. I used the stunning silver Greek Key design flatware I got a few years ago  – but I could have used my everyday flatware.

7.  Cloth napkins add elegance. There is just something extra special about adding cloth napkins to a table! I love my paper napkins for everyday but when I’m entertaining I love to add a cloth napkin to each place setting!

I mixed up these gorgeous gray napkins (in an easy roll fold) with ta few green napkins and added hammered silver napkin rings for more sparkle. See 20 plus napkin fold styles for lots of napkin folding ideas!

And YES – you can mix your metallics! I decorated my holiday table with silver and 2 shades of gold – it just all works!

8. Add place cards. Make up these easy inexpensive DIY Thankful printable tags with quotes perfect for the holiday: ‘family’, ‘friends’, ‘give’, ‘thankful’.

9. Add a few metallic painted pumpkins, metallic painted ginkgo leaves and metallic fall leaves. I spray painted a few baby boo pumpkins, real ginkgo leaves (I press them under stacks of books to flatten them out)  and dollar store faux fall leaves with my favorite gold metallic spray paint. Scatter the leaves down the middle of the table, tuck a gold ginkgo leaf into the napkin rings and perch a gold pumpkin around your centerpiece for some holiday glimmer and glow!

DIY Bling Pumpkins

10. Add some candlelight. I love adding candles to our holiday table – this year I used low pillar candles instead of my big candlesticks. Gray marbled candles pick up the gray cloth napkin color and white pillar candles get dressed up in gold chevron votive cups! 

I hope you all enjoyed my post on ‘How to Set an Elegant Table for the Holidays – For Less!’

Resource list:

White table runners (similar)

Silver Napkin Rings

White Carved Wood Chargers

White Dinnerware

Silver Greek Key design flatware

My everyday flatware (15% off now with promo code SUPER – ends Oct 30 2016)

Faux silver dollar branches (similar)

Gold Branch Placemats

Gold Oak Leaf Dessert Plates

Gray napkins

Stemless water glasses

White vase (similar)

My favorite gold metallic spray paint

Make it! Easy DIY Projects:

EASY DIY agate wall art pieces

DIY Thankful printable tags

DIY Bling Pumpkins

Ready? Here is the Styled and Set Holiday Entertaining Blog Tour! We are having another one to celebrate Christmas the week of November 28th – so stay tuned!

Please head over to visit the other bloggers today that are sharing their creative entertaining ideas:

Sunny Side Up

Finding Home Farms

The Wood Grain Cottage

Setting for Four

Becky Cunningham

Don’t miss these gorgeous decorating ideas:

 If you missed Monday’s posts:

Designthusiasm | French Country Cottage | Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Kelley Nan | Bless’er House | Maison de Pax

If you missed Tuesday’s posts:

Town and Country Living | CitrineLiving | Sand and Sisal
Zevy Joy | Life on Virginia Street | Design, Dining and Diapers

If you missed Wednesday’s posts:

Decor Gold Designs | ZDesign At Home | Randi Garrett Design
Ella Claire | So Much Better With Age | My Soulful Home

If you missed Thursday’s posts:

Shabbyfufu | StoneGable | Savvy Southern Style
Maison Decor | On Sutton Place | The Enchanted Home

Monday’s posts:

Designthusiasm | French Country Cottage | Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Kelley Nan | Bless’er House | Maison de Pax

Tuesday’s posts:

Town and Country Living | CitrineLiving | Sand and Sisal
Zevy Joy | Life on Virginia Street | Design, Dining and Diapers

Wednesday’s posts:

Decor Gold Designs | ZDesign At Home | Randi Garrett Design
Ella Claire | So Much Better With Age | My Soulful Home

Thursday’s posts:

Shabbyfufu | StoneGable | Savvy Southern Style
Maison Decor | On Sutton Place | The Enchanted Home

Friday’s Posts:

Sunny Side Up | Finding Home Farms | The Wood Grain Cottage
Setting for Four | Becky Cunningham

…and check this out!! I’m featured in this month’s issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine – page 8! 

What a thrill! If you have a chance please pick up a copy to see the write up!

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!

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