Grab your stretchy pants and dust off those cookbooks: The most delicious time of year is drawing near. And whether your fall and winter hosting duties consist of solo-chefing your family’s formal Christmas dinner (you got this!) or just whipping up a casual post-turkey-trot brunch, your carefully assembled feast deserves an equally special setting.
With some approachable yet elegant staples like ivory stoneware dinner plates and subtly textured table linens, plus a few surprising, one-of-a-kind extras sprinkled in to wow guests (see: rustic personalized place cards and hand-sculpted brass animal bottle stoppers), you’ll be ready to eat—er, meet—the season head on. Read on to discover some of our favorite handmade and vintage entertaining finds of the year.

Oven-safe serving bowls take one (precious) step out of the hectic relay between the kitchen and the tabletop, while deep-rimmed dinner plates are designed to handle anything you can pile on them—and facilitate easy scooping while the wine and dinner conversation flow. Now it’s time to bring on the festive flourishes. Our current picks? Decorative velvet pumpkins (just as cute indoors they are on your front porch!) and an eye-catching walnut and copper pedestal tray that serves as a sculptural, functional—and space-saving—centerpiece.

When the last morsels of dessert have been devoured, invite your guests to join you in the living room for a digestif (or two). A vintage wheeled bar cart makes a model mobile showpiece with its streamlined metal frame and open shelves perfect for displaying all your cocktail crafting essentials. Pour your spirit of choice from a custom etched decanter and get your bartender on with more classic finds: mid-century–inspired swizzle sticks and vintage gold-rimmed highball glasses straight out of your Mad Men dreams. Serve your signature drink straight up or on ice plucked from a polished brass bucket, and don’t forget a set of block-printed linen cocktail napkins (double-layered for extra absorbency). Cheers to you, entertainer extraordinaire!
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Photographs by Kate Mathis.
28 comments
Tatyana from MOMsBirdie said 1 year ago
Thank you so much :) Finds of the year are really adorable
Margo from KnittedgoodsByMargo said 1 year ago
Thank you, guys) Reading this article looks like watching a good old movie. Gift search, a lot of preparation and looking for some magic comes soon))
Oksana from AmigurumiJoys said 1 year ago
Love this part of the year! Thanks for the inspiration!
Posh Park from PoshPark said 1 year ago
stunning creation! congratulations on the feature :)
Watts DryGoods from WattsDryGoods said 1 year ago
Divine - I love a swizzle stick!
Anna from ANNNADesign said 1 year ago
what interesting things. super design
Anna Sypalo from XstitchbyAnna said 1 year ago
So bright and deep colors! Thank you !
Sujata from TreasuredMemoryLane said 1 year ago
Stunning creations and inspirations! Thank you sharing and congratulations to all featured shops.
Nicole from KarmaCodeOne said 1 year ago
Holidays captured beautifully ~ Love the ceramic dinner and salad dishes from Convivial Production. Cheers to the featured ~!~
Carol from MasCollected said 1 year ago
Marvelous and inspiring post, thank you! Love how the combination of vintage with newly created is always a winner. The etched Whisky bottle, ice bucket, shaker, vintage glasses and swizzle sticks make that bar cart pop!
Artem Argirov from AdriaticDriftWood said 1 year ago
Nice! Great ideas!
TropicalGarden from TropicalGarden said 1 year ago
Inspiring post and great selections! The setting warm up the festive season amazingly:)
Jennifer Tyson from LadyInPurpleBoutique said 1 year ago
My favorite time of the year! Thanks for the ideas!
Nadezhda from KnittedFriendsShop said 1 year ago
extraordinary beauty)))I love the holidays
Ирина Попова from PuffyDonuts said 1 year ago
that's design of my dream )) lovely cute and sooooo beautiful, i really like it! thank you for this article!
Stacey Voss from GreatGiftsandParties said 1 year ago
Deep plates are a great idea for Thanksgiving dinner! Too late to get them for this year (Canadian Thanksgiving), but definitely something for next year!
Gillian Northcott from esanivintage said 1 year ago
I love everything about the first photo.
Olga Kaplina from FunnyLoopsFinds said 1 year ago
Love the holidays. Thanks for the ideas!
dmoehl said 1 year ago
I really liked the ideas and the pics on this autumn table setting- love the wooden vase and color scheme of the entire room👍🏼
Julia from FavoriteToysShop said 1 year ago
Love this part of the year, it's magical and family friendly
Anna Shpitz from PaSaKaStudio said 1 year ago
I love that cart!! I need one of these.. unfortunately I have no free space
Daria and Svetlana from More8Driftwood said 1 year ago
Thank you for the article. She brings warmth and inspiration to this amazing time.
Sharon from YearsAfter said 1 year ago
Love the subtle elegance for the holidays!
Wendy J. Fernandes said 1 year ago
My favorite season. Thank You for the ideas
Lu Lu from Vol4iwa said 1 year ago
Velvet pumpkin just fit into still life amazing!
Tina from sierramoontreasures said 1 year ago
Beautiful ideas for beautiful and useful objects of art!
Suzanne said 319 days ago
Etsy has everything you want. Everything's are very colorful and beautiful. And some homemade things are outstanding and adorable too. Thank you so much.
Umesh Vigg from InspiringAbode said 96 days ago
Beautiful ideas for beautiful and useful objects of art!