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For many, spending Christmas in France is something they can only dream about.
The food. The fashion. The romance. The people-watching. The open-air bistros. Seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.
But forget about the international flight and vaccine requirements — community members can experience Christmas in France right here in the Brazos Valley on November 16 and 17 through a tablescape designed by mother and daughter team Lee Cargill and Diana Bayliss.
Over two dozen talented local designers will join Lee and Diane as they share their gift of decorating at The Woman’s Club primary fundraising event: Tablescapes: Christmas on Carter Creek. Guests are encouraged to wander around the Club’s ballroom to admire thoughtfully-themed tables providing inspiration for their own holiday decor.
Though each table has its own theme, Lee said there’s a story behind the Parisian table.
“Many years ago, a great friend of mine hosted one of our dinner clubs and used a Parisian theme for her table set-up and food items,” Lee says. “She decorated an Eiffel tower for the centerpiece. I loved it and told her if she ever put it in a garage sale, to let me know. When she moved to a retirement home, she gave the Eiffel tower to me, and this tower inspired the theme for our table this year.”
Having the Parisian theme in mind, the mother-daughter duo decided to call their table ‘Santa Dines in Paris’ and began looking around their homes for any possible items they could use in the tablescape featuring their chosen colors of red, white, black and gold.
After finding the tower, Lee discovered the perfect base – a plant stand. A can of spray paint transformed the accidental charcoal stand into a brilliant black and they added twinkling dot lights to fill the top part of the tower.
A quick spray of white paint changed a grapevine wreath into the perfect arrangement for the stand and provided a base for white silk hydrangeas and cranberry-red silk peonies, while Christmas balls, ribbon and dot lights added the finishing touches to the wreath.
In the Cargill and Bayliss homes, many items to complement the table were found including Christmas-like red chargers, white China dinner and dessert plates with gold rims, giant gold and red sherbet glasses to sit atop all the plates, red goblets and an assortment of wine and liqueur glasses purchased many years ago. Gold utensils were the perfect accent to each place setting.
“The small red glass with a wide gold rim in this group came from the Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, when my husband and I took a Mediterranean cruise many years ago to celebrate both of our retirements,” Lee says.
“Among the potential items we found in our homes were two darling metal hoity-toity ladies with cute hats and purses who look like they are going shopping. We thought the ladies would be appropriate for a Parisian-themed table and decided to have them standing on two sides of the plant base. The tiny shoes we used were part of my mother’s miniature shoe collection. We know she is looking down from Heaven, smiling that we were able to use them for our Christmas table.”
Lee is known by many as the Crème Brulee Lady, so it’s no surprise her tablescape will feature a menu which includes this delicious dessert. Guests attending Tablescapes and visiting Santa’s Parisian table will be encouraged to take home one of Lee’s famous crème brulee recipes. And if you’re wondering where Santa plays into the theme, the jolly old elf will be sitting at the table ready to greet guests.
Lee has been a member of The Woman’s Club for more than 25 years. Not only does she decorate a fabulous table each year, she is also one of the Club’s most successful ticket salespersons. “I sent emails to people in my bridge club, Sunday school class, neighbors, and all the organizations I’ve been involved with, telling them about Tablescapes,” she says.
Last year, Lee sold $1,600 in Tablescape tickets. “Lee kindly remembers and includes all who come across her path. She is a remarkably gifted woman,” remarked Candy Rust, Tablescapes 2022 co-chair.
For more information on Tablescapes: Christmas on Carter Creek, visit the Woman’s Club Facebook page, where guests will find an Eventbrite link to purchase tickets. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
The Woman’s Club of Bryan/College Station was organized in 1895 with 20 members seeking to improve their minds, serve the community and fight for the rights of women. The purposes were and still are civic, literary, and philanthropic. Women who are interested in membership should contact Lee Ann Bryan, Membership Chair, at thewomansclubbcs@gmail.com.
“For more than 125 years the Woman’s Club has been an active participant in the Bryan/College Station community,” says Carolyn Oatman, president of The Woman’s Club. “Over the years this club has awarded scholarships to selected public school graduating senior women, helped in the annual Christmas lighting of Downtown Bryan, and contributed funds and service hours to a wide range of local non-profits. A portion of the funds raised through events like Tablescapes: Christmas on Carter Creek help fund these important activities.”
Tablescapes: Christmas on Carter Creek
Hosted by: The Woman’s Club of Bryan/College Station
1200 Carter Creek Parkway
- VIP Preview Party | $100/ticket | Tuesday, November 15 | 7 to 9 p.m.
- Not only will there be light bites and beverages, but also the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to win a $10,000 shopping spree from Montelongo’s Fine Jewelry. Raffle tickets are $50 each.
- General Admission Viewing | $20/ticket | Wednesday, November 16: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, November 17: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets available through Facebook with a link to EventBrite facebook.com/TablescapesBCSWomansClub
2022 Tablescapes Designers Companies
- Cotton Pickins in Chappell Hill
- Dirt Road Rustics
- Hamilton Custom Homes
- Heartworks
- Hermann Furniture
- House of Five Design
- K & S Sweets
- Montelongo's Fine Jewelry
- Old Bryan Marketplace
- Pam's Pearl
- Post Oak Florist
- Sparrow Lane
- Stonecroft Marketplace
Individuals
- Allen Jancik
- Beverly Brown & Sharon Hickle
- Lee Cargill & Diana Bayliss
- Pat Guseman & Whitney Wright
- Lou Ann McKinney
- Vernell Owen
- Wade Surovik
- Leigh Usher
- Peggy VanMeter
- Daisy White
