“Christmas Tree” Tablescapes and Snow Village of Christmas Past

Part of a Series of “Christmas Tablescapes from “Christmas Past” & “Christmas Present” featuring traditional “Christmas Tree” Dishes

I’m so glad to have you visiting my website at Christmastime !!! Had you visited our home at Christmastime in from 1991 to 2018 you would have seen some variation of the above Christmas tablescape. A tablescape similar to the one pictured above, is the fourth tablescape that I can remember making. My first tablescape featured my butterfly dishes that I purchased for my first apartment, the second and third tablescapes I made featured our “wedding” dishes. However, this tablescape was my first using dishes purchased for a particular holiday!

Did you have any dishes or centerpieces for a particular holiday when you were growing up? We had china and everyday dishes but no holiday dishes, so I was very excited when my husband and I agreed that Christmas dishes were something we would put on our list for “Santa” and we would start collecting them. Are you still collecting and using the dishes of your childhood? Have you made new traditions regarding your Christmas table, or do you prefer to try new ways of decorating each Christmas?

Unfortunately, I can’t find any pictures of our very first Christmas Tablescape with these plates. That is largely because those pictures, of course, were not digital, and I am not sure if those particular photos are in any of our albums or not. So finding them is a task for another day.

However to the best of my remembrance, one of our early Christmas tablescapes looked like the below – before dinner was served. We used a cranberry colored tablecloth which was very similar to the color used on the dishes. (Neither the Nikko nor the Spode dishes featured a true “Christmas” red.)

This was the color of tablecloth we used in the early days.

The Dishes

If you have visited my website in the past, and seen one of my other tablescapes, you will notice that this is the part of the post where I usually explain the “dish stack”. However in the 1990’s I hadn’t even heard of a “dish stack” so this tablescape has only individual dishes.

Did you have Christmas dishes at some point your life? If you had them in the 1990’s it may have been a set of one of the “Big Three” Christmas Tree patterns. Common at the time were the following:

Vintage Dishes and Possible Leaching of Lead and Other Chemicals

By the way, while we are on the subject of vintage dishes. – As with some older dishes and even some of the newer ones, as well as glassware, it is always good to check out the conditions of the plates and research the likelihood of problems occurring regarding chemicals leaching out. I thought the LA Times article on dishware concerns -regarding lead and other chemicals was helpful, especially because they list some of the precautions to take to prevent problems.

We do still use our Nikko Christmastime dishes, which are in great condition. We do use the precautions listed below for those dishes when used for food. Please do not consider this a recommendation as we feel that each family should research this for themselves and make their own decisions, both on vintage dinnerware and items recently purchased. Also, unfortunately, I am neither a scientist nor a doctor, and from my research I haven’t been able to gain date, on how many Nikko & Spode plates have been tested and what the condition of each plate was (this is important because crazed and discolored plates are definitely more likely to have leaching lead) but I feel I would be it wouldn’t be fair to you if I didn’t mention it.

Our new practices with questionable dinnerware;

We also follow the guidelines of using questionable dinnerware in the LA Times article on dishware concerns and that is where we learned to do much of the below.

*We throw away any crazed pieces.

*We throw away any times with a grayish or other discoloration in the glass

* For questionable pieces of china, we have recently started following these practices:

* We don’t serve highly acid foods on questionable dinnerware. Examples of acidic foods: orange juice, coffee, tea, apple juice, tomatoes, cola-type soft drinks and salad dressings with vinegar.

* We don’t use questionable pieces of dinnerware in our everyday routine.

* We don’t heat or microwave in questionable china, because heat can speed up lead leaching.

* We use extreme caution when using these dishes with children, as the requirements for children’s dishes are more stringent.

and we also google the particular pattern of china and years made (if known) such as by Googling “does Nikko Christmastime dinnerware made in 1991-2014 have dangerous levels of lead?” ; please note although most states have not labeled these dishes hazardous, California has labeled them a hazard.

At our home, dishes used only for decoration, such as chargers, display plates, vases, etc. are treated with much less concern.

