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“We encourage people to take
our place cards home as a souve-
nir,” Suen-Cooper says. “In a digi-
tal world, everything goes into
the ether. You can tuck this into a
mirror and create a collage of
experiences. It’s a memento of a
fantastic time you had with your
friends.”
Punch bowls
In New England the Christmas
punch bowls came out at the
annual boozy Tom & Jerry party
featuring warm milk punch laced
with dark rum or brandy. In the
South, huge cut crystal bowls
were regulars at wedding show-
ers or Easter open houses, filled
with sugary concoctions chilled
by ice rings.
MARIAN MCEVOYVintage punch bowls are not
often seen partying these days.
Instead, they’re languishing in
basements or thrift shops. But in
researching her new book “Enter-
taining at Home: Inspiration
from Celebrated Hosts,” author
Ronda Carman writes about
Christy Ford, whose family in
Charlottesville has given punch a
new spin. At an annual mother-
daughter holiday tea, a mixture of
orange juice, cranberry juice and
champagne is ladled from a tall
punch bowl into elegant cham-
pagne flutes rather than the usual
small cups. It makes for a more
festive, fizzier experience.
“The appeal of a punch bowl is
that it’s a way to make a beverage
ahead of time,” Carman says.
“Then people can help them-
RIZZOLI USAselves and you don’t have to be
fussing around making drinks for
people.”
There are plenty of modern
options for punch bowls. Carman
likes the Oregon punch bowl
($99.95 at Crate & Barrel for a
10-piece set), the Schott Zwiesel
Tritan Pure Punch Bowl ($129.99
at Bed Bath & Beyond) and the
Octopus Bowl ($169.95 at Z Gal-
lerie).
Decanters
Most glass decanters or carafes
were originally made for holding
liquor or wine. You could pour red
wine into a carafe so the flavor
would open up by being exposed
to oxygen. Scotch was kept in a
heavy cut crystal decanter with a
stopper on top, a la “Mad Men.”
THE PUNCTILIOUS MR. P'S PLACE CARD CO.As more re-
laxed lifestyles
came into
vogue (and day
drinking di-
minished),
many decant-
ers were
shoved into the
back of cabi-
nets or donated to thrift shops.
But the truth is that many of them
are really good-looking and are
fun to pull out for a special
occasion, if not more often.
For Marian McEvoy, former
editor of Elle Decor and House
Beautiful and now a Hudson Val-
ley artisan, dinners are a bottle-
free zone. She says decanters uni-
fy things.
“Everything I put on my table
goes into a decanter, carafe or
pitcher, and that includes wine,
water and Ga tor ade,” she says.
And, yes, she puts all of those
things into the dishwasher with-
out worrying. “People don’t know
how to use decanters today, so
you can pick them up for noth-
ing.”
“Wine served in a carafe,” she
says. “How gorgeous is that?”
She likes the Hotel Collection
Glass Decanter ($67 at Macy’s),
Brew to a Tea’s Wine Decanter
With Stopper ($23.99 on Ama-
zon) and Lily’s Home’s Unbreak-
able Indoor/Outdoor Pitcher and
Wine Decanter ($17.95 on Ama-
zon).
Candlesticks
Votive candles have been in
vogue for a while now. Maybe it’s
time to bring back the classic
charm of tall white tapers in
classic holders. “I always keep my
dining room light dimmers pretty
low and use lots of candles,”
McEvoy says. “It makes everyone
look better.” She stockpiles boxes
of Ashland unscented white taper
candles ($7.99 for 15 at Michaels)
so she never runs out.
McEvoy keeps her eyes open
for old wood candlesticks at tag
sales and thrift shops, then paints
them white with black outlines.
“It unifies them and makes them
look architectural. Some are tall
and some are short, some are
mid-century and some are 19th
century,” she says. “It’s nice to see
the mix of shapes on a table.”
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BY JURA KONCIUS
At one time, baby boomers may
have loved hauling out their
French rimmed soup plates and
polishing their sterling salt-and-
pepper shakers, but many of
these accessories have moved
into the aftermarket. You’ll find
tons of entertaining stuff on Etsy
and eBay and at estate sales and
thrift shops.
But some old-school basics are
being brought back, even rein-
vented, to grab the attention of a
younger, hipper crowd looking
for fun — not fussy — accessories.
Here are some fresh ideas to toast
the holidays using entertaining
throwbacks.
Place mats
Embroidered linen and cotton
place mats are not seen on the
tables of most Americans these
days. They evoke a fussy, grand-
motherly look and are in constant
need of washing and ironing. Yet
place mats are a nice way to frame
individual settings at a table.
Sandy Chilewich, creative di-
rector of the company that bears
her name, has offered an easy-
care option for 19 years, with her
wipe-clean woven vinyl place
mats. Her new line of mats pairs
the modern textile with designer
John Derian’s evocative vintage
botanical and historical motifs
including cabbage roses, hum-
mingbirds and ferns.
“John Derian’s imagery is so
romantic,” Chilewich says. “Put-
ting it with our textiles is a
juxtaposition of old and new.”
Place cards
Although cards engraved with
guests’ names are associated with
formal gatherings such as wed-
dings or diplomatic dinners, they
don’t have to be fussy. Karen
Suen-Cooper and Martin Cooper
love using place cards when set-
ting the table for a dinner with
friends.
“They always spark a smile,”
Suen-Cooper says. “It’s not some-
thing everyone uses in the age of
paper plates.” They realized, how-
ever, that the plain white cards
they were using “seemed so blank
and boring,” Suen-Cooper says.
So the couple, who both come
from the fashion world and live in
New York’s Hudson Valley,
launched Punctilious Mr. P’s
Place Card Co.
They produce a line of seasonal
place cards featuring traditional
European or Chinese illustra-
tions. For November and Decem-
ber, they offer pheasants, rein-
deer, mushrooms and mid-centu-
ry Christmas tree baubles. The
cards come with custom digital
calligraphy and can arrive with
your guests’ names already in-
Five old-school table accessories to revive before the holidays
MEGAN SENIOR FOR CHILEWICH