Embellishments By SLR, 19 Days 'Til Christmas

Hello everyone! My name is Shenita of Embellishments By SLR.  I absolutely love everything about decorating and entertaining; and doing it all on a budget.  I am honored to do a guest post here on Type A Decorating! There is so much inspiration to be found here; and I hope that you will be inspired by what I share with you today.


During the holiday season, many of us will be entertaining, and feeling the pressure of making everything perfect for our guests. One of the most common dilemmas involves how to serve our guests.  As you are well aware, people tend to congregate in the kitchen; and if the food is set up there, it creates a congested traffic pattern.  To avoid that, I want to show you how to set up a fabulous buffet table in your dining room.  This works great for a cocktail party!

The first thing you want to do is remove all of the chairs from the table. They can be used in your common living areas, for additional seating.  This opens up the traffic pattern around the dining table.


Next, I dressed my table by scrunching up a shimmery throw that I already had. (If you don't have a throw or tablecloth, simply get a couple of yards of inexpensive shimmery fabric and scrunch it up!!)  

For my centerpiece, I brought in my arrangement from my entry table.  I simply added inexpensive Christmas picks and tall stems to add drama. I wanted the stems to reach into the chandelier.  These were all purchased at Hobby Lobby at 50% off.

The holiday season is also the time to bring on the bling! Feel free to use all of those crystal items that you have stashed away. The more, the better! Place all of your pretty china and crystal on the front side of the table, and the food items on the back side.  This allows your table to sparkle from the front! This will also dictate the flow of the buffet.

I also love these holiday napkin rings that I got at ZGallerie, a couple of years ago.  They add a nice little punch of bling, as well!

And for the cheapest accessories of all...votives and candles!! You can purchase an entire package of votives for around $5; and get candles at your local dollar store.  Just position them around the table and it will instantly add the wow factor!

There you have it! A spectacular holiday buffet table for next to nothing! Just remember, use what you already have; and don't feel like you have to spend a lot of money to create a 'fancy' table. Your guests are just excited to share the joy of the season with you; and are appreciative of the effort that you have put forth!


I hope you have seen something here to inspire you; and I wish you all a glorious and blessed holiday season!