"...but Mom, you forgot the centerpiece!"

Recipe for a centerpiece:

1 tray (clean off a year's worth of tarnish first)
1 crystal vase (wash off the dust and dry)
raffia (hey, we were wrapping presents so it was available)
twigs (harder to find than we thought, perhaps we should have used tumbleweeds)
leftover silk flowers, greenery, and berries
Russian Nesting Dolls (gifts from Christmas Past)
Glass "Present" from Grammy
candlesticks, coasters, anything glass and shiny
1 placemat

Chase the cat away from her sunbeam spot in the middle of the table, *clean* the table, then position the placemat in the center, followed by the tray centered on the mat and the crystal vase centered on the tray. Ignore grumpy expression on cat's face. Trim the vase with berries (make sure they're wired), fill vase with raffia, add twigs, and poke remaining greenery, flowers and berries throughout. Fill in with remaining raffia. Have fleeting thoughts about how raffia might look remarkably like tinsel to the cat. Shudder once or twice, then make sure candlesticks are free of dust and wax. Add candles, and arrange sticks, coasters, and glass present on placemat in any and every configuration possible until your brain screams "ENOUGH" and you stop. Enjoy a flashback to Christmas Past when you received the nesting dolls as gifts, then add to the tray. Remember that you have not only a cat, but an-eager-to-explore toddler in the house, so get the camera.