Are you gathering your family and friends around your table this Christmas?  We receive a lot of questions on how to put together an effortless, yet beautiful tablescape for the dinners and brunches you’re hosting this season.  Welcoming your loved ones into your home can be overwhelming and take a lot of work. Today we’ve partnered with EBAY to share or tips and sourcing guide to help you achieve an unforgettable table, without the stress and too much mess.

Okay here we go! Your tabletop is your canvas, start from the basics and layer as you go. Table linens are a great place a start. Choose your look, whether you want to go with a full tablecloth or runner.  I like to stick with a classic linen look, whites and greys are beautiful and elegant. Then add in your napkin. Simple white linen napkins are a staple, they can be dressed up or down. Don’t get caught up too much with your napkin rings, these can be hard to find and an added expense. Either fold your napkin over your place setting or gather together with a festive velvet or silk ribbon. This time I created a quick and easy little napkin ring by wrapping thin copper wire around the napkin. Then adding in a sprig of fresh pine and juniper, the perfect holiday touch! Perfectly simple and elegant.

I love the look of fresh garland with winter greens running down the centre of a table. We used cedar rope for the base of the garland, to achieve a full look place to strands over top by folding your cedar rope in half and twisting it.  Then adding in sprigs of pine, silver dollar eucalyptus, juniper and some pine cones too! Adding in ribbon at the end of the garland for a whimsical finishing touch.

We included different heights of brass candlesticks for a classic yet eclectic look down the garland. They look stunning in all different shapes and sizes running down the table, adding in height to balance the look with with that added touch of whimsy. I love shopping on EBAY for my vintage candlesticks their selection is great and even often can get a “lot” of candles stick for a great price.  For the candles we choose shades if grey and dusty pink taper candles, the two pink candles tied in the pink from the glassware and ribbon.

Depending on the occasion/season I will either ground the place setting with a statement charger or use extra large dinner plates, to allow layers of plates. Finish off your place setting with a napkin or menu card. Bring in your flatware on either side of the setting, placing correctly according to the order of each fork and spoon used. I love how the look of elegant gold cutlery was the perfect way to complete this look.  Shopping EBAY is sooo easy once you get the hang of it, we have lots of tips and tricks in this last post!

It’s always a nice to use a mix of old and new when setting your table, maybe you received new china but have some silverware that has been passed down from family, they often will work well together and really add character and a personal touch to your tablescape.

Our charges had a touch of gold on them, so a simple white salad plate with some soft detail around the edges was perfect. Our glassware had a lovely light pink hue to it, champagne coupes are so beautiful and vintage as well works so well here. Make sure to have a water glass and then another style of glass out for wine or a cocktail, this also adds fullness to your table making it look complete. We hope this inspires you to get a table ready to welcome friends and family this season.

For ease of clean up and all the bits and pieces that come along with working with fresh greens, I always use my Dyson cordless handheld vacuum. It really is a game changer (especially around the busy holidays) allowing me to go in and around and clean up the table linen before setting.

This post was sponsored by EBAY all opinions are my own.

The dining room we shot this post in belongs to my cousin Stephanie, Interior Designer and owner of Stephanie Jean Design. If you don’t already follow her, you should- you’ll just love her… @stephaniejeandesign !