Karen Tawil is one of the most creative and talented people I know. Years ago, Karen volunteered for a Sephardic Bikur Holim bake sale that we were working on.  In one day, she ran down to the flower district and bought tons of  bonsai plants, flowers, and all sorts of containers and ribbon, and created about 50 of the coolest Shabbat arrangements for sale. Needless to say, we were all sold out within hours, and it greatly helped us add to the profits and enjoyment of the day!

I must also add that Karen and her husband Neil own  Bright Eyes, the BEST place to shop for designer sunglasses in the Tri-State area. Bright Eyes is Located at 508 Kings Hwy # 1, Brooklyn, NY 11223-1917

Call Karen or Neil for more info:(718) 382-8722 ‎

Thanks for sharing your breathtaking holiday table settings with us, Karen!  You make it look so easy!!!

p.s. To all of my Jewish Hostesses! keep sending in your holiday photos to marlene(AT)thejewishhostess.com! use the @!!

Marlene

“Hi Marlene,

I love the reaction of my guests when they come into our home and they get excited with all they see. I feel like the table setting makes the meal memorable even if its a meal as simple as bbq. For shavuot lunch it was just the four of us. I used a woven leather placemat from Pottery Barn with a silver charger ,the dishes are limoge and the flatware is lucite. I used stargazer and blue hydrangeas…….

For dinner table decor, I used a silver liner with a shimmer white overlay. Everything else was simple. As it was the holiday of Shavuot,  I just wanted it to be about the flowers. I put six vases across the table filled with roses, lisianthus,philanopsis,calla lillies and peonies. In front of each place setting, I put a single orchid in medicine tubes. The napkin rings were made out of silver leather from the fabric store sealed with a hot glue gun. Simple and elegant!!! Karen Tawil”

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Thank you to all of the Jewish Hostessses who took the time to send in their tables. I hope all of my readers enjoy looking at these tablescapes as much as I do. Each one is unique and as beautiful as the hostess behind it.  Click here to see the first batch of  Passover tables that were posted last week.

May we continue to share in many Jewish holidays together! Marlene

P.S Comment below with your favorites! 

p.s. don’t miss the newest table setting ideas and easy healthy recipes once a week to your inbox! CLICK HERE!

1. Lily Pads and Frogs Passover Table Decor By Kineret Spector (check out more of  Kineret’s creative tables HERE and HERE!)

Kineret

2. A Country Seder Table by Lisa Ades-

“My country seder in Massachusets – nothin’ fancy since the green outside from our Japanese garden is all the decoration we need…”

“I wish I had chairs that match but at least we have glasses that match – they were Grandma Ades’s.”

“This is my “centerpiece” – my mom and I went to the nursery down the street where they have the most beautiful pansies…”

“We planted them in this pot that has real moss growing on it. What could be prettier than that?”

“Did you notice my “diamond” napkin fold? I found it on http://www.napkinfoldingguide.com/! Ethan made that kippah on the right when he was little – i love the pom pom on it and that all the letters fell off except for HA! Enjoy! Lisa”

3. An Elegant Persian Tablescape at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica. Check out the rest of the post HERE.

4. Blue Suede Seder Trays by Emily Massry

Hey Marlene I'm only sending this because I ran into you in Walmart. I Bought these blue suede boxes for Purim never used them but they came in handy for Passover . I put Haggadah, egg, haroset, and celery in salt water lettuce and a little cup of salt. Thank g-d it was a great Seder! Love ya keep up the great work, Marlene!," Emily M.

5. Color Array of Tableware by Susie Dweck

6. Alexis and Sarah Mizrahi “Spring” into action every year on Passover. Check out their LAST YEAR’S gorgeous crafty seder HERE!.

