New Year's Eve Dinner By The Fire

We aren't New Year's Eve party people and have not been out on the holiday since 1983 (I remember because our son was 6 weeks old and it was our first date-night without him!) If we see the ball drop at midnight, it's only because we are watching the New York activities as they happen on our West Coast time zone! We are usually awakened by inconsiderate neighbors lighting off fireworks at midnight, but we quickly go back to sleep. Our dog, Harley, is now deaf so the fireworks no longer bother him! As you can tell, we aren't real lively for this holiday!

I do like to have a nice quiet dinner, to celebrate the end of one year and the anticipation of a new year.  Some years we have another couple or two over, some years it's just us.  This year was just the two of us. We are finally getting some rain and wintery weather here, it's the type of weather where you want to be inside and near the fire.  This gave me the perfect excuse to set up a table in front of the fireplace. The combination of the fire and twinkly lights on the table provided a nice setting for our cozy dinner.

I used my wedding china, Fragrance by Noritake, placed on a gold charger. To avoid making things too formal, I added a decoupaged salad plate with a clock motif. There are some orange and yellows in the fabric that coordinated well with the floral colors on the china rim. Black napkins helped to tie all the colors together, too. A quick run to the fabric store for some sparkly material (on sale for $4.25!) provided our table runner. We have the most wonderful floral mart in town and I was able to get two dozen white roses for $18! (Four days later they still look wonderful!) I told my Hubbers there wasn't a restaurant in town that could provide this sort of ambiance!

The only problem with our fireside dining was (1) there is no kitchen help and (2) it got a little warm sitting next to the fire! Overall, it was a wonderful evening.  We enjoyed a nice dinner and a bottle of our favorite wine. We didn't have to get dressed up, fight the crowds, or worry about drivers who drink and drive. And my Visa charge isn't holding a big restaurant bill! Priceless!

I'm linking up to Tablescape Thursday.