A Perfectly Set Holiday Table

By Teresa Opdycke

The holidays loom around the corner, but are you ready?  Are you ready for rounds of parties, dinners, and soirees?  Do you know the proper way to set a table to impress?  If you’ve always wondered or just forgotten where the fork goes and question if the cup handle sits at 5 o’clock or 4 o’clock now’s the time to brush up on how and what it takes to set the perfect table for the holidays.  Come on…show your mother-in-law that you really can set a table with panache. 

Before delving into the logistics of where this and that goes, decide the style of entertaining you plan to do.  Setting a table for a buffet differs from a more formal style dinner.  Once you’ve made a decision it’s time to plan.  Plan the menu, make the shopping list, and brush-up on proper table setting. 

Buffet style requires guests to serve themselves.  The table should be set in a logical fashion that allows for smooth traffic flow, lessening the chances of people bumping in to one another and spilling the contents of their plate.

You’ll want to make it as easy as possible for your guests to help themselves.  You, your spouse, or a friend will be in charge of traffic control, keeping everyone moving in the right direction.  The size of your table determines how much room you’ll have so plan ahead and don’t overload if you can help it.  Serve appetizers on the coffee table or place serving platters about the rooms.  Have your significant other man the bar, if cocktails are part of the festivities. 

Buffet Style

• Place the napkins at one corner of the table.  Use a basket for informal events to keep the napkins tidy.  Working clockwise around the table, place a stack of plates next to the napkins.  If the stack is too tall, divide into two smaller stacks.
  
• On the left side of the dinner plate place a dinner fork, if salad will be served, place the salad just outside the dinner fork.
  
• In the opposite corner of the napkins set the vegetable bowl.  If the vegetable happens to be whipped potatoes, set the gravy boat slightly above and to an angle from the potatoes.
  
• Continuing around the table, place salad or another vegetable.  If you’re serving salad that will require dressings to be put on by the individual, set cruets or small decorative pitchers of dressing at an angle but close to the salad bowl.
  
• At the other corner place bread or rolls and butter close by with a butter knife resting on the butter plate.
  
• A relish tray follows the bread or rolls.
  
• The stemware, if you’re serving wine, or glassware is next.  Arrange with flair and not just in a line.
  
• On the last corner position flatware.  Here, again, if the buffet is informal, be creative and place each utensil in a different container or basket.
  
• Slightly off-center you’ll want a centerpiece.  Keep it low so that it doesn’t interrupt the line of view from one side of the table to the other.  The buffet table should not inhibit the flow of conversation as guests work their way around.
  
• Use candles to imbue a more classic ambiance.  A cluster of votive candles, rather than tapers, will create less stress for guests as they move about the table. 

The host and hostess will serve the wine, making their way from guest to guest.  A suggestion for serving desserts:  create a tray of desserts and once everyone seems to have had their fill of the buffet, remove the entrée and replace with the dessert tray.

Thanksgiving dinner is often a sit down affair with candles, centerpiece and the best china out of the china cupboard.  If you’re going to use the “good” dishes, impress your guests by setting a proper table.  A proper table setting doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a formal event with a service charger beneath a stack of dishes or rows of silverware that extend out a foot on each side of the plate.  Most families don’t bother with that formal of a place setting unless an important dignitary is making an appearance.  A casual dinner place setting creates enough formality for most families. 

Casual Dinner

People have an imaginary line that encircles them, called the comfort zone.  Crowding people too close around a table leads to a stifled dinner atmosphere.  Make sure that each person, when seated, has room to move and dine in comfort.  Once you’ve arranged the chairs around the table you can begin setting the table. 

Be creative!  You don’t always need a white damask table cloth to create an elegant table.  A runner allows the beauty of a wood table to come through.  Just be sure that you have plenty of protection for hot foods to be placed on the table.  A floral design lends a touch of beauty and class to any tablescape.  Opt for a low horizontal flower arrangement rather than vertical.  Tapers of the same size height on either side of the flowers speak of symmetry and formality, however, if you decide on a more asymmetrical look be sure to use candles of two various heights for added interest and dimension.  A word on napkins; if you’re using your best china, why would you put a flimsy paper napkin next to the elegant plate?  Use cloth napkins and if the budget won’t allow for the purchase of cloth napkins, buy a yard of fabric, cut squares and hem them for a very low-cost alternative.  Now to the actual place setting…

1. Set a dinner plate in the middle of each chair around the table.
2. Fold the napkins either in a square, rectangle, or triangle and lay on top of the dinner plate. Next to the plate on the right side position the knife with the blade facing the plate.  Next to the knife place a spoon.
3. On the left side of the dinner plate place a dinner fork, if salad will be served, place the salad just outside the dinner fork.
4. Just beyond the salad fork position the salad plate. 
5. Above the dinner fork and a bit to the left of the dinner plate place the bread plate with the knife resting at the top of the bread plate. 
6. A stemmed water glass should sit directly across from the bread plate, slightly to the right of the dinner plate and above the knife.  If wine is to be served place the wine glass to the right of the water glass. 

Now that the fundamentals of basic table setting are among your repertoire of entertaining know-hows, invite friends and family over for a holiday dinner.  Astonish them with your perfectly set holiday table.     

© 2006 DoItYourself.com

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