20 Days til Christmas — but who’s counting? Well, that would be me and many of you, I’m guessing.

Sometimes the most surprising items give us the most inspiration when planning tablescapes, and that happened to me this year. While going through the last of my mother’s things, I ran across a scarf that she treasured and wore during the Christmas season. Its Victorian motifs were the springboards for today’s Over the River and Through the Wood tablescape.

Growing up, my family often sang in the car, and I remember rousing choruses of Over the River and Through the Wood during the Thanksgiving season. Of course, we always said woods — who knew that it was singular? First published in 1844, the actual title is The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day,  written by Lydia Maria Child and celebrates visiting her grandfather on Thanksgiving Day. Continue reading →