“Hi Marlene!
Our gourmet popcorn business closed for pesach-so we finally had some free time on our hands! Like always-we suprise our mother with a beautiful table every holiday. This years inspiration was “hag ha’aviv-holiday of the spring. ” A trip to the flower market, & a local nursery-& we were done! We rented a camel table cloth,yellow napkins,& bamboo chairs from Brooklyn Party Rental -Sonny Halawani- Our centerpieces were grass we bought already in those rustic wood crates, glass jars filled with moss, real birch wood, birds, lemons & limes.. For place cards we potted moss in terra cotta pots, & used birch wood scraps (we got it free!) that we ripped in small pieces for the names. Next to that, we placed our home-made leather bound Hagadahs! Our favorite part of the whole table – everyones little shelf with all the symbolic foods. We found these lucite “cabinet organizers” for cents-& we turned them into individual ke’aras! It was soo easy & so much fun! Enjoy!!”
Alexis & Sarah Mizrahi
Don’t forget to call Brooklyn Party Rental: (646) 233-7955
And Crazy Corn – to try one of their 16+ flavors of gourmet popcorn: (718) 613-9558

7.Pretty Greens and Flowers Pesach Tablescape by Jennifer Malka- “my hubby does all the flower arrangements!”

8.  ” Hi Marlene…here is a photo that I just took of our seder table. Thank you. Chag Sameach!!” Karen Rubin- Brown

 9.  A Springtime Pesach Table By Jane Choueka

10. Fabulous Holiday Lunch Table By Carol Chera-

Gorgeous Kim Seybert accessories avaailable at Parci Parla in Brooklyn.

(718) 618-7398

Enjoy the creativity and please comment below with your favorite holiday tables!

p.s. don’t miss the newest table setting ideas and easy healthy recipes once a week to your inbox! CLICK HERE!

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Dear Sari, Thank you SO much for sending in your Thanksgiving table setting! I know that somehow November faded into January but I just want to say that your table setting is so pretty and your table decor ideas can be used until the buds start blooming for Springtime!

Thanks again! Marlene M.

“I usually don’t do this my kids made me lol.

I wanted a earthy look so I worked around my beige dishes, burlap fabric as my cloth which cost $10.00, I overlaid a runner from Blossom Blu. My chargers were from Amazing Savings & cloth napkins were from Home Goods which were $12.00 for a dozen. My big splurge were the napkin rings from Kitchen Caboodles which I couldn’t resist… My best were the acorns from Wegman’s which have a cinnamon scent.” Sari Tawil

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Sarah Mamiye is widely known among family and friends for her elegant flair for entertaining.  If you are lucky enough to be invited to her home for a marjan game, Shabbat dinner or any Jewish Holiday, you are bound to be amazed by her stunning table. Not only is her table beautiful, but Sarah showed true “hachnasat orchim”(the mitzvah of welcoming guests) when I had to cancel a Passover trip at the last minute one year, and she jumped to the rescue and invited my entire family to join her family for the Seder. (I wish I took pictures!!!)

Enjoy this sneak peek into a memorable evening, and remember, you don’t have to go all out with your holiday budget to have it look like you did!!   Marlene

“Hi Marlene,

My Passover 2011 table setting inspiration started when I found the green vases at Home Goods. I knew I wanted cherry blossoms…..but with all the cleaning and cooking, I had no time to go to the flower market. Thanks to Shirley Barnathan, my centerpieces came out beautiful! Next I ran to Amazing Savings where I bought the gold chargers and plastic gold dot plates. On my way out I saw the adorable plastic mini cups and thought they would be perfect for the berachot. Between Home Goods and Amazing Savings I was able to change the look of my table without spending a fortune.
Happy holidays! Sarah”

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 Please “like” this Hanukka post and share with your friends!  A lot of hostess effort went into this holiday table!

Happy Hanukka to all of my Jewish Hostesses!

This year I decided to get an early start on my Hanuka table setting.Being that my Amex card was getting a little rusty, I decided to get into the holiday spirit and  venture out to Ikea and West Elm to see if I could whip up some Hanuka table decor inspiration on a budget.

I decided to stick with the traditional Hanukkah blue and silver color combo because I already owned blue water glasses given to me by my consuegro (Syrian word for son-in-law’s mother) as a Rosh Hashanah gift, plus I happen to own a set of blue and silver rimmed Greek style dishes (a perfect Macabee theme!).