In general, all of these patterns fit in the category of questionable according to some tests; and according to some authors. In general the dishes that are not crazed and do not have discolored glaze are safer, and those that were manufactured later than 1991 have less likelihood of high lead content with the newest dishes being expected to have the least risk except in some unusual cases. Interestingly, to my knowledge all 3 of these plates are allowed to be sold on eBay, stores, Replacement stores, etc. and I believe only California requires a warning. Spode is produced currently, and sold in Macy’s and Homegoods and other stores. Due to to it being the pattern produced more recently, and in light of current government restrictions that have been enacted recently it might be the safest of the three.

More About these “Big Three” Christmas Tree Dishes

As you may have noticed, both of Nikko’s patterns have the same Christmas Tree, but the shape and sizes of the pieces are very different. My husband and I liked the octagonal shape and large size of the Nikko “Christmastime” pattern the best, and we also loved the star on top of the tree, which was my family tradition. The Spode “Christmas Tree” dishes feature a Santa Claus on top of the tree. Just to be clear, in case someone in a red suit, living in the North Pole is reading this, we both are fans of Santa, and of all the Santa traditions. However, the meaning of the star was key in our decision to chose the Nikko pattern. Also to be totally honest, in 1991 Spode was not claiming their dishes were dishwasher safe, and since our china was not safe in the dishwasher, we decided to go with the “easier cleanup” choice for the Christmas holiday. (A few years later, Spode’s newer dishes were labeled “dishwasher safe”).

Other Items in the Place Setting

The goblets are Waterford vintage pattern “Shandon”. Currently there is a fairly new Waterford pattern and type of goblet for sale, that looks similar to this pattern, but is easier to find, without lead, and much cheaper. I use many goblets of this new type in my tablescapes and by favorite pattern is “Marquis – Markham by Waterford”. It is usually available on Macy’s online, and Amazon. Today (and possibly again during the holiday) it is available at a great price for Black Friday.

The gold ornament shaped napkin rings above were a gift from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for Christmas.

Other items in each place setting were the flatware, “Oneida Chateau” (shown below). However, on the Christmases where we had time to hand wash flatware, we often used the Oneida Golden Affection- see below.

The Centerpiece

The gold ornament shaped napkin rings above were a gift from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for Christmas.

The centerpiece below was used many years and was actually two door swags that I found on sale. I butted them up against each other, putting both tops together. Then I added the lights to it.

One thing that changed occasionally over the years, was the figurines on the table. In 2017 for example, I surrounded the centerpiece with Fitz and Floyd tumbling snowmen from different years, I love the sense of joy these snowman convey.

In 2017, I also switched the napkin rings to snowmen to go with the snowmen theme.

And what tablescape is complete without family, and also of course, with a turkey as big as Tiny Tim from Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”?

“God Bless Us, Every one!”

Other Christmas Decorations in the Dining Room

I was surprised to think of the things that changed in our tablescape from year to year, and to realize it was mainly just little things – the Napkin rings became gold stars some years, and other years ceramic snowmen. The tablecloth, napkins and candles, changed colors at times. The items on the server and sofa table changed occasionally.

photo on the above left – Santa, Mrs. Claus and the train are from early on our marriage; photo on the right above – has a ceramic tree made by my great Aunt Bessie, and a sleigh figurine from Fitz and Floyd, a remake of an item from the First Ladies’ collection

Nutcrackers are from left to right – An Aggie (from Texas A&M who is grilling) represents my husband and son, a mom representing me of course, Another Aggie, Our original nutcracker, and at the end – a baseball player, representing my son.

I hope you enjoyed looking back on the gifts we received over the years and how we have enjoyed them.

Christmas Decorations in the Adjoining Foyer – Snow Village Display

However, bigger changes have happened in the snow village collection than on the tablescapes over the past years. My husband Wayne, and I, started our Snow Village collection the first Christmas after our wedding. We had both enjoyed looking at village displays in the department stores, and happened to mention to each other that they would be a fun thing to collect and display. That first Christmas, Wayne bought me “The Cumberland House” and a “gazebo”. They are pictured below.

While there are many different snow villages, our snow village is officially titled “The Original Snow Village – Department 56. We chose this particular snow village because we liked the glossy finish, and also it represents the 1950’s in the US, which was the time period or our childhood. (Department 56 made many different villages, as does “Lemax” and a few other companies too) Each year we added a few different pieces to our village. Over the years the village grew until it now fills our foyer.

