Mother's Day Heritage Table

I hope you had a great Mother's Day!  I wanted to share with you the Heritage Table I created for my family when we ate together last Sunday. I decided that each family member would have a different piece of china that was from a woman in our family.  I used their now-vintage sterling and silver plate patterns, too.    AND, it was a surprise!!!  That's why I didn't share this idea with you BEFORE Mother's Day.  
Here's the reason I'm posting.....
I hope you might be able to use a few of these ideas to set up a Heritage Table for your family some day.  My family loved the surprise and the conversations we had about our family members were priceless.

Here's my daughter's place--set with china and sterling silver that had belonged to her

 great-grandmothers.  The china (a luncheon set) had been packed away in my Mom's utility room (probably for almost 20 years).  The box said, "Mother's wedding china."

  I'd never seen the china until a few months ago. 

 

My maternal grandmother on her wedding day in June of 1929.

My daughter ate with the sterling silver that 

belonged to my paternal grandmother pictured here. 

I used lovely linen napkins that we used

 at many meals at my great-aunt's home.  

I wrote the name of each relative on a card at each place

 (the top name for the china and the second name for the flatware).

A great-aunt's hand-painted Haviland china.

I used family pictures on the table and the butler's pantry.

I gathered other items and pictures where I served our dessert.

 I tried to include women that I knew very little information about--like I made my sweet sister-in-law's great-grandmother's pound cake recipe.  And, I was able to add
 a blue crocheted piece made by my husband's grandmother. 

I found this lovely sampler that my Mom made in THE ATTIC a few months ago 

(yes, more shameful attic storage).  

She said she made the sampler so she could

 use the frame that had belonged to her grandmother.

While I got dinner ready for the table, 

I served pepper jelly over cream

 cheese with crackers from this piece.

I took my whipped cream to the table in this old mixing bowl.  I wonder how many times my great-aunt, my mom or I made home-made whipped cream at my aunt's
 house in this humble bowl?  This is probably the first time it has ever made it 
to the table where guests-even family- could see it.

In all, items from eleven different ladies
 were on the table and server. 

I hope you'll try a few of my ideas.  You could use these ideas to celebrate Mother's Day, a birthday or even an anniversary.  I'll bet you have a few things around the house you could use along with a few pictures.  You'd be surprised how much joy you'll pass on to others--and in turn, receive yourself.

I am BLESSED.

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