DIY Gold-Leaf Pear Place Name Holders For Xmas & New Year Dinner Parties!

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This plate is part of a set of PEARL bread plates from LSA International. The champagne flutes are the DECO flutes, also by LSA International.

This plate is part of a set of PEARL bread plates from LSA International. The champagne flutes are the DECO flutes, also by LSA International.

Gold leaf pears are not a Xmas craft that I can take credit for. In fact, I first learnt this simple Xmas DIY about 10 years ago on 'Kirstie's Handmade Xmas' TV show (you know the one where Kirstie Allsopp tries her hand at traditional Xmas crafts each year on Channel 4. I bloody love it!) I first did gold-leaf place name pears for a Xmas dinner party I was hosting back then, when the show was first aired. They were a huge success, so I thought I'd revisit them for 2016 and document them on the blog.

This is the LOTTA bowel with ash base by LSA International.

This is the LOTTA bowel with ash base by LSA International.

All you need to make gold leaf pears are some bottom-heavy pears (you want them to be able to stand up without support), some gold leaf sheets (I got my inedible sheets for £1.79 on ebay for 10), some card tags, thin ribbon, a small brush, sugar, and a pen.

Add a little water to a few teaspoons of sugar in a bowl. This will create a natural sticky paste that the gold-leaf will cling to. Using a small brush, paint the sugar water onto a pear.

Gently take one of the delicate gold-leaf sheets between your finger and thumb, and lay it on the sugar-coated pear. Using your brush, manoeuvre the gold leaf into place. You want the sharp lines of the edge of the gold leaf to look more natural.

You will need a small bowl of sugar water, some gold leaf, some bottom-heavy pears and a small brush. Paint your pear with the sugar water, attach a sheet of gold-leaf, then gently brush into place.

You will need a small bowl of sugar water, some gold leaf, some bottom-heavy pears and a small brush. Paint your pear with the sugar water, attach a sheet of gold-leaf, then gently brush into place.

Use a cardboard tag and write the name of one of your guests on it. I used luggage tags with a decorative present topper stuck on. Using some ribbon, create a loop for your name tag then hoop it over the stalk of the pear.

Card tags and snowflake decoration, both Sainsbury's.

Card tags and snowflake decoration, both Sainsbury's.

I keep my gold-leaf place name pears in a fruit bowl until needed. I then put each pear on a side-plate, then put each plate at a space at the table.

Pears are a fruit that keep for ages, so will last you from Xmas to New Year! Just swap over the name tags for different guests!

Do you use gold-leaf at Xmas? If so, let me know in the comments section below!