I really like that part of our village can be viewed from the dining room. One of the things which can be seen is a sledding hill. Which is a fun, animated piece – you can see two sleds (with riders) coming down the hill. Interestingly, these sleds stick to a Velcro conveyor belt at the bottom and travel underneath the slope, back to the top of the hill to sled down the hill again. I found a YouTube video to show you how this looks when in operation.

I wanted to share some more pictures of our Snow Village.

We designed the village around a train track, where our train travels in a tunnel through the mountain, and then is visible as it travels thru the town.

I Hope You Can Join Us For Next’s Week’s Thursday Tablescape…

I hope you enjoyed my trip thru the memories of “Christmas Past” and its tablescapes and Snow Village. Over the years, since then I have really come to love designing tablescapes, and putting them together for our family and friends to enjoy. Some of these will be posted this month

Although I enjoy the new tablescapes I create, both my husband and I feel that it isn’t Christmas unless our traditional dishes are part of at least one tablescape in December. This post is a part of a series, and the next post will include at least one of the tablescapes that have done in “Christmas Present” using our traditional Nikko Christmastime dishes – combined with something new – for a very unique new look. I hope you can join me for the next “installment” in the series.

Thanks for Joining Me for this “Christmastime Tablescape”!

Our “stockings are hung by the chimney with cheer, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be here…”

Table Details and Origins

Tablescape, Dining Room, and Snow Village Details and Origins

Tablescape Items

Nikko Christmastime dinnerware and serving pieces- Octagonal dishes with Christmas tree – made in 1991-2014 – discontinued but often available on eBay – check photos on eBay to be sure items do not have Crazing (small hairline cracks in glaze that allow bacteria to enter the plate, and possibly allows chemicals in the plate to leach out” – eBay – search “Nikko Christmastime dinner plate” for example

Nikko Happy Holidays -Round dishes with Christmas tree design – made in 1986-2014 -see above-first item

Spode “Christmas Tree” – Round dishes with Christmas Tree Design 1938-present check photos carefully for damage – available at Macy’s, Homegoods etc. Currently on a great Black Friday at Macy’s.

Green Tablecloth and Napkins and Cranberry Red napkins & Cranberry Table Runner – from eBay at least 8 years ago-Poinsettia Pattern – from at least 10 years ago – eBay

Waterford vintage “Shandon” Goblets -likely not available – consider this possible replacement – “Marquis – Markham by Waterford”. It is usually availble on Macy’s online, and Amazon. Today (and possibly again during the holiday) it is available at a great price for Black Friday.

Gold Ornament Napkin Rings – originally from Macy’s or Dillards – may also be available on eBay. Similar ornament napkin rings are also available on eBay and in many shops

Snowman Napkin Rings – often available in many styles on eBay – search “snowman ceramic napkin rings”

Tumbling Snowmen from Fitz and Floyd – different ones available on different years – eBay – search “tumbling snowmen Fitz Floyd” and “Snowman figurines Fitz Floyd”

Gold Flatware – “Golden Affection” by Oneida – on eBay often – similar gold flatware available in different brands at various stores

Stainless flatware – Oneida “Chateau” – Amazon and other retailers

Candle holders – the brass pair was a gift, I am not sure of the store of origin; Nikko candle holders are from eBay

Christmas Tree pitcher – eBay

Dining Room Decorations

Nutcrackers – the nutcracker with the grill was a gift, The “mom” nutcracker is really meant to be Clara from the nutcracker – Hobby Lobby – At least 6 years ago, A&M soldier nutcracker, red soldier nutcracker have been with us so long, I am not sure where they came from

Vase and Glass pillar candle holder are from eBay

Ceramic Lit Christmas Tree is from handmade by my great Aunt and was made around 1950. Similar commercial items are often available at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Homegoods and at Mr Christmas.

