Christmas Decorations for Your Dining Room Table

There are many things you can do to decorate your dining room table for Christmas. They are fast and easy, and your kids (or grandkids) can help out as well.

Try doing a homemade tablecloth or table runner. You can use butcher paper, plain colored fabric, or even a big sheet of plastic. Whip out some stamps, markers, crayons, or paint and go wild. Trees, snowmen, reindeer and holly would be fun decorations for your tablecloth.

Use a similar idea for making your own linen napkins. Often times you can find plain bandanas at craft stores that would work well with paint or markers. Homemade napkin rings would be a nice touch. You could make them out of strips of paper or even new hair scrunchies.

Next, pick up some blank business cards or small blank notecards to use as place cards. Dress them up with drawings of holly, Santa, or whatever else you desire. Then all you're missing is your guest's names.

Using felt or paper cut outs, dress up your condiments (salt, pepper, etc.). One small bottle can become a snowman, another can become a Christmas tree, another can be a reindeer, etc.

If there will be a "kiddie table" and the kids want nice decorative glasses to drink out of too, don't worry. You don't have to give them the fancy, finely etched Christmas goblets to drink out of. The kids ought to be just fine with plain paper cups that have been decorated with crayon or marker drawings. Best of all, if they decorate their own cups, it occupies their attentions and buys you a few minutes peace.

You can also do your own placemats. Use regular printer paper, and decorate them however you wish. Inexpensive lamination sheets can be found in the craft aisle of many stores, and they will give your placemats a finishing touch. If you want to laminate them the incredibly inexpensive way, use clear packing tape. It doesn't look as pretty, but it works.

Try letting the kids decorate the chairs this Christmas. Buy a lot of ribbon and let them tie a nice festive bow to the back of each chair. Or you could sew your own seat covers if you're particularly ambitious. Fabric often comes in fun holiday prints.

For a centerpiece, let your imagination run. You could use the condiments you dressed up and arrange them in a scene. Or you could even use a few Christmas tree ornaments as a centerpiece. If you used a cornucopia at Thanksgiving, reuse it - fill it with pine branches and pine cones. Just make sure they're free of bugs.