Setting a Pretty Christmas Table

Mary Brownfield began her love of a pretty tablesetting young.

When she was in high school, she went to the old May Department Store and signed up for the Tabletop Plan, buying crystal and silver one piece at a time. She packed it away in her hope chest.

"I had everything but the husband!" she joked.

Today, that crystal and silver come out when she creates her lovely tablesettings in her Avon home. For Christmas, she's using an elegant nature look, with china featuring pine boughs and springs of holly and poinsettia napkin rings. She recently gave her placesettings a test run when she decorated one of the tables at a ladies' Christmas tea party at .

"I don't follow rules of placesetting charts," Brownfield said. She mixes silver and gold flatware, mixes china patterns, and her serving pieces don't all match.

Some are unique, like the silver sugar bowl that comes with its own tiny scoop. Guests love to use that, Brownfield said.

Her love of entertaining and tea parties goes back to her Irish grandmother having the family over for tea. It wasn't a formal event, but a warm one. As an adult, she started her own tea club with about 20 friends who got together every month for a tea party. While the club ran out of steam years ago, Brownfield still lobes to go out for tea at places like Laurel Run in Vermilion.

When Brownfield has friends over and tea is served, she lets them choose their mug from her dining room cabinet that is filled with a variety of teacups.

"People have such fun with it," she said. "They love to look at them and pick their favorite."

Brownfield buys her tableware at places ranging from tea rooms such as Miss Molly's in Medina, to SteinMart to Pat Catan's.

While she loves making centerpieces and bows, Brownfield says she has pared down her Christmas decorating considerably.

"(Husband) Harry would go all-out with it, more is better," she said. "But I'm the one who has to do much of it, so I want to keep things simpler and focus on a few really nice things."

So they put out Harry's large ceramic Christmas pieces, the tree in the front hall, the nativity scene, some decorative bows that Brownfield makes, and that's it.

"Since we don't overdo it, it gives us more of a chance to enjoy Christmas," she said.