The holidays are all about spending time with our family and friends, and much of this celebration happens around the dining table. If you think about it, the table is where a lot of the conversations, either good or bad happen, it is a place where we can make memories. How can we make sure we set the dining table properly for this special occasion?
1. Choose the right place
The first step is to choose the right location for the meal. If we have up to ten people we could use a round table, but if we have more guests then we could use either an oval or rectangular table, the shape of the table is very important because it directly impacts how easy or hard it will be for guests to have conversations and the placing of guests of honor if this would be the case.
2.Dressing the table
After you pick the location and the shape of the table, we must pick the right linen or tablecloth. Make sure it does not have any wrinkles and it has medium length, you don’t want either a too long or too short tablecloth (It should not be lower than the dinner’s laps). If you want to protect the table or minimize noise, underneath the linen you could put a table pad or thick cloth. There are numerous designs for table runners and tablecloths from very fun and colorful to more formal and neutral colored.
3.Table items
Next come the dishes, utensils, and glasses. We want to make sure the design looks uniform, you do not want to put a traditional styled glass with a modern styled plate.
Plates
Essential plates will be the dinner plate, butter plate and butter dish with its corresponding butter knife. If we want it to look more elegant, we could place a “Charger plate”, this is not a must as it is mainly used as decoration. On top, we would place the main plate. We also have bowls for soups, and stews, (When using a bowl make sure you place it on top of a flat plate, you never want to put it directly on top of the table) and flat plates for entrees, or dessert.
Utensils
Place the utensils starting from the outside in of the plate in order of its use. So the ones next to each side of the plate are the last to be used (The number of utensils will tell you how many courses you will be having during the meal).
Glasses
They will be placed on the upper right side of the plate. When placing fewer glasses, you will put the water glass above the knife. When placing more glasses, the order can be as follows: water glass, red wine glass, white wine glass, and champagne.
The golden rule when setting a beautiful table is moderation. Make sure you put what you will use, you want to make your guests to see a nicely decorated table but never forget to make it comfortable (It is the place they are going to have their meal and a nice conversation).
4. Gifts
If you wish to leave a gift on top of the plate of each dinner (Small detail or menu), place the napkin on the left side of your plate if it is a bigger gift, if it is a small ornament or small gift, you can place it on top of the napkin which will be on top of the main plate.
5. Add a centerpiece
Centerpieces can add a beautiful touch to your table, but we want to make sure it does not get in the way or bother our dinners, we want to create space at the table and make it comfortable for our guests to have a conversation.
Take a look at Lizzie Post and Tricia Post from the Emily Post Institute as they explain how to put a simple yet classy and elegant table setting for Thanksgiving and the Holidays.