Candle holders are likely Depression Glass from eBay,

Ceramic Sleigh – Fitz and Floyd – from Fitzandfloyd.com originally – from the First Ladies’ White House Christmas Decoration Collection, that is now retired, it is periodically on eBay, search “Fitz & Floyd First Ladies Collection Coleen Christian Burke Sleigh Ride Musical” or a shorter combination of some identifiers from this phrase

Paper Mache Santa was a Wedding gift, Mrs. Santa was a gift as well, likely from the Hershey Store, at Chocolate World in Hershey Pennsylvania, The Rocking Horse’s origin is unknown, as is the ceramic picture frame (Hobby Lobby is a great picture frame place for something similar) the wooden Noel train’s origin is also unknown (it can also serve as a candle holder) though eBay might me a possible source for Rocking Horse Figurines.

Snow Village

All houses and most accessories in my village are retired from the Department 56 Original Snow Village and were current sometime between 1988 and 2008. The names of all the houses, accessories, etc. are in The Original Snow village Collection listed on the Department 56 website. Links are below. This list is really nice if you want to buy some retired Original snow village items. I recommend saving some names of houses etc. from these lists, then paste those names eBay search to see photos of these houses, etc. and the buying info to purchase from them from eBay (if you wish)

Snow Village Lighted Items 
Snow Village Accessories 
The Original Snow Village® Easter & Celebrate Love 
American Pride & Classic Cars 

In general Original Snow Village Items that are retired can be found often on eBay year round, however, more buildings are usually listed for sale in Sept.-Jan. They can also be found a various vintage shops, shows, and fairs.

Current Snow Village Items can be found on the Department 56 website, and can be viewed and purchased there (occasionaly with a discount offered) They can often be found in Dillards at Christmas time. They can also be found on Amazon and eBay.

I use trees that are specifically for Original Snow village, and some from from the Village Trees category. Village Trees are also from Department 56 but are suitable for many of their other villages as well. Current department 56 trees can often be found in Dillards at Christmas time and on the Department 56 website. They can often be found on Amazon and eBay as well.

Retired trees from Department 56 can be found on eBay.

I also like Lemax trees with my Snow Village. Lemax is sold at Michael’s before Christmas. I especially like the lit trees from Lemax (they can be powered with only Lemax adapters. They sometimes can be found on eBay as well.

Some of my trees are from Target, usually from the entry of the store with the $5 items.

Our train is made by Lionel and is considered “O guage” in size. O guage looks best – size wise -with the Original Snow village but does not look as good (in my opinion) with some of the smaller sized villages such as Dicken’s village. Most O guage dealers also sell other guages, from experience I would recommend checking that detail carefully so you get the size you want. “O guage” trains are sold by Lionel, and Mike’s Train House. Lionel traditionally offers more and better Christmas train sets by Lionel, but Mike’s train house is now offering a few cute Christmas train sets (Mand cars is carrying two O guage varieties “Railking” – shorter engines an train cars, ideal for tight spaces like most snow villages. “Full O Scale” – more traditional, and requires a wider curve, both run of O guage track. Mike’s train house (MTH) explains guage like this:

“A more important difference between the two track systems is the sharpness or diameter of the O-27 curve when compared to that of O Gauge. The sharpest O-27 curve measures 27″ in diameter compared to the sharpest O Gauge curve which is 31″ in diameter. Each track system also has wider curves though a greater variety of the wider curve sizes lies in the O Gauge systems. O-27 features 42″ and 54″ diameter curves while O Gauge includes those sizes as well as 72″, 82″, 96″ and in some systems even wider curves”.

Within Lionel trains, pay special attention to the curve required for what you buy, items requiring a 31″curvve are the smallest for “O” guage, and curve choices go up to 96″ curves. Most snow village layouts that I have seen use the 31″ curves to possibly “O guage” Trains are also available at train stores and train fairs, vintage/antique stores and Disney online for Disney themed trains and train cars. If you have train related questions or any other questions or comments, please include them in a comments and I will get back to you. Comments section is at the Very, Very bottom of this post.

From our home to yours…Wishing you many December blessings and a truly wonderful Holiday!!

