Team PSS Gather for Christmas

It was the last weekend before Christmas, and the Project Sweet Stuff team gathered at our Marrickville HQ to celebrate the special season. With so much to be thankful for, we toasted a happy start to our blogging journey and our wonderful budding friendship. Prior to being seated, Viola had lit the Candles Rindala brought home from Hawaii and the scent of apple spice quickly filled the room. Christmas carols from an old soul record played, and Ben was snapping away with his camera as we settled in. We prepared a fuss free menu featuring sweet and savoury favourites, providing the perfect inspiration for a quick but stylish Christmas setting.

Some of you may be reading this and scoffing. After all, prepping your Christmas table might be a source of anxiety rather than glee, and for this I am going to admit that I don’t blame you. In fact, I really empathise. This is directly attributed to the fact that I have ‘liked’ Martha Stewart’s page on Facebook, so my feed is clogged with all these home, food and décor DIY projects that I can never recreate. A Christmas table set with uber-cool placemats, fleur de lys plates, gorgeous wine glasses and Jamie Oliver Cutlery.

But I shall let you in on a little secret…

We didn’t trawl home wares stores or antique shops, our grandmother’s buffet hutches or market stalls to create our Christmas table. In fact, all our festive trim was carefully selected by us – in a quick challenge set to us by Target Australia.

We created our little brief and called it “A Red and White Christmas”. Thanks to Target Australia and a budget of $50 per team member, we were able to create this current yet wonderfully traditional look for under $200. This includes everything from the placemats to the serving ware. The name cardholders were the perfect touch – a box of Ferrero Rochers wrapped in a red linen napkin, held together with some twine.

A tantalising spread lay before us, bursting with great food, wines and cold drinks from Australia’s much-loved brands. My fave was the selection of cheeses and leg hams on a bamboo board, fitted with three porcelain bowls brimming with olives, bocconcini and fresh cherry tomatoes in delicious pesto.

A gorgeous fleur de lys cake stand was lined with Elaine’s mothers delicious stuffed mushrooms, while a two-tier cake stand awaited my sweet tooth, stacked with Bourke St Bakery pastries and treats, finished with delicious fresh red currants that spelled Christmas cheer. We decided on a centerpiece of four apothecary bottles in a vintage inspired wire carrier with fresh white pom-pom flowers. Perfectly tying everything in, this little touch was coincidentally representative of the four of us.

If you’re after some last minute Christmas styling solutions and want to impress your guests without hurting the bank account, head to your Target store. A stunning Christmas table is so much more achievable than you think!