Set The Table: Hanukkah Edition

Hi dolls!  Some of you may or may not know that we are a Jewish household over here, so decorating our house for the holidays is vastly different than decorating for Christmas.  I grew up in a Christian home, and converted to Judaism 3 years after I met my husband.  During those 3 years that Adam & I dated I had fallen in love with not only him, but also with the Jewish way of life.  The first thing people say to me after learning that I converted was, "wow you're just like Charlotte from Sex & the City!"  Charlotte was always my favorite character so I'll take it!  Judaism is such a beautiful religion full of age old traditions and I've felt a special connection to it from the moment that I first started studying with a Rabbi prior to my conversion.  I do have to honestly say, however,  that every year around this time, a small piece of me mourns celebrating Christmas....not for the religious aspect because that was never really my thing, but more along the lines of Christmas trees, festive wrapping paper, Santa Claus, Christmas carols, decking my house out for the holidays, etc. 

The Hanukkah decor peeps really need to step up their game because when I walked into Pottery Barn over the weekend, the entire store was solely Christmas decor with one measly little table set up dedicated to Hanukkah.  Whomp whomp.  I always ask Adam if he felt like he was left out when he was growing up but his response is always the same, "Nope, because 8 days are better than just 1....."  and just to clarify, 8 days of gifting is RAD!!! :)

Since this is only my third year celebrating Hanukkah as an official Jew, I imagine that my little boohoo Christmas pity party will get easier with time.  Until then, I'm trying to fully embrace all of the traditions that come with the Festival of Lights, and that means learning the blessings for the lighting of the menorah, immersing myself in new recipes {helloooo brisket, latkes, and fried doughnuts!?}, and making a beautiful blue + white tablescape to celebrate the holiday!

For this tablescape, I wanted our beautiful silver menorah to be the main centerpiece.  I dressed up the rest of the table with lots of mercury glass candle holders with bright white candles.

I layered two table runners to add a bit more texture to the table.  In front of each place setting, I added a few pieces of "Gelt" which is gold foil wrapped chocolate coins that are typically given to children during Hanukkah.

Each place setting contained a metallic silver charger, our basic white everyday plates, and layered blue & white napkins finished off with a simple napkin ring.

I just love mercury glass.  Most of these are from Pottery Barn or West Elm that I've picked up over the years.  The silver Star of David candle plate & mirrored round candle are new this year from Crate & Barrel.

Our menorah is nature inspired by Michael Aram and was a wedding present that we received last year.

I kept my buffet simple with a beautiful bouquet, more mercury glass candles, and a small glass container featuring more chocolate coins.

Happy Holidays! xx