If there’s ever a time that you want to set a pretty table, it’s Christmas dinner.

This is because the table sets the mood for the entire meal. You want it to look amazing for your loved ones, not to mention for the family photos (especially if you’ll be posting them online.)

There are many possible ways to pretty up your table, and many different elements that could enhance you table settings and make them spectacular.

Of course, if you have a set of fine china or holiday dishes, it’s the ideal time to get them out and put them to use. Christmas is also the ideal occasion for using a pretty tablecloth or table runner. If you own a beautiful vase, it would be lovely to fill it with flowers and create a unique centerpiece.

And once you’ve done all that, you’d feel pretty silly putting paper towels on the table to use as napkins, wouldn’t you? Of course you would.

Cloth napkins are admittedly more of a hassle than paper napkins are, but there are 3 excellent reasons you’d want to make the effort:

1. Cloth napkins look so much prettier and more festive on your holiday table (or everyday table, for that matter).
2. Cloth napkins are more sustainable and environmentally-friendly than paper napkins are.
3. Over the long term, you’ll save a bundle by using cloth napkins. Yes, cloth napkins cost more upfront than paper napkins or paper towels do — but over the long term, you’re likely to save a substantial sum by eliminating your long-term expense of paper towels / paper napkins.

So if you’ve come to the conclusion that you really want to increase your use of cloth napkins, this realization could lead you down a whole new rabbit hole: How do you fold cloth napkins and keep them in place?

The answer, of course, is that you’ll want to use napkin rings to do that.

For you DIY types who like to make creative pretties to dress up your home decor, I invite you to consider the following free patterns for crafting your own napkin rings:

• Free Pattern for Beaded Christmas Napkin Rings
• How to Make Napkin Rings With Wide Ribbon
• Free Pattern for DIY Bead Crochet Napkin Rings
• Free Pattern for Wire Crochet Napkin Rings (not pictured)

If you like the idea of making napkin rings, but the ones pictured above aren’t quite what you have in mind for your table, you’re invited to check out this list of 7 ways to make napkin rings. The list includes bunches more ideas, some of which involve craft techniques other than knitting or crocheting.

More Ideas for Christmas Table Settings

• Get the free pattern for the crochet placemat pictured above
• Get free edging patterns for finishing off cloth napkins (or other projects)

I wish you a joyous holiday season this year, filled with peace, love, light, creativity and blessings.

If you found this blog post helpful, I invite you to return to this site often for more posts, craft tutorials, project ideas and inspiration! You can make sure you keep this site on your radar by signing up for my newsletter and community at Substack. .

Basic subscriptions are free; I send out regular newsletters to let my subscribers know about new craft articles and tutorials as they are posted. I also share details about the craft projects I’m working on, and invite my readers to share their projects, too. So there is no need to feel like it’s just you, crafting all alone at home. I’d love to have you join us! You’re invited!!

By Amy Solovay

Please Visit My Ko-Fi Shop HERE to Find My Sample Sale, Destash Sale and Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.

Please Visit My Ravelry Store HERE to Find Digital PDF Pattern Downloads for Sale.

About the Author:

Amy Solovay is a real, live, human content creator and educator who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Sweet Briar College; she has also earned a separate Associate of Arts degree in textile design from FIDM LA (The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles). She is NOT a robot and does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to write book reviews or articles for this website.

Amy learned to crochet as a small child, and she still enjoys crocheting all these years later.

As an educator, Amy Solovay used to teach in-person college courses in trend forecasting, marketing and surface design at California Design College in Los Angeles.

If you’re interested in reading Amy’s personal blog, she invites you to visit her official website, AmySolovay.com; and, if you’re interested in earning income while spending time crafting, she encourages you to check out Crafterprise.com.

The Holiday Season Is Upon Us! Are You Ready to Get Busy Making Holiday Crafts?

Happy November, everyone! Today is November 1, 2024. Halloween is now over and done with, and that means your local retailers are probably putting up their Christmas displays and getting ready for the holiday rush of shoppers.

For those of us planning to make our own Christmas gifts and Christmas decorations, the pressure is on to get it all finished before December 25 rolls around. On the one hand, there’s plenty of time. On the other hand, there’s never enough time — so there’s no time like the present to get moving on your 2024 holiday crafting.

If you need a little inspiration for what to make for the 2024 holiday season, I invite you to check out this list of the best Christmas craft books. These books all have fantastic Christmas project ideas, plus the patterns you can use for making each project.

I’ll highlight a couple of my favorites from the list here in this blog post — but I hope you’ll check out the entire list to find some amazing Christmas knitting books, Christmas crochet books, and other assorted Christmas craft books.

My New Favorite Christmas Crochet Book for 2024: Classic Christmas Crochet

If I had to choose just one Christmas pattern book to work from, it would be a tough choice — but I think this is the one I’d go for.

Why?

A couple of reasons:

• First of all, because I think this book is the prettiest of all my current choices. The Christmas ornaments and projects featured are lovely and useful ones;
• and, second, because these projects all work well for either gift-giving or keeping.

Arne & Carlos Favorite Designs: Christmas Gift Knitting Patterns + Everyday Patterns = Huge Winner!

This book is another top favorite that I highly recommend. It’s primarily intended for knitters, but it also includes a sprinkling of crochet and embroidery, too.

This isn’t specifically intended to be a Christmas book, but I have no problem including it on my list of best Christmas books because so much of its contents are Christmas friendly.

The book includes a high number of usable patterns. It also has a fantastic variety of different projects, including Christmas ornaments, toys, slippers and many others. Some of these items are specifically Christmas projects; some of which are projects for other holidays; and some of which are everyday projects that would make fantastic Christmas gifts (or not — you don’t have to give them to anybody, and nobody would blame you for keeping them!).

Learn More About Arne & Carlos Favorite Designs:

• See our detailed book review of this title
• Shop for this book at Amazon

Be sure to check out our complete list of the best Christmas craft books HERE!