to not have a Christmas Table worthy of Kirsty Allsop?

[autumnlights12]

On Facebook this morning. Several friends have uploaded their immaculately dressed dining tables, already ready for Xmas day. Best china. Best crystal. Best serving dishes and best cutlery. Fancy table feature with various twigs and candles. I have none of this. WIBU to rush out and panic buy perfect Crimbo table accessories from John Lewis? Or will my Tesco best non china suffice? Sob.... Facebook has once again made me feel deficient.

Small everyday kitchen table, for family - my "best china" is everyday, it doesn't look fancy, but it is because it is precious to me (all handmade). I did buy some crackers, and we will have napkins rather than kitchen roll! Might light some candles. Anything set up would feel fake - each to their own.

I think we have two surviving plates which match but non matching sideplates or wineglasses and I never won the Daniel O'Donnell salt and pepper set at the school raffle which would have Kirstified the table.

Have a huge pine table in our kitchen , which has been chipped , battered , and bashed . It might even have the odd face drawn on one of the legs in ballpoint pen . It's dearer to me than any French polished beautifully laid dining table could be . It's where all the dc's have had their first meals , where DH asked me to marry him, and has had a host of memorable meals on it . We'll have some crackers , and a tablecloth , but the pictures of my table will be concentrating on the people, not the china .

We don't even have a dining table, nor space for one.
Does that make you feel better?

But, but... Where will they eat all their other meals over the next two days? If the answer is "on their knees in front of the TV", they're not as posh as they'd like you to think!

Mine will have mismatched plates and cutlery (the pairs are matching though, i can't stand if if they aren't), odd chairs, and glasses etc.

I do have flowers made out of napkins though, so that is all that matters

Some of my friends will upload pictures of their table and I will enjoy looking at them. I am a good homemaker and enjoy sharing my projects with others so will probably do the same .

I have made the crackers, name cards, centre pieces etc but the table isn't fully made up yet . To have done so already is a little odd.

You can want to have a nice Christmas table and value those sat around it.

Where will your friends eat meals before Christmas day?
We use our dining table every day, for three meals and Dd covers it in crafts too. I will set it an hour before we eat and thats about it. That reminds me I need to iron the table cloth, maybe I'll do that tomorrow.
We have a centerpiece (already on the table) and crackers etc, but no special dishes, just pull out the nice wine glasses and polish the everyday cutlery.

They won't do it before Christmas.

We will probably be adding a different height kitchen table to expand dining table (still waiting on final numbers!).

I have no idea where people find space for table decorations. The whole damn things groaning under the weight of everyone's place settings & a dozen plus serving dishes/platters, surely?

& agree it's a tad minging to do place settings two days in advance!

The snake takes up most of our table. Come Christmas I am throwing cushions and blankets on the floor to have an indoor picnic we are doing buffet not roast

I have my best table linen which I have had for years with matching napkins also years old. However my glasses and plates are a mis match

I know mismatching is cool Santa my dsis is always telling me so - my brain just can't cope with it.

We have a dining room, it has a tree which is decorated to match the table and colour scheme of the room.

I use our everyday denby stuff too as it all matches. But I do have to have matching cutlery, table decorations, confetti, runner, candles, bowls ect.

I would also give away crackers that didn't match!!

I would love to be able to do random stuff but I just can't cope with it.

Now there's a difference HoHoHokeyCokey - you have everyday Denby, most of us have everyday Asda/Tesco crockery!

I think I have one Denby sideplate I "inherited" when someone gave me a cake & I never got round to returning the plate it was on.....

I can honestly say that the most relaxed I feel is when I visit my best friends house who has all mismatched plates, cutlery etc, and although clean, her house is very 'lived in' but so, so welcoming and homely. I aspire to be more like her! The need to put pics on Facebook of tables etc is purely to show off!

You are perfectly cool as you are, HoHo. May your matching day be merry. It sounds lovely.

Oh, I was so excited when I first had room for a table. Bout 20 years ago now, but it was a big deal.

But I still really dont mind if plates match or knives and forks. I could replace my non-matching stuff, but why? We will have special stuff for christmas, and we will be kind to each other ( hopefully). If people want to make stuff pretty, that's fine. Here, it'll be reLaxed!

Bunny, a snake?

Thank you Santa merry Christmas to you.

And merry Christmas to you all matching or random may your day be merry and bright.

Doesn't everyone have a snake? Nametake you really are being left behind on this trend.

I have a cobra. It spits a bit but it is learning manners....

I have to keep it...we have hissssssssstory.

Ok if we're sharing our non-Kirsty tendancies can I confess to yearning for a pack of Aunt Bessies roasties ? (or Tescos equiv)

There ...said it....I'll go & sit in the corner with my box of tissues & rock gently now.

But you still have to bung them in the oven, roast potatoes aren't hard work

People decorate their tables two days before Christmas?

plastic measuring jug as a gravy boat

Time honoured tradition in our family. Put on the table with a comment such as "Please be careful of the precious jug"

And I can predict what my lovely MIL's table centrepieces will consist of:

4 bottles of Bud
2-3 bottles of Cava
Some coke
Every sauce known to Man
FIL's bottles of beer for his light and bitter

Much better than twigs in a vase