Thank you! Jay, It is baby spinach with a little sugar, pow mustard, red onion, feta cheese,mushrooms. toasted pecans, and marinated shrimp. I left the tomatoes and cukes and red peppers on the side for those who like them. Choice of dressings, balsamic reduction, rasp. vinegarette and my own blend. I got the mni wheelbarrow, sled, wagon ,and a tiny wagon from ebay a few years ago. I use them for food displays. Christmas I fill the wagons with cookies, etc for the family party.

Definitely going to use the "Ditto" on these. The other gals used up all the good words. And I'm lazy. :o) I love the first table with just the red and white, and then the 3rd table with the hunter green. I probably shouldn't admit it to all of you, but I am just not a fan of the traditional red and green Christmas colors. My preference has always been burgundy and hunter green tho I know its not that popular like the traditional colors. However, all the tables look wonderful and festive, and a lot of work went into this event. YOUR Mom.....suggesting paper plates? Are you sure she's related to you? LOL. (and I'm with you on hot stuff. NO way!) hugs, K

Thank you, holiday-ers! ladypat...yes, I wish that t'cloth could talk! Can you imagine? (on someone's table 70 or 75 yrs ago!) phonegirl...working woman...you're up & fixin' ...this is the first time I've used placemats on counter...we're all just a bunch of Enablers R Us! (mmmm, pretzel & broccoli salad sounds good!) jane & luvs...too funny about our ceramics! I loved it! & it was an evening with "adults" ...good memories, too. Thanks for the compliments...while the greenware was wet, my teacher taught how to "lift up" those feathers with a tool & then it was fired or whatever before painting. PM...that turkey was the TJMaxx 50% off ...so $6.50 that I got just recently...remember, I think it was YOUR doings that brought it to my home! LOL! Thanks! oak...I started collecting Jewel Tea in mid 90's ... because I got a few pcs at MIL's estate sale...the hunt has been fun & my china closet is full...altho there's lots more out there! OA...cringe! Red wine! LOL! Everytime I put it on the table I kind of "blank" it out of my mind...my kids don't know the value...but the value is just "using" it! My DS broke a glass a couple yrs ago & now he won't drink out of Jewel Tea glasses! LOL! They make fun of my dish addict syndrome, I think! Jeanne S. ok, I must get off here & peel potatoes! :-)

I come from a family in a state where farming was a big part of the history. Customs were developed in the days when people would not be in a major metropolitan area. When someone on the farm died there were multiple hardships. First, the death of the person meant someone was not able to perform the chores on the farm. Another hardship could be that if it was the cook in the family, there was the obvious hardship. And to attend a funeral often meant traveling a long distance for many people and it wasn't just fly in and rent a car, or drive a few minutes or a few hours. It was horse and buggy and slow going. SO, therein lies history of how some of the traditions started. Bringing food to the family helped them out. Today, obviously, that is not such a big issue since you can buy ready made meals, get deliveries and more. The idea of a "lunch" after a funeral was to feed the travelers. Many would come a long distance and there weren't the drive-thru windows and restaurants along the way to grab something. Packing food for the trip was inconvenient so it was a nice gesture to feed them before they would leave. Again, this tradition has become obsolete as to necessity but a lot of people like to go with the old traditions. Seldom in a metro area have I experienced the food after the funeral. Often funerals are held in funeral homes and they don't have catering facilities. (Although I imagine the crematory could make a wicked pizza oven!) Smaller towns however it often is the norm to serve something, usually at the church or at some other place. Most of the small churches have kitchen facilities. There's still usually a "Ladies Aid" or "Ladies Axillary" who handle the food in various ways. Either they make it or they buy it, depending on the place. Otherwise, they're often catered. However catering isn't always like a huge formal wedding type of catering. For instance at my aunt's funeral it was "catered". The caterer provided an electric roaster full of scalloped potatoes and ham, canned corn, apple crisp, bread and butter, coffee, water and I believe something like a punch or lemonade. Not fancy but it met the tradition. When people close to me die, one of the last things I'm thinking about is eating. I really don't appreciate when people bring food for several reasons. Often it's not stuff I like or even should be eating (canned glop green bean salad for instance) and I'm just not hungry. I don't have to keep my energy levels going for farm chores. Things have changed. I agree with Archie Bunker on things I really dislike. Hospitals, weddings, funerals and opera. I don't like the morbidity of most traditional funerals. I prefer the "celebration of life" type of memorial. One of the best memorials I've attended was at a good friend's service. He was a television broadcaster for a long, long time and was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame respected him so much they invited the widow to have the memorial at their building and they opened it special for that use. They also put together a great compilation of some of his broadcasting over the years and made room for chairs to have a sharing of memories and some of the other "celebrities", family and friends shared stories about him. It was hilarious and heart-warming. For food, the widow felt there needed to be refreshments so there were snacks, sandwiches, cake, etc. They had some of his items from his military service, old publicity items and the like. Sad to lose a good friend but he lived a long and very full life. He was catholic but became a reformed agnostic. So he was cremated. They also had a similar service in the small town where he lived the last 15 years or so and a priest or minister participated in that memorial but, being nearly 4 hours away, and with physical issues I couldn't attend that one too. Long-winded, I know, but the point I'm making is that traditions have changed a lot over the years, primarily due to peoples' choices, sometimes peoples' selfishness and a lot because the old ways just aren't needed anymore.