Christmas Napkin Rings

Every year my family comes to my house on Christmas Eve for a pot luck dinner.  Everyone brings whatever they like and we place it all on my little glass dining room table, hoping it won't shatter under the weight of all the tasty dishes.

But this year I bought a sturdy proper wooden dining table (with an extension that will seat 8-10) off of Kijiji (like Craigslist) for a whopping $25. I'm so excited to have a real sit down meal where people don't have to try to balance their plate on their knees while reaching down to the floor to pick up their wine goblet.

This means I get to set a proper table too!  Which means we need real napkins and napkin rings to put them in!!

 

Luckily I found a whole set of beautiful damask napkins in my Christmas stuff that I didn't even know I had.  The rest I decided to make...all with things in my own craft closet (still haven't bought any craft supplies!).

Here's what you need to make your own and to use up a few things that are probably laying around your house.

Materials:
-Paper roll from Christmas gift wrap or paper towel
-pretty paper or scrap gift wrap
-Mod Podge, 2 sided tape, sponge brush, craft knife
-glitter and other embellishments
-ruler and pencil (not shown)

Steps:
1) Measure and mark your paper roll at 1.25".

2) Cut with a craft knife, making as many pieces as you need.

3) Cut your paper to fit your little rolls.  I cut mine 1.25" X 6".  Cut as many strips as you need.

4) Sponge on some Mod Podge and place your paper strip on top.  Use some clips to secure it while it dries.

5) Once everything is dry, take your clips off and place a strip of double sided tape along one edge of your rolls.

6) Dip that edge into a little pile of glitter and coat it as best you can.  This is the best method to getting a nice straight line along the inside edge.

7) If you don't want your dinner guests to be covered in glitter you need to seal it in with a coat of Mod Podge.

8) Let your rings sit for about 1-2 hours to dry completely.  Now just add a rosette or other embellishment for a little decoration.

Place your napkins inside and you're done!

I considered making rosettes with each person's name on it so that everyone would know where to sit but I already have wine glasses that we use for that so I didn't want to overdo it.

Do you set a formal or casual table for your family at Christmas time?  Leave a comment below~