Coming Soon

Coming Friday December 1 – “Christmas Tree” Tablescape of Christmas Present – Traditional with a Twist

Part of a Series of “Christmas Tablescapes from “Christmas Past” & “Christmas Present” featuring traditional “Christmas Tree” Dishes

Coming in December -“How to” Tips for doing a Christmas Snow Village

Coming in January

Up Close and Personal at Gulf Coast Zoo – part 2 – The Lemurs

If You Liked This Post, I Hope You Will Like:

Woodland Critters Come to our Autumn Tablescape

Up Close and Personal at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – Part 1 – Kangaroos and Lunch

“Drawing Disney” Tablescape – “Disney Love” for All Seasons

Romantic Lakeside Dinner for Two at Sunset

Link Parties

Following is a list of websites I really like!  They are listed under the day of the week where they also host a Family Friendly “Link Party” aka “Blog Hop”.

If you click on the name of the blog (in blue) on the evening of day of the week they are listed under, it should take you to the Link Party, where many bloggers have joined with them to share their own ideas.  I love how the link parties connect you with both a great blog, and other blogger’s ideas as well!  Many thanks to all these bloggers for bringing so many ideas to all of us!!! 

You can actually find these link parties any day of the week, by clicking on the website name below, but once you click, you may need to scroll thru a few entries to find the link party you are looking for. 

Sunday 

Life as a Leo wife and Eclectic Red Barn  host “Happiness is Homemade” Link Party. 

Life and Linda hosts “Love Your Creativity Link Party”.  You may also want to check out her Christmas tablescapes. 

The House on Silverado  hosts – “Sundays on Silverado” link party  

Ridge Haven Homestead  – “Sunday Sunshine” Blog Hop 

April J Harris – hosts Hearth and Soul Link Party monthly first Sunday of the month 

Monday

Life Tales Books Blogspot  hosts Will Blog for Comments Link Party

Sunshine and books blog and Holly-Pink Lady  host “Hello Monday Link Party” 

Between Naps on the Porch hosts  “Metamorphosis Monday” posts, which are all about “Befores and Afters” 

The following link, Senior Salon Pit Stop will get you to the link party on Esme’s site https://esmesalon.com as well as getting you to some great recipes and other ideas!

Good random fun blogspot hosts The Good.Random.Fun. link party 

Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life   hosts  “Inspire me Tuesday” link party 

Eclectic Red Barn  and Penny’s Passion hosts the “Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop” which often opens on Tuesday evenings. 

Masterpieces of my Life hosts the “Home Imagined Link Party” On Tuesday every other week

Jenerally Informed  hosts the “Happy Now Link Party”

Perfectly Imperfect-LWL hosts the “Tell It To Me Tuesday Link Party”

Wednesday

Karin’s Kottage hosts the “Karin’s Kottage Link party”.  I am also enjoying keeping up with Karin’s Italian Palace remodel!

French Ethereal hosts a “Share Your Style”  link party.

Esme Salon hosts a “Wordless Wednesday” photograpy link party 

Creatively Beth  hosts a weekly link party. 

Ridge Haven Homestead hosts the Homestead Blog Hop.  I am also enjoying reading about the off the grid home that they are building. 

Thursdays

I often participate in Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday.   This link party is my “go to” place for finding Tablescapes to enjoy!!

Katherine’s corner hosts the  “TFT – Thursday Favorite Things” blog hop. 

Southern Sunflowers SouthernSunflowers.com  hosts their “Home Matters Link Party” at 8 CT on Thursday. 

Penny’s Passion  hosts the “Thinking Out Loud Link Party” which often begins on Thursday 

Roentare.zenfolio blog hosts a photography link party each week. 

Good Random Fun  hosts “Little Things” link party

Friday

Stephanie at Crazy Little Lovebirds hosts the Crazy Little Lovebirds link party. 

Building Our Hive hosts the Funtastic Friday Link Party. 

Country Road 407 hosts the “Farmhouse Friday Link Party”, which begins at 6:30 am Central time each week. 

Saturday

Pieced Pastimes  Hosts “Saturday Sparks Party”     

I hope you will enjoy visiting these wonderful bloggers on the above websites as much as I do!

Comments

What are your plans for Christmas? Are you hosting? Do you have a special tablescape planned? Do you use Christmas specific dishes? I would love to hear about your traditions, or about new plans you have this year. Do you have a snow village? a Christmas Train? I would love it if you could scroll all the way down to the comment section at the bottom of this post and share any comments you have. Thank you soooooo much! It will be so good to hear from you!!