My Christmas Vacation Tablescape …I hope Clark would be proud!
Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite Christmas movies! I will share more of the themed tablescape I did in its honor at the end of this blog post. It was the major one I did this week and one of the funnest ones to put together!
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer was Day 8 … Source: Santa gnome napkin/The Container Store
The beloved story of “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” has been a classic for decades. I have fond childhood memories of watching this with my brothers. We rooted for the misfit reindeer and his friend friend Hermèy. I loved that Rudolph cared about his friends and the misfit toys … he faced his trials bravely and well. Once he realized he couldn’t run away from his problems and Santa, his family and others were sorry for their treatment of him, he got his moment to literally shine.
Rudolph donutettes
These Rudolph theme snacks I saw on Pinterest. They were very easy to do and turned out cute. A chocolate donutette, red peanut M & M, pretzels, and “eyes” were the ingredients.
The Gathering, Day 9
This late 70s movie was a Hallmark one. It was popular and award winning in its time, but not one that is remembered by many today. I love the story. Ed Asner is a favorite actor of mine. He was in my all time favorite sitcom, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” This movie is a tear jerker from pretty much start to finish. Besides Asner, it has a wonderful cast. I’m a relationships girl ….It’s truly one of the things I love in life and portrayed on the screen. This is a story about a broken family, who find their way back to each other just in time,
Spoiler alert …do not read the next paragraph below if you don’t want to know a major part of the plot.
One of the major messages of the movie is how precious time is
This is the story of a father, who finds out he has a terminal illness and knows he doesn’t have much time to make it right with his wife and kids. He has been estranged from them for a while. Personally, this movie, has become more poignant since the passing of my own dad two years ago. I included things that were my dad’s in this vignette. His glasses, a naval button, a pair of argyle socks my mom knit him, and a little book that I created out of playing cards that shares some of the reasons I loved him.
We think we have all the time in the world, We don’t. So many things can distract us in this life from what really matters. This movie reminds us what does. I’m so thankful for all the time I had with my dad. I’m also grateful that I got to be there with him in his final years and have a long goodbye. It was hard, sad, precious and sacred, How I miss him.
Day 10: Charlie Brown Christmas …Sources: Charlie Brown Tree Dishtowel/ Porter Lane Home; Multiple Christmas Trees Dishtowel/Platter /Crate & Barrel; Santa Claus envelope/Target; Peppermint Pom pom Garland/Peaberry Studio ; Christmas Tree Brownies/Little Debbie’s; Gingerbread Bread Crackers/Trader Joe’s; Tree Paper Plates/Home Goods
Another beloved one of mine is this Christmas special. Who doesn’t love “the Peanuts gang?” I think the music to this video is truly the best. From the clsssic Christmas carols to the Vince Guaraldi score, I love it all.
Adorable Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Dishtowel was the inspiration for the vignette…. it’s from Porter Lane Home
All the details on this Dishtowel represented the part of movie I wanted to focus on, the scraggly Christmas tree Charlie picked, that just needed “a little love”.” I used multiple tree elements to emphasize the theme from the paper plates to the tree brownies to the little felt trees.
The photos above show more of the details up close
Cheese cubes, rosemary, red grapes and gingerbread toasts were all the ingredients needed to make the cheese platter. It’s an easy one to assemble and makes a festive presentation! I like to get store bought themed items in the mix. Little Debbies often has seasonal shaped treats. The ice skating plaque I got from Lovely Lily’s Place an Etsy Shop. I love the ice skating scene in the special, this is a little nod to it.
Day 11: Elf … Sources: Elf peg doll/Meyer Peg Dolls ; Peppermint garland/Peaberry Studio an Etsy shop;Elf crocheted hat/Aleyza Love an Etsy shop; Cool Yule Santa & Elf/Peppermint dish/Mary Engelbreit; Elf vase/Target; Star bowl/Striped bowl/Crate & Barrel; Tiered Galvanized Tray/Pottery Barn
Elf is another top 5 of my favorite Christmas movies. It’s heartwarming. It’s silly. It’s, dear. Will Ferrell was perfectly cast as Elf. Ed Asner, Bob Newhart, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen and Zoey Deschsnel are wonderful supporting cast! So many favorites scenes and quotes. It’s all magical and oh, so merry.
