Holiday Tabletop Decorating Ideas from Royal Copenhagen

For Christmas 2009, Royal Copenhagen asked six actors and ballet dancers from the Royal Danish Theater to interpret various dances from the classical Christmas fairytale “The Nutcracker” into fantastic, fabulous and magical tablescapes. Each table shown below depicts a specific dance (details below each picture).

Helle Hertz pays tribute to the legendary and poetic Chinese Dance from The Nutcracker in a riot of red, orange and purple. Surrounded by amazing costumes from the Royal Danish Theatre, a tremendous lacquer red table materialises, laid for a tasteful and spectacular Christmas Dinner with White Elements, Royal Copenhagen’s newest service, which has been designed by Louise Campbell. The fine fanlike edging on the plates fits in perfectly with the Chinese theme and provides a beautiful background for the scarlet fans, which contrast with and complement the simple white service.

In one of the loveliest rooms in the building Henning Jensen has laid the table for a majestic Christmas dinner with Flora Danica, the world’s most exclusive porcelain. The imposing table is graced by a regal array of the service’s striking ice cream domes, tureens, bowls and dishes, each of which depicts its own particular Danish plant. The hand-painted service dates from 1790 and was originally created as a gift for Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, so it chimes with the Russian theme of Henning Jensen’s Christmas table.

In the second act of The Nutcracker Clara, the main character, arrives in the Land of Sweets, where she is received by the Sugar Plum Fairy. In the fairytale Land of Sweets Clara looks for her prince, but everyone she meets is busy preparing for that evening’s circus performance, which has Clara’s beloved uncle, Drosselmeyer, as the ringmaster. Kristen Olesen’s Christmas table recreates in the most marvelous way the spellbinding fairytale ambience in an imaginative scenario with lots of Christmas magic.

In the first act of The Nutcracker one of the places that Clara, the main character, visits on her dream journey is a vast snowy landscape, where she meets the cold Snow Queen and a crowd of dancing snowflakes, who come together in a fairytale snowstorm. Nikolaj Hübbe has chosen to stage his Christmas table with both fairytale and real elements from the world of ballet.

Rose Gad’s Christmas scenario has been inspired by the Waltz of the Flowers, one of the best-known dances from The Nutcracker. In a poetic and personal installation, Rose Gad has chosen to invite the audience behind the scenes into the busy world of a ballerina. It is not unusual for a ballet company to dance all Christmas long, and Rose Gad’s story is about a ballerina touring with The Nutcracker over the festive season. After practice and rehearsal, the ballerina goes back to her hotel room, where she and her boyfriend are to celebrate Christmas Eve together. The table is laid for a delicious Christmas dinner with champagne, caviar, fois gras and rice à l’imperatrice on a beautiful four-poster bed.

Silja Schandorff has chosen to create a Christmas table that pays homage to the Arab Dance, one of the most spectacular in The Nutcracker. In an exotic and personal scenography, which exudes Eastern mystery and the magic of Christmas Night, Silja Schandorff has set her interpretation of the Arab Dance in a luxurious Bedouin tent, where the table is laid for a magical Christmas dinner.

More tablescape design inspiration from Royal Copenhagen: Christmas Tabletop Decorations 2008.

All images copyright of Royal Copenhagen.

Home Decor Shopping Resources: Royal Copenhagen

2009 Christmas 12 Days of Design Notebooks {Days 10-12}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 10}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 11}

 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 12}

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2009 Christmas 12 Days of Design Notebooks {Days 7-9}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 7}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 8}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 9}

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2009 Christmas 12 Days of Design Notebooks {Days 4-6}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 4} 

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 5}

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 6}

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2009 Christmas 12 Days of Design Notebooks {Days 1-3}

 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 1}         

12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 2}

 12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 3} 

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Riedel Crystal’s Pink CrescendO Glasses – Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and there are many wonderful companies working to raise funds for the cure.  One such company is Riedel Crystal.   Riedel Crystal’s new Pink CrescendO, a set of 4 limited edition pink glasses ($70), was specifically created to benefit the organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

Riedel Crystal will donate 15% of the sale of each CrescendO set to Living Beyond Breast Cancer (www.lbbc.org ; 888.753.5222), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life.

Of course, Pink is our favorite color and we can just imagine this gorgeous set of  four Pink Chardonnay / Viognier glasses sitting pretty on our holiday tables.

Pink CrescendO glasses are perfect for non-alcoholic drinks as well – such as juices, sodas, ice tea, etc, of course, we don’t need an excuse to drink from these pretty pink vessels. Even tap water looks glamorous in pink!

Oh, and in case we forgot to mention it….  Riedel Crystal’s Crescendo glasses are durable, stackable and dishwasher safe.  We specially love the dishwasher safe. Who has time for cleaning dishes – pretty as they may be?

Home Decor Resources: Reidel or  visit your local Bed Bath & Beyond retailer.

3 Top Books to Help You Create Stunning Tabletops and Tablescapes

Make your next party your best ever with tips, how-to instructions and inspiration from the following three books:

Tablescapes by Kimberly Schlegel Whitman – learn how socialite and event planner Kimberly Schlegal Whitman plans and designs creative tables for her amazing parties. She shares her secrets for creating decorating themes for a variety of events from holiday parties to bridal showers to beach parties and many others.

Tabletops: Easy, Practical, Beautiful Ways to Decorate the Table by Barbara Milo Ohrbach – Designer Barbara Milo Ohrbach guides you through the process of creating stunning tabletop designs. She explains how to use color, find inspiration, coordinate accessories, arrange flowers and how to give the tablescape a polished finishing touch by using decorative table decor and accessories.

The Party Planner- David Tutera, party planner to the stars, book inspires with creative party ideas, gorgeous event photos and party planning ideas. Though this book is a couple of years older, not as recent as Kimberly Schlegal Whitman new tablescape design book, it still holds the power to inspire – and that’s the spark of creativity all decorating divas seek.