A Beautiful Holiday Table
Oh! The beautiful of Holiday table! Everyone
knows that eating begins with the eyes. But before you bring out
the first course, offer your guests a feast for the senses with a
table that’s just as striking as it is welcoming. The art of table setting lies in all the little details of an unforgettable overall presentation—tablecloth, dinnerware, flatware, glassware, flowers, decorative accents, and candles…all the ingredients of a truly festive table.
Just because it’s Holiday doesn’t mean you have to use a tablecloth printed with boughs of holly or a host of Santa Clauses! It’s much more elegant to capture the spirit of the occasion in your decorations. Opt for a plain color tablecloth (that matches your dinnerware, of course!) to give your imagination an empty canvas when it’s time to decorate your table.
Think symmetryVery few people are lucky enough to own a dinner set that can accommodate a crowded holiday table. If you're one of the lucky few, well done! If not, choose two coordinating dinner sets. Think symmetry. Alternate sets with each place setting, or frame each end of the table with one set and use the other for the center. Leave about 60 cm per guest.
Coordinate!
Plates should be placed 1 or 2 cm from the edge of the table in
front of each chair. Chargers are mostly decorative and stay on the
table until the cheese course. At about 28 cm in diameter, they are
larger than dinner plates and may look different than the rest of
the set. If you are using two dinner sets, make sure the chargers
match both, as this is the perfect time to coordinate!
Be creative!
A creative and affordable substitute for chargers is 28 cm circles
cut from colored or textured cardboard and placed underneath 25 cm
dinner plates. Never stack two dinner plates. Place the soup bowl
or small plate (21 cm) for the appetizer on top of the dinner
plate. The bread plate goes to the upper left of each place
setting.
Leave only the chargers and bread plates on the table when you take
the dinner plates to the kitchen for serving. Present guests with
the other plates filled with food as each course is served.
There’s no need to panic about how to arrange your flatware—just
use common sense! Simply place flatware in the order in which it
will be used, from the outside in. Lay out only the utensils you
will need.
Place forks to the left of the plate (dessert fork for cold
appetizers, fish fork for warm, and regular fork for the main
course). The soup spoon goes on the right, along with the knives,
sharp side facing the plate (dessert knife for cold appetizers,
soup spoon, fish knife for warm appetizers, and regular knife for
the main course).
Bring out the cheese knife, dessert spoon, or cake fork with the
corresponding course or place them above the plate. Place the knife
(sharp edge facing the plate) and spoon with handles towards the
right, and the fork with the handle towards the left. Place oyster
and snail forks to the right of the plate. Lay the napkin to the
left of the place setting.
Opt for crystal glasses that are clear, fine, and light. If you can’t do without an extra splash of color, reserve it for your water glasses. Arrange glasses in a row on the table in the order of use from left to right, starting with the water glass and moving from largest to smallest. If you are serving champagne at the end of the meal, place champagne flutes slightly behind the other glasses. Make sure you serve wines in the proper shaped glass: Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Chablis shouldn’t be poured into the same glass!
Candles and
lanterns, little pine branch bouquets or boughs of holly, cascades
of gilded pearls or fresh cranberry garlands, poinsettias,
gingerbread men, rose petals, or candied fruit…almost anything goes
when it comes to lending your table a touch of holiday magic.
Why not wrap some of these objects around napkins or use them to decorate place cards for each of your guests.
Create a shimmering centerpiece by floating colored candles, flowers, leaves, and berries in a large, see-through glass bowl of colored water.
Or opt for a gourmet centerpiece: a mini Christmas tree made up of doughnut holes stacked in a pyramid and dusted with powdered and crystallized sugar. You can even festoon it with ribbon bows and tiny candles!
Whether you use candles, flowers, or a showpiece, make sure you don't use objects that might block your guests' view. After all, you invited them for dinner so you could enjoy their company!