EASTER BUFFET

Our family is BIG on tradition... down to specific menus for specific holidays! Our main Easter meal is a buffet-style Easter Brunch after church.

If you are like me you probable serve a crowd on a holiday... and holiday meals are probably served from a buffet. Today's tablescape is about making our buffets the real star of our Easter meal...

Every big holiday meal except Thanksgiving is served buffet style here at StoneGable. We just don't have enough room at the table to fit all the people and the food. And buffets make it easier for everyone to indulge as much as we want in our holiday favorites.

For those big buffet meals I have a simple rule.... the fancier the buffet the simpler the table and vice versa.

As you can see this is an elaborate buffet so my table will be simple. Most of the tableware is on the buffet.

Almost every Easter we use my collection of Fire King Peach Lustreware. I have been collecting it for years. It just suites Easter!

Dinner plates and mugs are stacked in an old antique carpenter's tool box. It sits on my island all year and is often called into use.

Click HERE to see another Easter Table using Peach Lustreware.

Linens are rolled and tucked into the side of the tool box. Everyone can just grab one as they go through the buffet line.

These antique flatware have wonderfully worn handles. I remember flatware like this at my Nani's when I was a little girl! These have such a lovely subtle variegation of warm hues. They sit in a small white pitcher just waiting to be plucked out.

The island is covered with a white tablecloth. Pretty cabbage leaves (a hostess gift from my dear friend Fran, a million thanks, Fran!!!) are scattered here and there. They are one of my favorite springtime elements to use on a table.

The inspiration for my Easter buffet this year are these naturally dyed Easter eggs.

I always make onion skin dyed eggs every year. This is one of the thing I love most about Easter. I have made these eggs for decades... my mother made them before me (and still does)... and my Nani before her. I am sure many generations before my Nani made them too. For a DYI tutorial click HERE.

But this year I played with the technique to get soft peach colored eggs as well as the traditional terracotta color.

I also made these stunning purple and lavender eggs using natural products. Eggs dyed purple with store bought kits tend to end up very blotchy and uneven. These came out better than I expected! Look for tutorial early next week about dying eggs.

A twiggy Easter basket is filled with moss, pansies and colored eggs.

The highlight of our Easter brunch is an "egg fight". You have to see it to believe it! No we don't THROW eggs at eachother (we are not barbarians!). We try to crack eachother's egg by hitting it with ours. This once-a-year game has established rulers, cunning strategy, lots of teasing, a winner and a crown! SO FUN! Everyone, young and old plays. Jonathan is the reigning 2011 Egg King! You better believe we will all be out to get him Easter day! Competition is very stiff and we play for keeps!

The tulips, pansies and other flowers were chosen to match the color of the eggs... orange, purple and white. They make quite an intense bouquet!

A blown out egg dipped in onion skin dye makes a sweet little vase for a couple of blooms!

Two little bunnies (Wm-Sonoma) have hopped up onto the buffet. I think they were looking for tender cabbage for their supper! The bunny that is laying down is a candy dish.

The bunnies are safe here. This is a hasenpfeffer free zone at StoneGable. We had a pet bunny for years... I could never eat one!

Realistic faux white tulips drip over the side of the tool box. A pansy is potted in a demitasse cup. Tall purple flutes wait to be filled with an Easter libation!