THE GIFT OF A FRENCH COUNTRY CHRISTMAS PARTY

There are so many wonderful things about this season. Inviting friends and family to your home is one of the most generous gifts you can offer this holiday. Gathering around your table and enjoying a party or a special meal with people you love is unbeatable. Stressing out about that, and how your table will look, and what to serve? Not so much! Part of our Holiday Entertaining Series, this easy French Country Christmas Party is the answer to everything that worries you. I got together with my good friend chef Lisa of DeliciousTable.com and we created this easy to put together and beautiful French Country holiday party for you. Believe us, this will garner rave reviews from your guests! Not only beautiful, the food is easy to make, and superb! If you share my passion for French Country style and French Country antiques, you can use your French Country Antiques to create a fun, inviting and intriguing table. A table set with things you love will tell your guest a story that entertains your guests. And you who know me, know that: 1. I adore antiques 2. I adore setting a beautiful table. 3. I love to have a good time when I entertain! For this French Country party, let's begin with the table. I styled it two ways for you so that you could see how versatile this look is. First, as a buffet table so that guests can come by, fill up their plate and then eat in various places in the family room and dining room with a cheery fire burning in the fireplace, and by the Christmas tree. And then, as a "real" table setting for a smaller gathering when you want to sit at the table and linger over the food and talk and laugh until the early morning hours. FOR THE BUFFET: I used a large antique French Tian to hold the bottles of wine and champagne, filling the bowl with ice, and placing large pinecones on top. The pinecones are not just for decoration, because I do love how they look, but the layer of cones also keeps the ice frozen a little while longer. For the candle centerpiece, antique French seedling pots are quaint French Country votive holders, they sit on an antique Ironstone cake pedestal. I filled the seedling pots half way with soil, then added a small tea light votive, and pushed in some moss. {you do have to be careful doing this, as moss is flammable. You can also add more soil and push the metal votive cups into the soil deeper.} I love how festive this Red Paisley Tablecloth looks for the holidays! The pattern in red, white and green is cheerful and has a certain French Country charm. I mixed the napkins with the beautiful European Linen Napkins with the red embroidery to add interest to the table, but also because mixing napkins is a great way to stretch the usefulness of your napkin patterns when entertaining larger groups. Here is my table semi-et up for the party buffet style. More food will be added closer to when the guests arrive, and we will remove all the chairs so that it's easy to move around and look at all the delicious food offerings. One thing that is magical about entertaining in a more relaxed French Country style, and setting up the buffet in the kitchen, is that I've found that guests feel instantly at home! And what host or hostess doesn't cherish that? FOR THE TABLE SETTING: Now let's look at using the same table cloth, centerpiece, dishes, glasses and napkins for a more intimate dinner party. The same elements make for a casual, French Country designed table. To give each place setting on your table a bit of panache, I used larger antique transferware plates underneath the contemporary French Country checked smaller plates and bowls. Doesn't it look wonderful? Feel free to mix your dishes with abandon! A mix of plates makes your table much more interesting, and you get to use plates that you always skip over because you don't have enough of each plate size to set the entire table. It's always exciting to mix and match antiques with "new", and mix together lots of patterns and textures on your able tops and do something unexpected to set off your dishes. This is the kind of table you set when you want to spend time together, telling stories, laughing, and making memories. A table setting like this sets the scene for memory making parties, one magical evening at a time.

Holiday Country Napkins

Linen Napkins

Rare Antique Ironstone Cake Pedestal

Antique French Seedling Pots

Antique English Mother of Pearl Flatware

Antique MOP Fish Service

Red Country Bowls

Red Country Plates

Now for the easy, amazing FOOD you can make and serve. This is the perfect meal for a festive but casual dinner. Amazingly, it can be a beautiful, elegant dinner as well! This is our buffet table with the Holiday Dinner Rolls, the Festive Holiday Salad, and the Cherry Balsamic Roasted Cherry Pork Loin that Lisa made. Really, you don't need anything else, but any one of her potato recipes and a fresh green vegetable will round out this meal. For buffet style, I suggest you add a cheese platter with some interesting French cheeses, a hot appetizer, and a fresh fruit salad. C'est Magnifique!

GET THE RECIPE FOR HOLIDAY DINNER ROLLS >

GET THE RECIPE FOR THE FESTIVE HOLIDAY SALAD >

GET THE RECIPE FOR THE CHERRY BALSAMIC ROASTED PORK LOIN >

Lisa and I hope you enjoy making the delicious food {her site is called DELICIOUS TABLE for a reason!} and try setting your tables this holiday season with French antiques you own. {If you need any more for any occasion, you know where to get them, right?}

We both wish you MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Shop for the best in French Antiques, furniture with the patina of age, vintage accessories to delight you and your family & friends, and French Country utilitarian pieces. Treasures that make your home fresh, beautiful, inspirational and uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com