‘Tis the Season to deck the halls, as well as the table and I’m joining a group of 20 table stylists
for a Christmas Tablescape Blog Hop! You’ll find links at the bottom of this post
for more Christmas and holiday table inspiration.
Welcome to a Merry Little Christmas Village!
It’s shaping up to be a white Christmas in the village. . . kids are building snowmen
and trees and homes are trimmed and decorated in anticipation of Santa’s arrival!
Sparkling snow covers the rooftops and landscape but it’s warm and cozy inside!
Glittered cardboard houses collected over the years, reminiscent of early putz houses,
provide a centerpiece for the table.
A brief history of the Putz Village Houses:
The word ‘putz’ comes from the German word putzen, meaning ‘to adorn’. The tradition of small putz Christmas houses and villages dates back to the Moravians, who expanded a long German tradition of building small villages around nativity scenes into the more elaborate version they called a Putz, popular in American Moravian homes and churches during the 19th century. From there, the putz house evolved from cardboard candy box houses until the arrival of electricity in the early 20th century, offering illumination with holes in the back of houses for light bulbs.
Exports from Japan brought the addition of cellophane windows and mica glitter until the start of WWII. With wartime rationing of materials, American companies made simpler versions of houses until after the war when Japanese exports dominated the market again with a dime store revival of putz village houses.
Placemats wreath the place settings with red beads and sequins for some sparkle. . .
Along with sparkling beaded napkin napkin rings.
Tartan plaid make things merry and bright, on the plates, tablecloth, on miniature houses and chimneys.
Winter village plates from Pottery Barn several years ago provide merry streets scenes, complete with children with dogs, toting sleds. . .
And cars and trucks are hauling Christmas trees.
I think there’s something so merry about little Christmas villages,
reminiscent of childhood and simpler times. . .
‘happy golden days of yore’ –> pre-2020. :)
Here’s a little Christmas classic by composer and lyricist Hugh Martin to sing along to. . .
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on
Our troubles will be out of sight.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Make the Yule-tide gay
From now on
Our troubles will be miles away.
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.
Through the years
We all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.
🎄🎄🎄
Table Details:
Winter Village Salad Plates / Pottery Barn, several years
Tartan plaid tablecloth / HomeGoods, several years ago
Red sequin placemats / Kohl’s, several years ago
Ciroa Plaid Plates, White Chargers / HomeGoods, several years ago
Red stemware / Mikasa French Countryside
Assorted houses and bottle brush trees / collected over the years
Car and truck with tree ornaments / Hobby Lobby
Napkins and napkin rings / HomeGoods, several years ago
Wallace Corsica Gold-Accent Flatware
Many thanks to Rita of Panoply for organizing this hop!
Find more Christmas table inspiration at the links below:
Everyday Living – A Nutcracker Parade
Debbee’s Buzz – Bringing Home the Christmas Tree Holiday Table
Pandora’s Box – “I can’t decide…”
Hyacinths for the Soul – Traditions ~ A Tablescape Blog Hop
Living with Thanksgiving – Merry and Bright
Tablescapes at Twenty-One – Winter Sports
Home is Where the Boat Is – Merry Little Christmas Village
Panoply – Forest Fantasy Holiday Tablescape
Corner of Plaid and Paisley – Evergreen and Gold Christmas Table
My Thrift Store Addiction – Nature-Inspired Christmas Table and Jadeite Cocoa Bar
The Painted Apron – Christmas Trucks and Trees
Me and My Captain – Silver and Gold Christmas Table 2021
Red Cottage Chronicles – A White Christmas Tablescape
Life and Linda – Gnome for the Holidays
Belle Bleu Interiors – Christmas Blessings
My Hubbard Home – Tartan Christmas Tidings Tablescape | Holiday Entertaining
The Sweet Sensations – Christmas Elegance in Red, White & Silver
Dinner at Eight – Christmas Dining – The New Traditional
Bluesky at Home – Ideas for Red Plaid Christmas Table
Zucchini Sisters – Christmas Sleigh Centerpiece and Tablescape
The Bookish Dilettante – Dreaming of a Pink Christmas
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase anything through an affiliate link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Find an additional round-up of 25 Christmas and winter-themed tablescapes and centerpiece inspiration, HERE. You’ll find cheery checks and merry plaids and tartans, whimsical reindeer, a Santa motorcade, floral centerpieces, DIY evergreen table runners and more for your holiday celebration.
Wishing you a Merry Little Christmas ♥
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Between Naps on the Porch
I have been feeling particularly nostalgic this season, and this tablescape hits all the high points of why! I love the plates and village scenes. Kids walking down the street with sleds, the town tree, and anticipation of Santa…all very vivid memories of when Christmas was so fun and exciting. I think it’s also why I love Hallmark movies so much….and that Christmas song you shared.
