REMOVING CRANBERRY SAUCE STAINS AFTER THANKSGIVING DINNER

Keep an eye out for stains on your vintage linens at Thanksgiving dinner. Here are three suggestions for removing cranberry sauce stains. Immediately scoop up the spilled sauce and wash the linens as soon as possible with detergent and very hot water. (If you're using a modern tablecloth, read the directions about hot water.) Another solution is to scoop, rinse with cold water, pre-treat the stain with a commercial stain removal product, then wash. Here's one more suggestion--a very old one: Scoop, rinse with cold water, then soak the stain in a mixture of a tablespoon of white vinegar, a half-teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent, and a quart of cold water. Rinse. If the fabric is still pink, wipe the stain with rubbing alcohol and rinse again. If all else fails, wash your tablecloth using bleach (if bleach is safe for your tablecloth).

DECORATING WITH VINTAGE TEXTILES

Decorate your holiday table with your vintage textiles. Use mismatched Vera or other napkins with a one-color tablecloth. Or use vintage lace over a colored cloth, or a multicolor printed tablecloth from the 1940s-60s. Or several small cloths can be used to cover the table. If you don't have a collection that would help you decorate in any of these ways, start looking for usable linens in 2009