The Christmas Three-Tier Tray

It all started when a little ad popped up on Facebook. You know how it does that? Ads from different stores and websites show up on your newsfeed, all with the purpose of tempting you with their wares. This particular one was from Pottery Barn and it was their three-tier tray all dolled up with Christmasy goodness. It had Santa mugs, candy canes, sprigs of greenery, and festive fabric. Simply adorable. The first thing I thought is "I have Santa mugs!". Well, two of them. One big and one tiny.

I admit that I became a bit obsessed with this three-tier tray thing. It's not much to look at on its own, especially since it's made of galvanized metal. But oh, the possibilities! Off I went in search of an affordable version of it and found it on Ebay. Easy enough to assemble, it took all of a few minutes. Then I left it in my craft room so that I could ponder how I would make my creation a thing of joy and wonder! Here's what I came up with.

First, I wrapped each tier with some mini holly strands which I already had. More things I didn't need to buy: the Santa mugs, bottle brush trees, pine cones, tiny candy canes, a Santa polar bear, tiny Santa salt and pepper shakers, and some little figures I owned since I was a child.

I bought both reindeer at Joann's. I will also use these for my winter tray.

The little ceramic basket was a thrift store find! I did purchase the Christmas fabric and berry picks and the evergreen picks.

Another purchase I made was the larger size candy canes and the all white Santa mug. It found those at a local antique store. The white mug used to be painted, but almost all of the paint is gone. I did like the look of the paint-free Santa!

The whole thing just makes me happy.

It has a place of honor on the sofa table.

So here I was thinking that I was pretty clever doing this, all with just a little idea from a Pottery Barn ad. But nooooooo! It seems that the three-tier tray is a thing. Yes, I Googled three-tier tray and so many different photos of them came up! Well, at least I can say that I didn't copy any of them. I even found out that one of my favorite Flosstubers and blogger, Priscillas2000 (that's her blog name), decorates her tray seasonally. So no particular originality for me, but I do get points for creating a cute little scenario.

I already have plans to use my three-tier tray for winter decorating to cheer up the place during those bleak winter months. But there are still several weeks to enjoy my Christmas-themed creation.

So what do you think? Can you imagine the different things you could put into the tray for different times of the year? If this is something you'd like to do, just Google "three-tier tray" and "three-tier tray decorating", and you'll not only find different sources for the tray itself, but also wonderful decorating ideas! Have fun! I hope you enjoyed this little tour!