Setting the Perfect Holiday Table
Your holiday table can be everything from casual-country to elegant and formal, but whichever direction you choose, here are a few ideas to dress it to suit the tone you are looking for. We love to mix it up from holiday to holiday. If the weather is unusually warm, we’ll take it outside and mix and match chairs, hang lights in the trees and make a rustic go of it. Last year, we decided to go dramatic. Tuxedos and formal wear for all. Of course, we always break out the fine china and crystal no matter what.
Take these tips to heart for your holiday table designs and let us know how it goes.
COLOR IS KEY
Find a color theme or palette. All whites, or hues of blue, for instance. Use ornaments or even ribbon to tie around the silverware to bring it all together.
BRING THE OUTDOORS IN
There are so many beautiful ways to bring nature into the table setting. Try spruce or fir bows laid gently down the middle of the table. Display a bowl filled with just-harvested pine cones. Or compose holly berry branches upright in a crystal vase. Nature adds a layer of texture and hominess that makes people feel all warm inside.
CENTERPIECES THAT WORK
Your centerpiece has to be the right size and the right feeling for your table. For large long tables, do multiple pieces that aren’t at eye level, so everyone can talk without moving things around. If your room is large enough, make the centerpieces tall and elegant. With smaller tables and rooms, consider individual pieces. Sweet small vases set at each place with maybe a name card attached. You can even use items other than flowers for your centerpiece design. Ornaments in a bowl or large vase are gorgeous and festive. Cranberries and fruits can also make quite a statement. Fill glass candle holders with cranberries and snug a candle inside. Layer lemons and cranberries for a bright and casual look in a hurricane vase.
LITTLE TOUCHES
We like to find little extras to do that complete the picture. Hang ornaments from a chandelier. Tie a delicate ribbon on each wine glass stem (make each one a different color and use to tell who’s glass is who’s.). Use little santa stockings to hold your silverware at each place setting. Spray large, dried leaves you find outside with gold or silver paint, write names using a Sharpie and use at each person’s place.
ALWAYS USE THE GOOD STEMWARE
No matter what, we advocate you use the finest stemware you have. Not only does it make the table seem extra special, but it makes anything you serve in it taste better. Even on a casual table, fine glassware is a must. (Or maybe we’re just prejudiced to it.)