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<< Setting up Christmas tables around the world! >>

Elegant VS Cozy.

Tami Lancut Leibovitz

Tonight and tomorrow, millions around the world are celebrating Christmas, happy holidays to us all! And what’s a better way to welcome season’s greetings than a beautiful set table, with all the right elements for the occasion. There are hundreds of ways to decorate a festive and traditional Christmas table, but those two main categories will help us understand different kinds of table settings and decorations:

Cozy style: Think red-white plaid tablecloth, mistletoe, and small bouquets of flowers! Feeling at home already? If you are looking into a warm, family style table, there’s a few things you can do to create it, here are some of them

• Start with the traditional green and red colors, but get colorful! When you are setting up a cozy table, you don’t have to stick to the same colors, you can add basic yellow and blue to the acquisition and make it a celebratory table!
• Use low and wide candles for center pieces! The traditional Christmas colors of red and green appear in all kinds of table styles, choose round and low candles, preferably red and green colored, and elevate your table decoration.
• Get creative with shapes and symbols! Using stars and bows are game when designing a cozy table set-up – it adds to the festive feel of the event.

Elegant style: You don’t have to give up the traditional red and green to make a luxury Christmas table, there are methods to embed them in the table setups without giving up the elegant feel:

• You can choose one color and play with its shades! Choose green or red and take it all the way – take a monochromatic attitude towards the table elements – same color candles, candle holder, napkins, plates etc. with different shades of the same color.
• Add a pop of gold or silver! Combining green or red with a bit of bling would upgrade your table if you use it with a light hand – silver/gold runners or candles are a great way to make it fancy. If you are creative – spray paint plastic mistletoe decoration with gold color or dye small branches in silver paint, it will add an artistic atmosphere to the table.
• White is always fancy – even in Christmas! A white Christmas tree and a table set-up will put you in the Christmas snowy mood even if there is no winter around! A Silver and white color pallet is a gorgeous, classic combination!

After we choose cozy or elegant, what will we serve on the table?

Today I wanted to introduce you to a  few traditional dishes from around the globe, I chose a few of the more interesting ones I encountered within the years:

• Philippines: The Puto Bumbong is a purple dessert made of sweet rice, what is more unique than its color is the way the dessert is prepared – it’s cooked in hollow bamboo tubes placed on a unique steamer-cooker. Topped with butter and sprinkled with sugar and grated coconut, that’s a traditional Christmas delight!
• Germany: many countries enjoy different styles of fruit cakes for Christmas, but the German Stolen fruit cake takes it to the next level, the raisin and fruit filled cake is topped with a layer of delicious marzipan.
• Puerto Rico: This special Christmas dessert is made of papaya and it’s called Dulce de papaya con queso Boricua! This fancy name is the title for papaya fruit candy soaked in sweet syrup and served on traditional local cheese. Extraordinary flavor and dish.

Wherever you may be, have a merry Christmas and enjoy a lovely time with your friends and family! Warm wishes for a great holiday!

For more about table etiquette, you are welcome to explore my book, “The IBL Code”: The IBL Code: International Business Language. ,

Or visit my site, dedicated to etiquette, protocol, personal branding and more: http://bit.ly/TAMITLL

Also, please feel free to ask any etiquette and business-related questions on the Q&A section on my site at http://bit.ly/AskTami,