We had an unfortunate water leak in our kitchen a few weeks before this year’s Christmas. Holidays give my husband and I motivation to do something extra extra special for ourselves and our kids. We usually love making a delicious, gourmet meal to celebrate the holiday. I love designing a new holiday tablescape, as well! The unfortunate kitchen sink leak led to a kitchen and dining room demo (because of the threat of mold), which obviously no contractor was available to fix with such short notice around the holidays. I decided we needed a Christmas picnic to get us smiling again and to make our Christmas Eve special! I ordered a cheese plate from Pastoral and a Buche de Noel from Floriole, which were prefect items to make the day feel festive. We snacked and opened presents and snacked and played and then snacked some more… a picnic was actually quite a nice change of pace for the holiday! It was particularly enjoyable since it was in our living room where our fireplace burned, stockings hung and tree sparkled. It was also super easy, relaxing (especially since we didn’t cook anything) and accessible for our kids!

With our house being torn apart, I kept our Christmas decor simple. I usually like having a minimalist Christmas, so that was actually ok! Perhaps next year I might try to extend the decor into other areas of the home, however. I used black, ivory and gold accented with traditional pine greenery. The space was gorgeous and intimate… a perfectly memorable way to celebrate Christmas!

Components + Credit

• design – Erin Catlin
• pics – Erin Catlin
• wrapping paper – Paper Source + Love Mae + Rifle Paper Co.
• christmas linens – Ferm Living
• christmas paperware – Meri Meri
• cheese plate – Pastoral
• buche de noel – Floriole
• cut your own Christmas tree – Pine-Apple Farm