After an hour or two of piling anything and everything blue or silver into my shopping cart at Ikea, this is what I finally ended up with:

1. Hanukah blue cotton place mats at $1.99 each. A great buy!
2. Silver mirrored squares-(come in a pack of 4- these are a great investment- buy a dozen or two- you can use them on a dessert bar, as placemats, or you can even line your entire table with them. Your friends will definitely ask you to borrow these mirrored squares when they see how cool they look on your table…) I placed 4 in a row as a runner in the center of the table and then place one atop each blue placemat.

3. Go run and buy these beautiful silver candles from Ikea before they run out of them! Eight of these festive candles look so elegant lined up along the center of the table-menorah style.  Ikea also has gorgeous cobalt blue glass candle holders that fit perfectly as a base for my  new silver candles.  I placed four candles into their bases in a row to the right and the left of my own “shamash” vase. (Note- my son reminded me that this “menorah display” cannot be used as the actual menorah- even if I decided to use a candle as a the shamash in the center- according to tradition, the menorah has to be fashioned out of one piece of metal, wood, or glass…like in the beit hamikdash…)

4. I couldn’t resist buying two velvety bluish purple pillows at $19.99 from Ikea to place on silver gray chairs (from B and B party rental in Brooklyn, N.Y.) at both heads of the table of the table.

5. Dashing into West Elm (while the whole family waited outside), I purchased  these stunning silvery shimmery cotton napkins at $7 each. They look perfect atop each plate. I neatly folded each one and topped with a sparkly dreidel. I also found delicious kosher blue and white swirley lollipops at West Elm that I placed on the  mirrored table runner as well.

Hanuka Flowers, Cakes, Cookies, Boxes and Sparkle and Chairs:

1. Again, thank you to B and B party rental for these gorgeous silver grey chairs. Ballroom chairs always add that touch of elegance for all of your  holiday table decor and party needs. Call B and B at (718) 436 – 8433 or go visit at 1076 38th Street, Brooklyn, NY.
2. My good friend Shirley Barnathan happens to be a Brooklyn and NYC florist. Check out her Facebook  florals  here. She ran over with some gorgeous Hanuka-blue dyed feathers, and within minutes, she draped them from my dining room chandelier. Shirley also filled my center vase with stunning silver sprayed leaves. Within seconds she picked up my dying orchid plants with replaced them with vibrant new ones. She also brought over some place card holders that I borrowed for the photo shoot. Its great to have friends in the business!
3. The magnificent and gorgeous Hanukka cake is by Fortune Farca. You will be amazed at her bakery creations! Check out her Facebook page HERE!  The beautiful and delicious Hanukaa dreidel cookies are by the talented Esther Dana. Check out her Facebook page HERE . There’s nothing like gorgeous holiday themed baked goods to cozy up the look of your table.
4. Chocolate Hanukka Coins, Dreidel and Hanukka Ornaments are inexpensive and really add to the holiday excitement. Sticking to one or two colors within your scheme  give a more elegant look. Shop here for Hanukkah Table Accessories and inspiration!
5. You can find silver boxes and gorgeous ribbon in  local shops or try sites like M and J trimmings for pretty Hanuka blue ribbons.
6. Hanukka sprinkles and nonpareils can be used as “sand” to sprinkle around chocolate coins and dreidels. They will really add a lot of pizzaz to your table!  Click here for a selection of Wilton Kosher Sprinkles. Use the White Glitter Sprinkles for extra sparkle.
7. P.S. Don’t forget to buy inexpensive Dreidel Ice Cube Molds! (see ice cube pic below). Kids love ‘em!
8. Keep scrolling down below to see the rest of my Hanukka table setting.

Use these suggestions as a basic guide for your own unique Hanukkah table decor. Using your favorite silver or blue or white tableware as a base, and then shop around your favorite discount stores, florist, Crate and Barrel, Ikea, Target, or West Elm for fun accessories to add to your holiday centerpiece. Of course if you want to go all out, you can click on over to Barneys for a real first class treat -to your wallet!

Of course I can’t wait to see your Hanuka holiday tables! Please send your pics over to marlene (at) thejewishhostess.com.

I have a fabulous brand new gourmet kosher cookbook for the most voted winner!