Your putz village collection is special, Mary. You know how I love collections, and while I don’t have but 1 putz house (gifted!), yours certainly invites the desire….
Always a smart choice in linens and accessories on your tables, I love pouring over your details (and list of, thank you!).
Thank you for being a part of this job hop. It’s a pleasure to sit next to you this time, every time.
Well…now you’ve “gone & done it”…tears in my coffee…this is SO incredibly beautiful, meaningful, emotional…& THEN…THE SONG…oh, my GOODness. Having just celebrated our golden wedding anniversary…”that is” how our Christmas note & photo on cards began…”here we are as in olden days, happy golden days, etc. Bless you. franki
Mary, Mary, how you make everything shinny and bright! Love, love, love this! I was just playing that song on Amazon music today and I believe Bing Crosby was singing it and took me totally back to my childhood! You have captured such a beautiful Christmas scene and it is precious! Thank you for the history lesson on a sweet collectable. This year my tree is vintage with the “shinny and bright” ornaments my parents had after WWII as that is what we used to decorate our tree when I was a child. I have many of my childhood toys and so they are under the tree as well. I guess those of us who are over 50 (and maybe even those younger) are homesick for simplier times when family and friends, church and faith really were the most important things in life. In honor of those days and my 65 birthday, (on the 24th, hehe), my tree reflects those good times. Thank you for adding to the nostalgia! Merry, Merry CHRISTmas! 🎄🎄🎄
Mary, I don’t remember ever seeing these beautiful village plates. They set the mood for your gorgeous table with each detail that you incorporated. I am a big fan of plaids and mixing them adds lovely layers and warmth! That is one of my favorite Christmas songs, it plays daily in my home.
It is always a pleasure to take a virtual seat at one of your tables. Wishing you a Merry Tuesday ♥️
Wow, Mary. Your table is so charming and delightful. I was totally enthralled!
The Christmas Village centerpiece is amazing. I enjoyed learning about Putz houses and your collection of cardboard houses and bottle brush trees had to be fun putting together. You do have a way with styling. The red glittery placemats,white beaded chargers, and tartan plate framed the delightful PB winter village plates perfectly. And the tablecloth you selected accented the table so well.
Thank you for the lyrics and link to the classic Christmas song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
I love the collage of 25 of your Christmas tables. Pinning that!
Enjoyed being apart of another hop together.
Mary, my comment disappeared! I absolutely love the Christmas village plates and never remember seeing them before. They set a beautiful mood for your table, almost like times gone by. Your details are always perfect from the plate stack to the mixing of the plaids. I am a big fan of plaids.
This comment posted before I finished 😳 I have always loved the song, one of my favorites as it daily plays in my home during the Christmas season.
It is always a pleasure to be invited to take a virtual seat at one of your gorgeous tables. Wishing you a beautiful and bright Tuesday♥️
Oh my! I love those PUTZ houses…always have! I have several and wold have more except for trying to store them! I really enjoyed reading about them…we always called them candy box houses! I can’t wait to see the other table scapes…yours always inspires me….this one is beautiful to say the least!
This is the most adorable table setting. I’ve collected or seen so many Christmas dishes through the years but these are new to me and they are just the cutest. You always create the most inspiring tables. I love the putz houses. I’m lucky enough to own some that belonged to my grandmother preWW-II. The tree-topped car ornaments are so sweet. Thanks for sharing another lovely table. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Morning Mary. Love your tablescape. However, I was surprised to learn the word putz is a homonym (When words are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings) I’m afraid I won’t be using your definition any time soon as friends and family would be…startled.
Hi Karen, Putz houses have a long history dating back to the 17 and 18th centuries. It’s not my definition, you can read about them here. The pronunciation is ‘puts’ rather than ‘putts’. :)
Nice to know the correct way to pronounce Putz! Thank you.
Oh my goodness, Mary, how I wish I could see this table in person and see each and every house and place setting. The luncheon plates may be my favorites I’ve ever seen!! They just take me away to far simpler times. Those houses!! My beloved mom had them and they are gone. I was enchanted by them when I was a little girl. Thank you for this bit of nostalgia this morning. 🎄🥰🎄
I couldn’t love it more! The sparkle! The houses, the plates! Thank you for sharing with us and the work you put into these settings.
