Especially leading up to the holidays, the home decor section of Target is truly my happy place. It drives Adam completely crazy when we run in to grab one necessity, then an hour later roll out our grocery cart laden down with Christmas ornaments, wrapping paper, holiday candles, clothes for the kids, and usually some random furniture piece like a bar cart or lamp. I just can’t help myself! (anyone else?) So imagine my excitement when the Target team invited me to join them with Camila Alves in co-hosting a dinner party in Dallas last week — and design a tabletop using the new holiday collection! Keep scrolling to see all the highlights from this gorgeous party at The Joule hotel.
Loved cohosting the dinner with these fun gals: fellow Austinite Camila Alves, Amy Havins of darling fashion blog Dallas Wardrobe, Judy Aldridge of interior inspiration blog Atlantis Home, and my longtime friend and Southern Living editor, Kimberly Schlegel Whitman.
We each designed a festive holiday tablescape to inspire those looking to host their own Christmas dinner parties. All of the seasonal setups were created top-to-bottom with Target products totaling less than $200!
Camila stuck with a traditional red and green color palette for her table, adding a touch of kid-friendly whimsy with tree slice chargers, kitschy Christmas mugs, and pouches of Yummy Spoonfuls, her line of organic baby food that you can find at Target.
When it comes to holiday entertaining, I’m inspired by seasonality and get inspired by the natural materials I see when I step outside my door. I love sticking to a neutral color palette and creating centerpieces that are full of evergreen branches, berries, and other natural materials.
My place settings included:
- black stoneware dinner plates
- “joy” appetizer plates
- stainless steel gold dinner forks, knives, and spoons
- gray striped napkins
- etched glass tumblers
- round white and gold gift boxes
To recreate my tablescape design at your own Christmas dinner party, you’ll need:
- shimmery neutral tablecloth
- metallic gold vase
- set of gold hurricanes
- gold moose figurine
- faux fur throw blanket
Amy Havins created these adorable candy cane place cards by tying three candy canes together with a pretty ribbon and placing a handwritten name card in the hooks.
Entertaining expert Kimberly Schlegel Whitman used her design skills to create a Christmas tree centerpiece out of colorful ornaments.
We all gathered at The Joule, a new swanky hotel located in downtown Dallas. Their modern terrace was the perfect venue for our holiday dinner party. Guests sat at an extra-long dining table encouraging conversation between new acquaintances.
The signature cocktail of the evening was a festive cranberry vodka martini crowned with a red and white sprinkled edge.
Each place setting featured a gold charger, white China dinner plate, and a sparkly linen napkin, and was topped with a pretty place card, sprig of holiday berries, and a printed menu.
We feasted on a fresh butter leaf salad, local farms filet, and vegetarian cauliflower steak, and finished off dinner with a manjari tart for dessert.
Camila sneaks in a selfie of our entire table!
The Christmas-themed photo booth was a fun way to document the evening. We dressed up with Santa hats, reindeer headbands, and cut-out props on a stick!
Kraft paper gift bags were set out for guests to hit up the candy bar and fill up with sweet treats.
Peppermints, candy canes, chocolate, and assorted nuts… the perfect sweet ending to an unforgettable night!
