The enchantment of a tiny Christmas village will be a delight to your guest as they dine at your festive Christmas grazing table!
With all the wonderment that the magic of Christmas brings, I thought how wonderful it would be if our guest took a stroll through an old fashion miniature Christmas village while partaking on savory platters.
Christmas villages have that special magic which transports us back in time to Christmases of long ago while they also let us take a peek into their tiny world.
I got such joy seeing the excitement on our guest's faces as they peered into the windows of the village homes, to see the little scenes being played out in each tiny house. Of course, no village would be complete without reaching the North Pole to see Santa at his workshop!
A Norman Rockwell Christmas village
When I was young, my mom was given a book on the works of Norman Rockwell. That book was my first introduction to Norman Rockwell's artwork. I would spend hours flipping through the pages of the book, studying all his paintings taking in all the wonderful details he would put into his work.
Years later, I came across a Christmas village collection based on the works of Norman Rockwell. Each house or shop window depicted one of Norman Rockwell's paintings within. We have the soda shop, the toy shop, the school house, there is the famous family dinner called 'Freedom from want', and of course, Santa's workshop to name just a few.
You don't have to have a Christmas village, the fun of this grazing table and my hope is to inspire you to incorporate your own personal Christmas decorations at your holiday table where you too can reminisce and share with your family and friends stories of the pasts.
Layout
A couple of days before our Christmas party, I placed all the platters, paddle boards, long boards and village decorations that I would be using on the day of our party. Setting up beforehand gives you an overall picture of what your grazing table will look like and it helps decided on food placement. When your planning a graze on a large table but don't have a large number of guest attending, preparing individual platters is easier and gives the table an abundance look. You can then fill up the empty spaces with additional decor pieces.
Don't worry if you change your layout the day of the event, it is only to be used as a planning guide so when you set up the actual day you will know where everything goes. It makes the process easier and faster.
Christmas Grazing Table
Let's take a look at the different areas of the Christmas grazing table, the platters, the food and the decorations!
O Charcu-tree, O Charcu-tree! & A Starry Night
Creating charcuterie & cheese boards not only serve as food platters, but make beautiful centerpieces for your grazing tables. For our Christmas grazing table, I designed two themed platters. 'O Charcu-tree, O Charcu-tree' was a vegetable, charcuterie platter framed with the cutest Christmas tree crackers. 'A Starry Night' was a fruit, charcuterie platter that featured a crescent moon of Christmas star crackers.
The Christmas tree and star platters fit perfectly with our little Christmas village.
You can follow my step-by-step instructions on how to build a 'O Charcu-tree, O Charc-tree' and 'A Starry Night' platter on my blog!
Log Fire Platter
Using a small riser paddle board, your guest will get a kick out of this little log fire platter!
1. Logs - Prosciutto & Soppressata with Mozzarella cheese rolls
2. Fire - Melon squares & Sweetened Hibiscus Flower
3. Accents - Artisan crackers, Dried Apricots, Rosemary
Antipasto Board
This board is fun for guests and is a great way to try different flavored oils, vinegars and a variety of pickled vegetables.
Use a large riser board and add small bowls to hold your dipping selections. Place little labels so guests know all the different choices.
Antipasto Board
1. Olive oil
2. Olive oil & Garlic flavor
3. Red Pepper Spicy Olive oil flavor
4. Bruschetta spread
5. Cherry Peppers in oil
6. Cornichons & Onions
7. Roasted Asparagus in oil
8. Kalamata Olives
9. French Bread Slices
Christmas Tree Brie
Brie is a beautiful cheese to serve during the holidays. Keeping with the Christmas tree look, use a large cookie cutter and press it through the center of the brie. Place the Christmas tree cutout on top of your honeycomb and place the round wheel of brie on a pretty platter. Place pomegranate seeds in the center of the brie. It will look lovely on your grazing table.
1. Round wheel of Brie
2. Honeycomb
3. Pomegranate Seeds
Cheese Stands
Cheese stands or risers will display your beautiful large pieces of cheeses while adding height to your grazing table. Stacking cheeses, draping grapes or adding fruits will create a beautiful arrangement. The cheese risers I used for our grazing table was Carina marble & wood.
1. Wensleydale Cranberry Cheese
2. Merlot BellaVitano Cheese
3. Red Grapes
4. Green Grapes
5. Radishes
6. Artichoke
Christmas Dessert Table
Everyone enjoyed the grazing table, but who doens't love dessert?
Making our way to the dining room, an abundance of Christmas sweets and treats were out for our guests to enjoy.
I had a so much fun putting together and hosting our Christmas party with a
'Spread the Joy of Christmas' Grazing Table for our friends.
Wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Lora
xoxo
Let's take a look at more photos of our Spread the Joy of Christmas Grazing Table
