How to Set the Perfect Holiday Table:
10 of the Finer Points for Achieving a Flawless, Festive Occasion 

The initial sight of the holiday table should be beautiful—whether elegant or simple, or conservative or eclectic. As long as everything works together, feel free to let your creativity shine. There are, however, some “rules” or traditions to keep in mind in order to achieve a flawless, festive occasion, as well as ensure the comfort and enjoyment of your guests.  

 

Below are 10 of the finer points for achieving a flawless, festive occasion:

 1. Spacing for table settings. Allow at least 24 inches of elbow room for each guest. You will need to measure approximately two feet from the center of one place setting to the center of the next place setting.

Tip: The table setting should be a thumb’s length from the edge of the table; and all cutlery items should be evenly lined up.

2. Cutlery. Only set the table with the cutlery that will be used for the food or courses that will be served.  For instance, if dinner is going to be a buffet or served family style and a salad will be eaten at the same time as the main course, a dinner fork would be all that would be required. If you are planning to serve the salad as a separate course, the salad and the dinner fork would be at the place setting. And, if coffee/tea will be served in another room after dinner, a teaspoon would not be placed on the table. 

Tip: The table is set with the cutlery arranged in order of use—from the outside in, with the dessert fork and spoon placed diagonally across the top of the plate.

3. Napkins. Napkins may be placed on the dinner and/or place plate or to the left of the place setting. Napkins can be placed in napkin rings or creatively folded. In either case, they must of course be free of spots and crisply pressed.

4. Tablecloth. If you use a tablecloth, it should hang no more than 12” from the top of the table—unless it is a floor length tablecloth. 

Tip: If you would like to use a runner on the table, it should be long enough to overhang the end of your table by 6 to 10 inches on each end. The runner can lie directly on top of the table or layered over a tablecloth. If layered, it should not hang down further than the tablecloth on the ends. A table runner in a short length can be placed at the center of the table.

5. Chairs. Chairs should be pulled out 12” from the table, just brushing the tablecloth.

6. Salt and pepper shakers. Do plan to have more than one set at the table if you have a long table, or are planning to have more than four guests. At the very least, one should have a set placed at each end of the table. Ideally, sets would be placed between each two guests; or even nicer, each guest would have his/her own set of salt and pepper shakers.

Tip: The shaker with the larger holes is for pepper.

 7. Flowers and candles.  Neither the flowers nor the candles should be so overly fragrant that they overpower the food or placed so high guests cannot see each other over them.

Tip:  Candles should be lit only at dusk, or later, or on overcast days when the table might otherwise be gloomy.

8. Goblets/Glasses. At a minimum, crystal at a formal dinner should include stemmed glasses for wine and water. The water glass should be placed on the inside directly over the dinner knife. And just as you do for the food courses, plan to have a different glass for each wine or beverage being served.

Tip: When placing the wine or water glasses on the table, lift the glass by the stem to avoid leaving finger prints on the glasses.

9. Serving dishes. As courses are served, sauces, gravies, and vinaigrettes prepared especially for the dishes should be placed on the table in bowls with serving spoons for each.

Tip: If you have a long table, it would be a good idea to have two sets of these so that guests do not have to wait to have these items passed around the entire table.

10. Condiments. Even if you are having a less formal dinner—unless it is a picnic—all condiments, such as mustard or ketchup, should be decanted into attractive containers, accompanied by a spoon or whatever utensil is appropriate for the condiment.

Tip: Remove any condiments or sauces and salt and pepper shakers from the table before dessert is served. 

 

You can see my presentation of this blog on Youtube: https://youtu.be/_87EGjqHTHk

 

“The Art of Dining Well–Everything You Need to Shine at the Table”

If you would like to brush up on your table manners and dining etiquette before the holidays, I would like to recommend my book “The Art of Dining Well—Everything You Need to Shine at the Table” to you.  It is available to order on Amazon.

 

Happy holidays, everyone!

Warm regards,

Patricia

Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick December 2020