Looking for unusual ideas for table decorations? How about peacocks!
Last month, in celebration of my mother’s and her twin’s 84th birthday, family gathered at my house for this auspicious occasion. My mother and my aunt are fraternal twins, instead of identical twins, which is the norm for twins of the same sex. Born in 1930, they were an anomaly then and an anomaly now.
What I mean is that they couldn’t be more opposite. In every way.
They both have gray hair now. But in their younger years, my mother had dark brown hair and hazel eyes and my aunt was blonde with blue eyes.
Career choices: my aunt had a life-long career with no children and my mom was a stay-at-home mom with 4 children and a job here and there.
Vacation choices: my aunt traveled the world on vacations and my mom went camping on vacations.
Location choices: my aunt lived in Southern California all of her life and my mom lived all over the place as the wife of an Air Force officer.
Cake choices: my mom likes white cake and my aunt likes chocolate.
Color choices: my mom’s favorite colors are pinks and my aunt’s favorite colors are blues.
Food choices: my mom’s loves ethnic food and my aunt would rather eat chicken (or cookies).
You get the picture. Celebrating their birthday, together, is always a challenge of making each feel like the party is just for them. In a way, I guess you could describe them each as a “peacock” in their own right, proclaiming their individuality for all the world to hear {grin}!
So, decorating the table for their special celebration is always a challenge!
When I was 11-years-old, I bought my first peacock. We were camping in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and had taken a day trip into the town of Gatlinburg. I’m dating myself by sharing that this was 48 years ago, but if I have an 84-year-old mother, you can figure out my approximate age anyway {grin}! Forty-eight years ago Gatlinburg was a small, lovely mountain town with lovely gift shops and artisan crafts persons. I haven’t been there for 40+ years, but I’m sure it’s still a magical place.
Anyway, one of the gift shops was a Christmas and holiday shop filled with marvelous treasures. And, I spied a feathered peacock in a magnificent shade of peacock blue.
And, I had to have it.
I spent my hard-earned allowance to buy that treasure, along with a second one in a beautiful emerald green.
That was the start of my peacock obsession. Over the years, I collected peacocks here and there, mostly Christmas ornaments. And, when we lost our home in the 2007 Southern California wildfire known as the Witch Fire, I lost my treasured peacock collection.
As mother’s do, wanting to kiss away their child’s pain (even old children!), my mother started buying me peacocks once we moved into our new, rebuilt home in 2008. And, one of her gifts was this magnificent tin peacock pictured below. This peacock is quite large – about three feet long! I don’t really have anyplace in my home to display him year-round, so he’s stored with the Christmas decorations.
While shopping for photo props one day, I found this beautiful fabric in a fuchsia and teal swirly pattern. “Perfect,” I thought to myself; “I can make a tablecloth for the twins’ birthday and use my peacocks!” As luck would have it, the fabric store did not have enough of the fabric left on the bolt to make a tablecloth that would fit my table {sad face}.
Plan B – I made it into two table runners! Stay tuned for my upcoming post on how to make these easy table runners!
I already had white tablecloths that fit my table, so I used those as a base. I say “those” because even though I have a large dining room table, it still isn’t large enough to sit all my clan! So, I add folding tables to the end of the dining room table and cover those, too.
Over the white tablecloth I placed a brown with white polka-dot runner that Samantha (my niece) made for Tiffany’s (my niece, too) baby shower several years ago. Then, on top of both of those, I placed my newly created table runners.
In my stash of stuff, I had pink and blue chargers, pink, blue and green dessert plates, pink, blue and green goblets, pink, blue and green vases – all different patterns and shapes, so I used them all! Plus, I had blue votive candle holders, too.
While shopping, I found pink and blue polka-dot paper napkins and made special place cards on PicMonkey (stay tuned for that post, too) finished with sparkly stick-on letters I got on sale at the craft store. And, I found small plastic goblets at the grocery store in jewel colors for our little ones.
I had hoped my roses would be in bloom to use for floral arrangements, but that didn’t happen either! So Plan B on the flowers, too! The morning of the party, I walked around my yard and cut baskets full of the flowers that were in bloom: bougainvillea, sage, plumbago and geraniums:
I looked through my Christmas decorations and selected a glitter tree in just the right shade of green:
And added my peacock Christmas decorations:
I filled in spaces with things from around my house. I found wrought iron birdcages and decorative crowns, trinket boxes in brown wood and leather. Plus, house plants in brown metal planters, house plants in blue ceramic pots. If it was brown, blue, green or pink, it was considered a potential candidate for this tablescape!
When family arrived, I got “oohs” and “ahhs”, which was the desired result!
Plus, the twins were happy {grin}…
P.S. Are you in love with peacocks, too? These peacock products (and more!) are available on Amazon (this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.):
Peacock Coffee Cup | Peacock Jewelry Ring Holder | Peacock Plush Toy | Another Peacock Plush Toy | Peacock Pillow | Peacock Lunch Napkins | Peacock Paper Plates
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other tablescapes)
Too beautiful for words! Wow, such wonderful colors. I have a thing for peacocks myself, enjoyed every moment of your post.
Thanks for the kind words! I’m so happy you enjoyed my post!