What do you think of this holiday table setting? Comment below with your suggestions for your sparkling Hanukka celebration!

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Alls I can say is “WOW” to the fantastic Hanukka table created by Betty Esses and Gracie Silvera. They really put their heart and soul into their Hanukka  display for The Morris I. Franco Community Cancer Center Table-Set-Go charity event in Deal, New Jersey. The ladies used a deep ocean blue colored cloth as a base for their Hanukka table and layered it on the festive Hanukka colors from there. Silver Chilewich placemats lined their elegant but casual silver rimmed china. A Tiffany shopping bag graced each place setting. Grace Sivera’s dreidel collection, amassed from her travels all over the world came in handy as she creatively dangled a unique dreidel from each turquiose blue Tiffany mini gift bag. Driedels that were drizzled along the table were craftily dipped in glue and then blue and silver glitter, and added even more sparkle to their Hanukka table decor. The hydrangea filled blue vases were purchased from Home Goods, and the unique sterling and blue dotted drinking glasses were borrowed from Surrey Lane on Avenue P in Brooklyn. Even though it was the middle of the sumer, Grace and Betty fried soufganiyot and baked Hanukka cookies!  Blue and silver ribbons of different widths and colors tied around the soufganiyot platter flowed down both sides of the table.

Thanks so much ladies for your fabulous Hanukka inspiration!!!!

Photos by Victor Gindi

Click here to get your silver Chilewich placemats for Hanukkah!

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Wow- Ariella! I’m so glad that The Jewish Hostess site gave you some great table simple setting ideas and the confidence to express your own individuality and bring out your creative side!

Your note really lets me know that you appreciate the effort that goes into this site! Thanks for sending in photos of your beautiful and festive table setting!! Marlene

“Marlene,

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• 

Thank you Kineret Spector for sending in this beautiful inspiring story about the importance of carrying on our wonderful Jewish holidays and traditions! Marlene

The Reason for Everything

It was Sunday night dinner in our Sukkah.  Family and good friends totaling 20 were gathered around the table, already a beautiful sight!  I beamed at my guests for a minute and thanked everyone for being there, before turning to go in for the soup. Suddenly, my friend Jody’s daughter spoke up.”I want to say something!” she announced.  We all turned to look at Gilda, 6 years old, a normally reserved and serious child, and shy around adults – definitely not one to speak up at a table of 20. But Gilda showed no sign of hesitation as she continued, ”I just want to say how happy I am to be here in this Sukkah, and it is so beautiful in here, and I really love it.  I am so happy.”  Her eyes glistened as she looked around the Sukkah.

I was speechless. Years of hosting, cooking, decorating, inviting. Every Shabbat and holiday, as we say, Eem kol ha lev - with our whole heart.  And always to a happy, satiated, and appreciative crowd.  But Gilda’s pure and genuine compliment, in all its simplicity, instantly reminded me (and provided a case in point to my whole family), why we do this at all.  For our children.  For the next generation of Jews.

Every Shabbat and Holiday is ultimately for them, but especially Sukkot.  We know the symbolism of a sukkah and retell it every year.  But for children, it’s even more than that. It’s a fort! A little hut! A small house! An enchanted little getaway. And we get to have this in our driveway every year because we’re Jewish!  While the Sukkah is being erected, the kids are hard at work at the decoration table, making paper chains, paper lanterns, and welcome signs.  They get to decide where it goes.  It’s their own little Sukkah fort.  Truly, the party starts that evening, as it all starts to come together.

For Gilda, the magical appeal of a sukkah may have been just that spark that evoked the gush of appreciation and awareness. I’m so lucky. I’m so happy. I’m Jewish. I’m part of something. Our kids do as we do.  We tell them we’re Jewish, we model the rituals and tradition, we tell and retell stories of our ancestors, we explain and we teach. But to witness the moment when the first burst of genuine spirituality is stirred in a child – that is just a transcending experience.  From oldest to youngest, we were all touched by a little bit of sukkah magic that night.

Kineret Spector lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four daughters.  Please ‘like’ her facebook page BSG Tablescapes. 

 

Check out the new Jewish Hostess Aprons HERE!

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