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five days five ways | 5 Things Thursday

Today will be a little different since I didn’t get to post my Christmas-scape on Tuesday due to technical difficulties (which have since been remedied, thank goodness!).

So, I decided to hijack 5 Things Thursday and show you anyway.

Besides, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to join in the fun (albeit late) with Aimee of It’s Overflowing who hosted  Tuesday’s Christmas-scapes theme from:

five days five ways christmas linky party | because every day is different

Don’t forget! You’ve got three more chances to participate if you want to! You can still link up with Momma Go Round who’s hosting our Holiday Party Attire linky. 

Then, tomorrow,  I’m hosting our Christmas Trees theme!

Finally, on Monday, we round out our linky party with Christmas Yummies at The Lovely Cupboard.

Hope you can make it to the rest of the parties!

And now back to table-scapes…

Honestly, we don’t eat anything other than cereal around here but maybe a dozen times a year, and practically every one of those times coincides with someone’s birthday or some other special day like Father’s Day.

So, I thought it would be fun to set a pretty Christmas table and enjoy some yummy food, which consisted of:

1. Skillet potatoes and onions with feta.

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2. An omelet with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cheddar.

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3. Cranberry Orange scones from a local bakery.

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4. Orange Strawberry Banana juice.

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Aaaaaand…

5. The big hit of the morning, which was this insanely delicious fruit salad my husband made.

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If it seems like a lot of fuss for just 5 people (three of whom had never used cloth napkins before)…it was.

But ultimately, I think it was well worth the effort. The boys kept exclaiming about how it was the best. day. ever (of course, I think they might have said that a couple of days before when I gave them each a mint Oreo, so obviously, it’s all relative).

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Pretty much everything on the table had a tree theme.

We don’t “do Santa,” and there’s a lot of Christmas décor that doesn’t do much for me.

But Christmas trees?

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Powerful reminders of the cross that Jesus bore on his back all the way to Calvary, only to be crucified upon it.

Evergreen, symbolizing the undying love of our Savior who came to this earth as a tiny baby so that when he grew to adulthood, he could die to pay the penalty for our sins.

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Plants, the ultimate illustration of life from death as seeds fall into the ground, are buried and forgotten, only to push their way through the dirt, sprouting hope and new promise each springtime.

Yes, trees, I can appreciate.

So, I placed a Christmas-tree shaped box ($0.50 from Goodwill) with a “treat” inside (fun-sized Skittles) on top of each of our place settings.

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I wanted to illustrate that Jesus and what he did for us on the tree are the best gifts…treats…surprises…that we could ever hope for.

Well…

Simon was fixated on the Skittles, and Ezra definitely had all the right Sunday School answers ready to go—“Jesus! God! The Bible!”—before I could hardly ask any questions…so who knows how successful an illustration it was/wasn’t.

It was still a fun family time, though.

And maybe a week or so from now, just when I think that nothing I said made any impression at all, one of the boys will surprise me with some sort of insightful little observation or truth. That’s usually how it goes around here.

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Is your mouth watering as much as mine?

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The centerpiece is a wood flower wreath from Target. The kids helped me fill three glass containers from Goodwill with silver and gold bells from the dollar store and some mini-ornaments from the dollar aisle at Target.

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We used the chandelier as our “tree,” embellishing it with vintage glass ornaments and two others I found at Goodwill.

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In keeping with the tree theme, I arranged some crazy-cute mini pots of jelly and other condiments in a tree-shaped basket ($0.59 from Goodwill).

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I kind of love my colorful creamer ($5) from Marshall’s.

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Just in case I haven’t fully convinced you of my obsession with Goodwill, here’s a list of everything else on this table alone that came from GW:

  • The dishes
  • The tree + manger tea light silhouette
  • The fabric for the napkins
  • The napkin rings
  • The candle-holders used as bases for the $1.50 Target chargers that I used as platters for the omelet and potatoes.

I made the table runner from a leftover piece of Premier Prints fabric that I originally used to recover some stools in my kitchen and added waterfall ruffles, which are actually just painter’s drop-cloths hot-glued onto the “runner” ends.

The fruit platter is a barn-sale score for $4.

The pitcher/goblets are from Walmart, and the beautiful orange bread-basket holding the scones was a birthday present from a good friend.

WHEW!

Are you on picture overload yet?

I might be.

All in all, it was a nice change of pace from the ordinary breakfast routine—one which might (might) become a Christmas tradition.

We’ll see.

So, what 5 things have been on your mind lately?

Want to link up?

P.S. I mentioned a giveaway that I have in the works for you, but since it was supposed to be posted on Tuesday, Tuesday was a bust, and this post is already puh-lenty long enough, I’ll make a separate announcement later with all the details.

