"How to spend it well at xmas"

[Duemarch2021]

Just watching this now on TV and some people spend almost £700 on their table decorations!?!?!!!! How much do you spend on decorating your table at xmas inclusing crackers, centerpiece, glasses cutlery etc etc???

I’ve bought two dinner plates from Royal Stafford and two etched water glasses in a lovely berry colour. £50 maybe.

Utterly ridiculous. Some people don't have £700 to spend on everything.

I'm watching KFC at Christmas. Horrifying.

I bought all new crockery, table cloth, runner, wooden log slices, candle holders, cutlery, napkins, place mats and chargers last year. I use foliage from the back of the tree to dress the table.
So I'll only be spending on the crackers this year.

I think I’ve spent about £30 this year on some crackers and plates & bowls from b&m. I’m very flash! We did buy a new artificial Xmas tree though which was £200. We’ve been putting it off for years.

I’ve probably spent something about 30-50 total but that has covered things like cutlery and plates and tablecloth and napkin rings etc that get used every year some of it for a decade so far and there’s no plans to stop.

On top of that I get crackers cheap after Christmas to use the next year and a box normally lasts 2 separate Christmases so I works out less than £5 a year.

£54 true vintage tablecloth
£4.50 each napkin rings x6
£3 each napkins x6
£5 charger plates x6
£6.50 dinner plates x6
£20 bouquet of eucalyptus for centrepiece x2
£0 regret of choosing a white tablecloth and napkins when I have 4 kids x100,000

Err I use the nicer plates and serving dishes etc we already have. I tend to splash out on some nice christmas tissues and some posh crackers and that's it.

Nothing.
But I did get inspired and put some posher ribbons round last years crackers and they do look better.

Dinner plates & cutlery same as always
Chargers from garden centre sale about 10yrs ago.
Wine glasses: same as always
Centre is mostly fresh foliage arrangement with candle in centre. Candle £1.50, Wilko. Greenery from friends garden and hedgerows. Few sparkly bits I reuse each year.
Crackers: fill your own set. Cost me about £10 for them.
Tablecloth is an old IKEA one which is lovely. Has snowflakes on it in grey and white. Only comes out at Christmas. One day I'll use my Grandma's but whilst kids are small i will pass as it'll just get gravy stained.

I have a Christmas tablecloth and napkins which were given to me by my mother when I first became the family Christmas host over 30 years ago. It has washed perfectly through my families childhood years and now the grandchildren's who are now 15 and 12. This comes out along with the best full dinner set, also a gift from a friend, complete with tureens and the 'posh' box of cutlery. My grandchildren want everything the same every year and would be shocked if I suddenly bought new table wear for Chrlstmas. So, like many others, my only Christmas decoration costs every year are the crackers.

We have a Christmas tablecloth keep and reuse. We also have a special felt wreath on the front door from Dec 1st, which gets brought in on Christmas morning and laid on the table in the middle. I put our large wedding vase/ glass candle holder thing in the centre of it (don’t know what to call it but it’s very special to us and we keep it on display in the lounge year round). We light a candle inside it and that’s our centrepiece. So I suppose I do buy one large white candle evry year, although would do that anyway. We use the same white crockery as usual!

Oh and wouldn’t have crackers thanks

No idea as bought over time but it's mainly budget.

Dishes were bought 17 years ago using vouchers from wedding and were a lot for us. Cutlery is a good set too, but not massively expensive they were maybe £2.50/£3 per item.

Glasses are Christmas painted I got from Christmas fayre and are from £1 sale. We do have crystal glasses from our wedding we used to use. Rest is either home made (cutlery holders and crackers) or from supermarket and wilco. We love our Christmas table, although I do really want a 'Christmas dinner service'.

Family not British so if celebrating with them, £0. My mum has a special Christmas tablecloth but it was bought over 20 years ago and it was so cheap, I'd say so far it's worked out at £1 per year.

If celebrating in the UK, £6-8 on crackers.

About 3hrs walking in the woods picking up pine cones and fallen bits of shrubbery. Some stuff comes from my garden too.

I use the same plates and cutlery we use all year round. Ditto glasses. Decorations are used year after year.

Centre piece is thrown together from odds and ends in the Xmas box so it’s different each year.

If I ever do fancy something new I get it from a charity shop.

I was taught how to make reusable fabric crackers and they get used every year. You can actually make them from festive fabric napkins if you fancy. No bangs and can’t be pulled ( not a huge fan tbf) but looks nice on the table

Table runner and napkins from M&S this year £27.50 which will last for years and crackers left from last year. Bought some Christmas tree shaped serving dishes at £1 each in the Sainsbury’s sale a few years ago.

I have some bits I use on the tray I have candles on. But they are just in with the Christmas decorations. Then I but napkins. But I use napkins all the time when I eat at home so it is just a more seasonal themed napkin.

Then just normal glasses, plates and cutlery. Does anyone by new?!

@LadyTiredWinterBottom2

Lol i was going to watch that but i think it'll make me feel sick...

@duemarch2021 l won't be eating the gravy again🤢

Did anybody notice where the tray came from on the cheaper table?

Watching it on +1 now lol

Everything on my table at Christmas would be over a grand to replace with new but there are lots of wedding presents from 20 years ago (dinner set, canteen, crystal) plus other things I've bought over the years (silver napkin holders, linen table cloth and napkins, placemats, table runner). Apart from the runner everything is used at other times of the year. This year I've bought crackers only for the table but I'm middle aged, I already have all the big purchases, I can't really feel much outrage than some people are buying presumably decent quality long lasting things for Christmas.

DH and DCs bought some shiny shit crockery and was so pleased they'd bought me a present didn’t have the heart to say I hate it. It’s shit quality and it’s patterned which is a no no for me. It’s all I’m going to see when I’m eating Christmas dinner. Ruined Christmas I tell you.

We have a Christmas tablecloth, think it cost 15 quid last year. We use all our usual placemats glasses and plates. I spent 8 quid on crackers this year. That's it.

Only bought crackers this year as just us. I have spent £25 though as they incorporate a game ☺. Also have a very old and battered Christmas table cloth that comes out every year but as no company this year will replace next year. I bought some spendy but gorgeous glittery Christmas tree candles last year for the table but they only lasted about 45 minutes which is a quick way to burn £30 (and they burned more holes in the knackered cloth). Having said all that i would love to have a properly dressed Christmas table 😀.