Mary, your Christmas village plates are beautiful and I love the centerpiece you created with Putz houses. So many lovely details to behold! Merry Christmas to you, Friend! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction
This is just adorable Mary, I love your Putz collection of sweet snow covered houses and the plates are so perfect with them! Plaid and Christmas sparkle just add more to the fun! It feels like a Hallmark movie! The red stemware is gorgeous! Your table is full of Christmas magic 🎄
Jenna
Mary, this Tablescape is so lovely. The Putz houses are favorites of mine too. You have put so much detail into this Holiday table and it will surely bring much Joy to those lucky enough to sit there during this Joyous Season. Merry Christmas Mary🎄
Mary, your table embraces the spirit of Christmas that I like to capture and hold tight to my heart. The plates – so cute- and other table items remind me of childhood memories. Every detail is filled with good old-fashioned cheer!
Merry Christmas!
RR
What a lovely table setting. I never knew the history of Putz houses, nor what the name meant – thanks! The dishes and village remind me of my childhood (I think we might have had some Puts houses when I was very little). The little car ornaments are adorable and complete the theme well. Have a wonderful holiday!
So much eye candy Mary. Love your Merry Little Christmas Village. Thanks for sharing the history of the Putz houses. They are a darling collection. The plates are perfect and so darn cute. I missed seeing them. Love the sweet little car ornaments! Your table makes me smile, seems so vintage and full of precious memories. I love your attention to detail. Like Jenna said, your table looks like it belongs in a Hallmark movie. The sparkle placemats caught my eye. Anyone would be thrilled to sit at your gorgeous table. A pleasure joining you on this fun blog hop. Happy Holidays.
Thanks for the lesson. Love the plaid, the Putz and most of all, how you make everything sparkle. Wow, a work of art.
Thank you for this post. I remember the Putz houses from when I was a child. Our family had them (bought from the local “dime store”). I have a few that we had but never thought of using as a table centerpiece. It is a wonderful idea and will be eager to try it. Your arrangements are beautiful and always inspiring. Thank you and Merry Christmas.
My grandfather put Putz houses under his Christmas tree which sparked my lifelong fascination with miniature buildings. I wish I had his original collection for sentimental reasons, but the memories are just as sweet. Your tablescape is adorable. I think I have a set of those PB village plates. I never thought to use them with plaid. Thanks for a new idea! Best wishes for a happy holiday.
My grandfather put Putz houses under his Christmas tree sparking my lifelong fascination with miniature buildings. I wish I had his original set for sentimental reasons, but the memories are just as sweet. I never would have thought to use the village plates with plaid. Now, I need to go dig them out and set a table. Thanks for the idea. You visual sense is so amazing. Best wishes for a happy holiday.
I really love this Village tablescape. It is so nostalgic and welcoming. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.
Your table is gorgeous Mary. Looking at the little cottages and tiny cars with a Christmas tree on the roof brings back beautiful childhood memories from the “good ‘ole days”. I just love your dishes with the Christmas village scenes. I have 3 sets of Christmas dishes and cherish them all, but I make sure to pull them out right after Thanksgiving to enjoy them throughout the month of December. Thank you for sharing all this beauty and Merry Christmas!!
Mary, thank you for creating and styling a magical and nostalgic table and centerpiece that was like walking inside a snow globe to another time and place. Oh those plates! How perfect paired to the lyrics of my very favorite Christmas song. Darling centerpiece with the old fashion houses and ornaments. My dad made his own that sat over large light bulbs in the Lionel train display under our tree. Unfortunately the houses are gone, but I have the train that was bought the year I was born. And several of the skiers that not only sat on the snow slope in our display, but also under my father’s tree in the 1930’s. Merry, merry Christmas!
Love your Christmas settings and your recipes!!! You have such a knack for decorating!
You make everything fun, when I am feeling down all I need is to check your emails and
I feel better! Thank you and Happy Holidays!
I love the song lyrics with your post….truly my eyes are welling-up! I love the village theme, and the plates and village centerpiece are my two favorites. Your tables are always so much fun, Mary! Thanks for always bringing a little joy into our lives. I hope this Advent Season has been a blessing to you so far.
Merry Christmas!
Ricki Jill
Really pretty Mary! Great plates and I love the plaid. Think I’ll click through the links tomorrow morning over coffee:@)
This is amazing! You outdid yourself on this one! Quite stunning my friend! Merry Tuesday!
The merriest of Mary’s table settings! What a delightful table to sit at, with so many details on each element to take in. The entire setting evokes such a sense of coziness and comfort. The only disappointment is that I can’t run to the store and pick up a collection of Putz houses!
You always pay incredible attention to the most minute detail and it’s so beautiful, refreshing, inspiring, and festive!
Oh Mary! You have given me all the warm and fuzzies!! I always look forward to your tables and this one is perfection! Your explanation of the Putz houses was so interesting and appreciated. I have never hear of them before. Your entire village reminds me of the small town streets in some of my favourite Hallmark Christmas movies that make want to move there!) LOVE your plate stack! Everything from the sparkly placemat to the tartan plates, to the wonderful winter scenes on the salad plates! So very happy to be joining you on the hop today! Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season!