This letterboard quote is perfect for the candy tiered tray … Sources: salmon letterboard/Felt Good Vibes; Elf and snowflake icons/Words With Means, an Etsy Shop
Close up of Elf tray
Elf’s love of sugar inspired this being a candy tray. I picked all red, green and white candies for this.
Day 12: While You Were Sleeping … green letterboard/light blue letterboard/light blue letters/Felt Good Vibes; Vintage tan squared letterboard/vintage black letterboard/ Felt Creative Home; Poinsettias/ombre tree/A Peace of Creativity an Etsy shop; Snowflake icons/ Words With Means an Etsy shop.
I have two top favorite romantic comedies of all time. The first one is The Goodbye Girl. The second one is While You Were Sleeping. It begins at Christmas and goes through New Years, I just love Lucy and Jack. The chemistry Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman bring is wonderful. I added references to the movie with the things I used to surround the boards like the Oreos, Jello , remote and globe.
Little references and quotes to movie
So many great lines…when Peter sings the alphabet song it still cracks me up. We often quote this movie in real life. I love when Jack plays cards with his comatose brother and says, “High Card Gets Lucy.” Silly lines like, “You’re cheating on a vegetable” to wise ones like, “everyone is happy…and in that one moment you have peace.” It’s a wonderful feel good movie.
Day 14 ( skipping 13 to end): Mickey’s Christmas Carol…. Sources: Red Felt Board/Felt Good Vibes; Ginger Mickey/The Blessed Heart; White trees/Bob Crachit, Tiny Tim and Ebeneezer Scrooge/Department 56
This sweet version of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, has Mickey as Bob Crachit and Scrooge Mc Duck as Ebeneezer Scrooge. Disney does a great job with this classic.
Close up
I used a dog biscuit to represent Tiny Tim’s crutch. This is a nod to my dog, Lady, being recently injured. She had a ruptured disc in her back. It was a long recovery, but thankfully she is much better!
Bob Crachit, Tiny Tim, Ebeneezer Scrooge/Christmas trees/Department 56
Let’s finish the week with my Christmas Vacation tablescape. Isn’t this the best movie? So beyond silly and also sentimental. Chevy is Clark Griswold. Randy Quaid the best Eddie they could have cast. Like Clark dedicating the Christmas tree in the movie, I want to dedicate this themed tablescape to my brother, Deron, who is “Clark Griswold” in real life in all the best ways, He goes over the top with his outside decor. Loves to celebrate Christmas big. Yet the thing that really makes him Clark is his big heart. He puts his whole heart into his tribe. He’s also kind to others who cross his path. I’m so proud of how he treats his fellow man.
Day 13: Be a Griswold! … Sources: Griswold pillow cover/red striped pillow cover/Porter Lane Home; Moose Glass/Bed,Bath and Beyond; Santa tin/Mary Engelbreit
This bench was painted by my mom with a kit, the scene changes out seasonally. It’s a fun place to display seasonal pillows.
When I created this tablescape, I wanted to do references to the movie through out. The place cards are character names. The centerpieces are nods to parts of the movie. The car with the tree on top represents the trip to get their tree, the lit house his love of Christmas illumination, the moose cup filled with eggnog that scene. I continued the car with tree image on the runner, plates and a pillow. The plaid was another pattern I wanted for the table. Sources not already referenced: car with tree paper plates/plaid napkins/runner/plaid rectangle dishes Home Goods; Joy dish/ festive green and red patterned dish/ white dish/ both patterns of stocking flatware holders/place card holders/Crate & Barrel; car with tree/white ceramic house/Target;
Aunt Bethany brought her own craziness to the party. This adorable detailed dish towel showcases her “special” jello, I made green jello for the occasion, but instead of using cat food, I used cereal. The dishtowel is from Porter Lane Home.
I hope you enjoyed week 2 of my tribute to Christmas movies! Hope you and yours have many cozy times watching your favorites! In the hustle and bustle of the season, slow down and savor it all!
Pillow by Pottery Barn
