Page C6 • NEW HAMPSHIRE UNION LEADER • Wednesday, December 6, 2017 Christmas Gift Guide

By BARBARA LEECHSpecial to the Union Leader

When you think about entertaining this holiday season, you may picture yourself presenting the perfect holiday table. But, what if besides beauty, you added meaning to your centerpiece or arrange-ments? According Jessica Christoferson, owner of Cymbidium Floral in Exeter, you can — and it’s easier than you think.

With about 20 years’ experience in floral de-sign, Christoferson has designed and created ar-rangements for everything from elaborate weddings to the annual Holiday House Tour in Exeter. She says that her favorite part of being a floral designer is the speed of the design process — which is much faster than interior design — and the satisfaction of creating arrangements that are memorable and meaningful for her clients.

In fact, Christoferson’s number one tip is for people to use meaningful items that they have, like their grandmother’s tea-cups or an antique pitcher, to be part of their center-piece design.

“My advice is to think about reinventing the purpose of things you already have and add a fresh element of plants or flowers to it,” she said. “This can even be a series of elements to create a whole tablescape. So, that bowl you are sentimental about, you put flowers in. Add grandma’s tea cups or a creamer with loose greenery or smaller flow-ers to accompany it and you have a meaningful tablescape.”

When deciding on the types of flowers and design for your holiday centerpiece, Christofer-son suggests that clients choose a design that also allows guests to see each other across the table.

“You want people to enjoy a conversation without peeking over the centerpiece,” she said.

Christoferson also sug-gests people break tradi-tion, just a bit. She said she gets the most beautiful results when she thinks outside of traditional holi-day color palettes.

“We often think of red and green for December, but my favorite is peach and champagne with

touches of magentas as an accent color,” she said. “Or to be more traditional, yet creative, I go with different shades of red or all white with silver and accents of greyish blue.”

Most important, Christoferson said she lets the customer take the lead. Typically, clients will bring in a picture of their table or sentimental items they may want included in the centerpiece or tablescape. And she comes up with the design to make it all come together beautifully, and within their budget.

Centerpieces typically start at about $50 and in-crease in price depending on the size of the arrange-ments and the flowers re-quired. Though lead time of about a week to create and orchestrate a design is helpful, most custom-ers call Cymbidium Floral just a few days before they need a centerpiece.

For more information, or to discuss designing a centerpiece or tablescape for your holiday celebra-tion, visit www.cym-bidiumfloral.com or call 772-1300.

Holiday table ideas for meaningful beauty

CoUrteSy/Grazier PhotoGraPhy

Creating the perfect holiday table can include arrangements that break tradition. Jessica Christoferson, owner of Cymbidium Floral in exeter suggests using a sentimental teacup or vase, then adding the floral element, like this red amaryllis, pomegrantes, rosehips, and cymbidium orchids.

~ Cabot Cheese ~ ~ Cooperative ~

the World’s Best Cheddar is all packed up and ready to

go. Cabot Creamery Co-operative’s Cracker Cuts are a

crowd-pleasing go-to solution that’s perfect for road-trips, holiday parties, and potluck

gatherings. thank you for supporting the 1,100 farms

who co-operatively own Cabot, including 49 farm

families in New hampshire. Learn more at www.

cabotcheese.coop.

~ Cats in the Cradle ~Cats in the Cradle Farmhouse Soaps & Vintage treasures. 

Fine artisan soaps since 1991 including goat milk soaps,

botanical soaps and our new French market soaps, all

beautifully packaged. our famous Bay rum and Bug Bar

soaps are best sellers!  Priced from $6-14.  Contact Chris Wittmann, 875-7284, email ccradle@worldpath.net, www.etsy.com/shop/catsinthecradlesoap, and

www.catsinthecradlesoap.com. available retail and

wholesale.

~ Contoocook ~ ~ Creamery ~

high quality cheddar cheese available in smoked, jalapeno,

garlic, one-year aged or two-year aged. From our

farm in Contoocook, where our family has been farming

for 110 years. Buy cheese from happy cows! Suggested

retail price $9 per bar. Visit contoocookcreamery.com to

read their story.

~ Fine Wine ~ ~Designs ~

handcrafted designer stemware coasters and wine/

spirits gift bags from Fine Wine Designs. For that special

occasion or holiday, dress your wine and stemware

in style. Make the wrap as special as the gift! Prices range from $4-$20. Find

my products at: Manchester Craft Market, located in the Mall of Nh (near Sears) 1500

S. Willow St., Manchester; Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-6

p.m. Visit our website, www.FineWineDesigns.net, for a

full list of events.

~ Folsom’s ~ ~ Sugar House ~

Maple Cream of the Crop from Folsom’s Sugar house. our pure N.h. Maple Cream has

been rated “the best” by customers throughout New

hampshire. So whether you need a size for that

personal stocking stuffer or one to share with the whole family for those big holiday

breakfasts, we’ve got it! Priced $5-$16. Visit www.folsomsugarhouse.com or

Facebook for more information.