P.P.S. Can’t wait to see your trees! : )

Monday ~ The DIY Showoff Project Parade ~ Made by You Mondays ~ Embellishing Life Everyday ~ Just Something I whipped up Monday  ~ The CSI project ~ Menu Plan Monday ~ C.R.A.F.T.  ~ The Southern Institute ~ Making the World Cuter ~ Thrify Décor Chick ~ Metamorphosis The CSI project ~ Menu Plan Monday ~ C.R.A.F.T.  ~ The Southern Institute ~ Making the World Cuter ~ Thrify Décor Chick ~ Metamorphosis Monday ~ Sumo Sweet Stuff ~ Gunny Sack ~ Singing Three Little Birds ~DIY Homes Sweet Home ~ Dittle Dattle ~ 1929 Charmer ~ Everything Under the Moon  ~ ModMix Monday ~ Sew Stylish ~ Coastal Charm ~ Under the Table and Dreaming

Tuesday ~ Get Your Craft ~ Tip Junkie ~ Blackberry Vine ~ Crafty Confessions ~ Me & my Boys ~ A Bowl Full of Lemons ~ Home Stories A-Z ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suberbia  ~ Carolyn’s Homework ~ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ House of Grace ~ Passionately Artisitc ~ My World Made by Hand ~ Uncommon Designs ~ Trendy Treehouse

Wednesday ~ Blue Cricket Design ~ Somedays Crafts ~ Sew Much Ado ~ Sew Woodsy ~ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Savvy Southern Style ~ {Primp} ~ Midweek Fiesta ~ Rae Gun Ramblings ~ Polkadots On Parade ~ Lollipop Cards ~ JAQS Studio ~ Let Birdz Fly ~ Let Birdz Fly ~ My Girlish Whims

Thursday ~ Transformation Thursdays ~ Somewhat simple ~ Show off your stuff ~ House of Hepworths ~ Delightful Order ~ My Simple Home Life ~ The Frugal Girls ~ Thrifty Thursday ~ DIY Diva Thursday ~ Tablescape Thursday ~ No Minimalists Here ~ Crafty, Scrappy, Happy ~ Thrifty Decorating ~ Between U and Me ~ 36th Avenue

Friday ~ The Shabby nest  ~ Show and Tell Friday ~ Finding Fabulous ~ I’m Loving it ~ Simply Sweet Home ~ Whipper Berry ~ Chic on a Shoestring decorating ~ Spunky Junky ~ Delicate Construction ~ Homemaker in Heels ~ Family Ever After~ French Country Cottage ~ Common Ground ~ Young And Crafty ~ At the Picket Fence ~ Fingerprints on the Fridge ~ Miss Mustard Seed ~ Addicted to Decorating ~Bacon Time with The Hungry Hypo ~ Making Lemonade ~ I Can’t Stop Crafting ~ Over the Big Moon ~ Shabby Art ~ Answer is Chocolate

Saturday ~ I heart nap time- Sundae Scoop ~ Tatertots and Jello ~ Be different Act Normal ~ Funky Junk ~ 2805 ~ Making Lemonade Blog ~I am Along for the Ride  ~ Lolly Jane

Sundays ~ Homemaker on a Dime ~ Sunday’s Best

23 Comments

  1. WOAH… this is amazing.. the food looks delicious and the table decor just proves that being frugal is fabulous! Thanks for sharing!

  2. I’m having Christmas brunch at our place this year so there are definitely some take away ideas here. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Ahh-Amazing!! Everything looks so beautiful and the food looks delicious! I would love for you to come party today over at Passionatelyperfect.com!!

  4. Wow, what a spread!! Looks gorgeous!! I would love for you to come link up at our link party going on right now…junkintheirtrunk.blogspot.com/2011/12/link-it-up-wednesday-8.html

  5. Thanks so much! I also wanted to let you know that I am enjoying all the prizes. The lotion and spray smell fantastic!

  6. Thanks, Donna! And I’m so sorry to hear you never got your prize. You definitely were not responsible for contacting her, and she and I actually got it all worked out right after you notified me about winning, so I’m not sure why you don’t have it, but I have emailed her, and we’ll get it fixed very quickly! : )

    Thanks for reading!

  7. Your table looks beautiful!! I adore all the color you used– so happy and bright! I need to hit up my goodwill more often. 🙂

    I happen to love Christmas trees, too, so I will be back tomorrow to link up!

    Thanks for stopping by 52mantels and leaving me a sweet comment. I’ll be back tomorrow for the linky fun!

  8. Hi Abbie,

    Thanks for the invite and for hosting the party.

    Your tablescape is beautiful! The food look so yummy!!!

    Dee

  9. Hey Abbie…. I am so Happy that you found me…. So that I could come and Find you!!!! **Wink. Wink** I would love to link up… But the only thing is we are in the process of moving so half of our house is in boxes… So the extent of my decorating has been those little DIY Winter Ice Skates and a DIY Winter Hair Tutorial… But I am your newest follower ( FRIEND!!!! ) ; )

I love hearing from you guys!