Darling, our town, happy days of yesteryear.
I want to live in this village until the end of February! All your tables are great, but this one is really charming and nostalgic…the way Christmas used to be. (Or maybe just in our imaginations.) Thanks, Mary.
Hi, Mary! So I saw the term “putz house” and immediately Googled it as I was unfamiliar with it. Had silly me just scrolled down a bit more I could have saved myself the trouble. Thanks for the history on the term. I’ve always been enchanted by Christmas villages, but I never knew there was specific terminology for the houses. Cool! Great theme! And beautifully executed theme!!! It truly does take me back to the 60s and my nearly idyllic childhood when all the world seemed right (except for bedtimes and cookie controls!). You have an impressive collection, and it’s so sweet that you cherish them and have taken such good care with them over the years. Your dishes are wonderful! Each scene depicts something reminiscent of a gentler time in life when we were carefree kids. It’s so rare these days (well, here in the Kansas City, MO area anyway) to see people hauling home a fresh tree atop their SUV or in the back of a pickup. When I do see it, I get very giddy with excitement. And if they have a wreath affixed to the grill of the car, even better!!!!!!
This is really nicely done, and I’m so happy to have this bit of nostalgia to rest on for the remainder of this day as I go about the mundane. Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Mary, I’m late and apologize! I’m humming and singing Golden Days of Yore. Oh, how I wish! Life here is a challenge of late, but we are finding the joy. You know my tartan loving heart is joyfully singing as I scroll through this post. Love all the darling plaid putz houses. I have a large one that a friend gave me a few years ago, but would love to find some of the mini ones for the table. Years ago a friend made a centerpiece for a birthday luncheon she hosted for me, and sent me home with all the little houses she had gathered to create the scene. I showed it in my post this week.
I’m behind on setting a table, but it will definitely include tartan. I’m crazy about my Juliska tartan dishes I added last year.
Happiest of holidays to you and your hubby and the girls. Merry and Bright!!!!
What fun to study this post! I love the Putz houses and learning about their history. As always, your tablescapes are the BEST! I’ve never seen dinner plates in that pattern and it couldn’t be cuter. I’m lucky enough to have two sets of Christmas dishes but you obviously have me beat! My favorite is the Lenox Holiday Tartan and I’m so sad it was discontinued. I love everything tartan!
Thanks for the inspiration and the joy of receiving your blog.
Mary, your table looks just like those idyllic little towns in the Hallmark movies!! I love all your tiny details that you have used with your Putz houses to make the village come to life, much like your plates. And to place all of this on top of plaid makes my heart sing!!! Love it all❤️Such a fabulous table!! I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!!🤶🎄
OMG, OMG, how gorgeous is this! I am a fan of tartan and you’ve given me lots to swoon over. You’ve also given me some inspiration for my next Christmas table. The houses are very quaint and perfect for the theme. Loving the red beaded placemats they add lots of sparkle to this lovely table. It’s always a pleasure to join in on these hops and I wish you and your family the merriest Christmas ever.
Mary. Everything you do is gorgeous, over the top, and inspiring. Love your videos. Merry Christmas to you and your’s
Hello, I really love the plates on your tablescape. It’s all so pretty but those especially. If I may ask I was wondering if you’ve picked the winners for your recent holiday cooking contest?
Hi Christie, The winners are listed here: https://homeiswheretheboatis.net/2021/12/11/easy-and-irresistible-no-bake-peanut-butter-chocolate-swirl-bars/
Mary, what a lovely Christmas tablescape. I love all the fish patterns. I’ve never heard of Putz houses. They are so cute. Of course, I love your plaid tablecloth. Merry Christmas.
Mary, your table is a such a delight! It just makes my heart sing! Those sweet little houses and precious village plates accented with the cute red trucks make the perfect holiday setting. Of course, the pretty plaids add the perfect finishing touch. I’m so sorry I’m so late commenting. My neck was froze up this week, and I stayed away from the computer as much as possible. It is always a pleasure to join you on these hops. You are so talented, and your tables are always gorgeous! Wishing you a most happy Christmas season!
Be still my heart, Mary! Your collection of vintage style cardboard houses is just darling. They go so well with the Pottery Barn plates! The plaid tablecloth really accentuates the cozy winter vibe. I love it all! It was fun to hop with you again. Merry Christmas!
Mary, Your village tablescape is fabulous! Your houses are adorable. You have a nice collection. The various plaid items add such nice color to the table, especially that cute house. Love those cute village plates! They pair so well with the tartan chargers. The truck and car made me smile! They’re darling! Merry Christmas! Clara❤️