~ Franklin ~ ~ Woodworking ~

introducting a new product from Franklin Woodworking LLC — a tic-tac-toe game. it measures approximately

7 inches square with 9 removable blocks with “X”

and “o” each side.the price is $25 each and

$5 postage and handling per game. Franklin Woodworking is located at 40 thorndike St.,

Concord. Call 470-9663 for more information.

~ Fun to Eat Fruit ~Fun to eat Fruit is fruit with fun images! imagine your logo, monogram or image on apples, lemons, limes

and oranges. the image is safe to eat; not a sticker or

stamp. Featured on WMUr-9 Chronicle’s Bright ideas

segment, Fun to eat Fruit’s perfect for Christmas stocking

stuffers, gift baskets, decor and favors. request pricing

and ordering at www.funtoeatfruit.com.

~ Gourmet by Design ~For a unique gift this holiday season, give a beautiful

basket overflowing with all fresh, homemade and delicious products. attention to detail and quality of ingredients will be evident from the first bite. From hand-dipped chocolates and confections to cookies and jam, baking mixes, spice rubs, soy

candles and so much more. a handmade bow and personalized gift card accompany every basket. We take pride in the quality

of our baskets, one basket at a time. Baskets start at $75. Visit www.gourmetbydesignbaskets.com or call 568-6951.

~ Kathy Brodsky ~ ~ Books ~

Live, laugh and learn with Kathy Brodsky’s Books for Life! Fun, rhyming

stories, engaging recurring characters, hand-painted illustrations and probing

social skills questions lead to hours of lively discussion.

topics include friendship, diversity, kindness,

responsibility, compassion, tolerance, etc. Buy one book,

a bundle or the entire set! National awards include

Children’s Choices and Creative Child Magazine. Visit kathybrodsky.com

or call 668-1975.

~ KRM Chocolates ~KrM Chocolates has a full array of chocolate barks, truffles and dipped cookies for your holiday giving pleasure. our chocolates

are made with local fillings whenever possible, and we can make special orders for your personal taste. See our website for our products, holiday gift packages and shipping information. Find us at www.krmchocolates.com. you will be glad you did.

~ LaBelle Winery ~LaBelle Winery in amherst and Portsmouth is home to a tasting room, art gallery,

educational events, and an artisan wine and gift

shop. LaBelle amherst also offers Bistro fare and wine

cellar tours. this season, give the “LaBelle experience” with

a LaBelle Winery gift card, gift basket or a wine club membership! Visit www.labellewinerynh.com for more gift giving ideas!

~ Lee’s ~ ~ Fieldstone Farm ~

Looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind gift? We’ve been making quality birdhouses

since 2009! each birdhouse is hand-crafted, ranging from simple cottages to elaborate custom facsimiles! Visit us on Facebook or Pinterest at Lee’s

Fieldstone Farm located in alton to learn more.

~ Marketplace ~ ~ New England ~

Marketplace New england, located  in downtown Concord,

showcases the gifts of more than 300 local artisans and

small manufacturers located in New england. Specialty food and New hampshire

wine complement pottery, wood craft, jewelry, art and original crafts. We also offer items for the little ones and, or course, souvenirs! Design

your own gift basket when you visit or shop online at www.

marketplacenewengland.com.

CoUrteSy/Grazier PhotoGraPhy

a table arrangement by Jessica Christoferson, owner of Cymbidium Floral in exeter, during last year’s exeter holiday house tour. Using both traditional and untraditional color palettes, Christoferson’s floral and greenery design includes juniper, sumac, and cypress.

JJCymbidium Floral: owner/designer Jessica Christoferson suggests re-purposing meaningful items to create personalized centerpieces and tablescapes.

Made in New HampshireShop Local

Made in New Hampshire

~ DLP Leather ~antique sleigh bells on

english bridle leather, hand stitched with antique tools

by Diane’s hands only. retail Price is $295. if you have antique or vintage sleigh

bells that need a new leather strap, she would be glad to

custom design and hand stitch one for you on real

english bridle leather from england. Contact Diane Louise Paul at DianeLouisePaul.com;

DLPleather@aol.com or 964-8821.

329 Elm Street,

Manchester, NH

www.manchestermusicmill.com • 603-623-8022

SHOP NEW & USED

INSTRUMENTS, AMPS GEAR & MUCH MORE!

Coupon for a future purchase to be used after 12/25/17. Not to be combined with any

other discounts.

EXPIRES 12/31/17

SPEND: COUPON:

RING IN THE SAVINGS!

$100-$299..............................10% OFF

$300-$499.............................15% OFF

$500 and up.........................20% OFF

Rock Aroundthe

Christmas Tree