• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

December 7, 2016

Winter Buffet Table in the Dining Room

*I have some very simple winter buffet table decorating ideas for you today*

For the last couple of years, I’ve given myself the best gift. It’s not something that would mean a whole lot to anyone else, but it definitely means a lot to me. And it’s a gift that keeps on giving, long into the new year.

What is it, you ask? Well, I had an epiphany last year when it came time to decorate my house for Christmas. As I began to pull out the bins of decor I felt almost myself having an almost visceral reaction. I just couldn’t bring myself to make the house soooooo very Christmas-y.

Winter buffet table decor atthepicketfence.com

 

And what I realized is that if I were take a more winter-y approach to my seasonal decorating, I could leave it all up long after Christmas was over.

Then and there I decided to give myself the gift of time. Of not having to pack everything away on January 1 and then try and figure out how to fill all of those blank spaces with decor that would carry me till Spring.

So I look at every surface and tabletop a bit differently now. I think of what I can put out and leave out for a few months.

Like sweet little frosted trees.

Christmas buffet table decorations atthepicketfence.com

And even though Santa is making an appearance, he can easily go back into hibernation and be replaced with something else once his job has ended for another year.

Santa figurine on a stack of plates

This gift I’ve given myself has removed so much of the pressure and I’m actually enjoying the sweet, simple touches of winter so much more than the overtly Christmas decor.

Cinnamon sticks in vintage silver creamer

Of course, the only downside to leaving it like this all winter long is that it will start to collect dust and I’ll have to actually do something about it.

Winter buffet table decorating ideas

 

But, it’s a small price to pay for not having to give the buffet table a second thought until the first signs of Spring begin popping up.

Until then, I’m going to go enjoy my gift, my extra time…hmmm…what to do? I’m thinking another cup of coffee is in order!

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your holiday season my friends,

Vanessa signature

13 Comments Filed Under: Christmas, Decorating, Good Ideas, Holidays Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas decor, Christmas decorating

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « My Christmas Home Tour
Next Post: Family Room Flooring Makeover with Shaw Floors »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura Heywood says

    December 7, 2016 at 4:17 AM

    Brilliant!! So simple but so true.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 7, 2016 at 7:03 AM

      Thank you Laura!

      Reply
  2. donna zoltanski says

    December 7, 2016 at 5:17 AM

    classy and elegant Christmas – perfect

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 7, 2016 at 7:02 AM

      Thank you Donna!

      Reply
  3. anita roth says

    December 7, 2016 at 8:31 AM

    What a wonderful idea!
    Wanted to let you know what a joy it was to meet you at the book signing last sunday! You are such a sweet kind person! Can’t wait to read more of your book!
    Have a blessed christmas!
    Anita Roth

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 7, 2016 at 10:03 AM

      Oh it was SO nice to meet you too Anita! I can’t thank you enough for coming to the signing and for supporting our book. May your Christmas season be filled with joy!

      Reply
  4. Carol Reddin says

    December 7, 2016 at 11:22 AM

    I’m going to do this too here in Florida (if I don’t look outside I’ll be ok). Love the decor on your buffet – and love you! Mom

    Reply
  5. Pamela says

    December 7, 2016 at 2:17 PM

    When I take my Christmas decorations down, I fill in the spaces with red candles and other Valentine’s Day decorations.

    Reply
  6. rose l. says

    December 7, 2016 at 7:31 PM

    Looks like straight out of BHG magazine! Lovely!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 7, 2016 at 7:42 PM

      Oh thank you so much Rose! What a lovely thing to say! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Joan Katafias says

    December 12, 2016 at 11:07 AM

    It seems like many of the things you’ve used are old things. I love the concept of reusing what I have in new ways. It makes me remember why I bought them in the first place.

    Reply
  8. Marie says

    December 21, 2016 at 2:17 PM

    This is really beautiful. I’m wondering if you have a resource for your interesting clock.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      December 21, 2016 at 2:54 PM

      Hi Marie! The clock is from Home Goods. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Take the Quiz

Stay updated!

Get all the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Must Reads

Recent Posts

  • A New French Country Dining Table February 3, 2021
  • Open Now December 17, 2020
  • Tradition and a Christmas Home Tour December 9, 2020
  • Tabletop Hot Cocoa Station November 29, 2020
  • A New Front Door November 10, 2020

Get all the latest straight to your inbox

Footer

Instagram

I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
Follow
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 At The Picket Fence