Personalized Christmas Tablecloth

Our personalized Christmas tablecloth has been a tradition in our family for several years now. It has been a delight to all because everyone participates in it.

A few years ago I purchased a light green bed sheet and embroidered the corners and center with holly. On each side of the center area I also embroidered “Christmas at the Badgers.”

Each year after Christmas Eve dinner and the other festivities are over, and before the guests (we usually have about thirty) leave for home, we have them draw or write something on a designated area of the cloth, where also is embroidered the date of the current year. Then during the following year I embroider these drawings and have the cloth ready for our Christmas dinner the next year.

I’ve found this even becoming a part of our family history—some of the drawings depict events in the lives of the family members. One year our son, who was studying dentistry in Chicago, drew the Chicago skyline and the apartment his family was living in. Two of our other children were away on missions, so I embroidered their names and the names of the missions where they were laboring.

The pets of the families are not forgotten, either. From “Buster,” a German Police dog, to “Meow,” a pet kitten—all are depicted. Sometimes my interpretation has been wrong, such as the time a grandson drew his three dogs and I thought they were reindeer and embroidered antlers on them.

This cloth may not win a prize at the State Fair, but it has won the hearts of our family members and guests who share Christmas with us each year. Wanda West Badger, Salt Lake City, Utah