Unless you’re one of those people who has a fresh table
cloth, placemats, chargers and napkins, with coordinating rings, set on your
table right now, you probably scramble a bit every time you host a dinner
party. It can be stressful enough to have to consider the dietary
restrictions of your guests, but add in making your home and table (not to
mention yourself) pretty, and you’ve made yourself a stress sandwich. I have
grown to enjoy throwing parties, but it can be rather nerve-wracking to do so
under the added pressure of the holiday season.
In the hopes of making your holiday stress sandwich a little
easier to swallow, here are a few tips to setting a fantastic holiday table
that looks great, but doesn’t take a ton of time and money to create.
Tip #1: Decide how you’re going to serve your food.
Depending on the size of your home and the amount of people coming, this
decision may have already been made. If you have 20 people coming and you only
have room to seat 4 at your table, you’re doing a standing buffet. If you have
6 people coming and exactly room to seat six, you might decide on a seated
buffet. Or, if your center of your table is large enough, a table buffet, where
all of the food is placed in serving dishes in the middle of the table. This is
what most people automatically think of when they think “Holiday dinner”. But,
you don’t have to work in default mode. You get to decide how formal or
informal the meal is. The most formal version is a plated dinner. This works
best if you have help in the kitchen. With a plated dinner, each guest’s plate
is prepared and served to them, as it would be in a restaurant. It is nearly impossible to do a plated dinner
alone, but each week, we see the people on Food Network’s Chopped do it…they
make it look easy, so if you’re adventurous, give it a shot.
Tip #2: Once you’ve chosen how you’ll serve your food,
choose how you’d like to decorate.
With any buffet style, you have the option
to omit table settings all together. You can stack the plates & bowls and
provide cloth-lined baskets for the silverware. You can create a separate bar
area for drinks and keep the decorations on the buffet and bar to a minimum. If
you’re doing a seated/table buffet or a plated dinner, some version of a place
setting will be necessary to let people know where to sit. It can be as simple
as a plate, drinkware and silverware or you can go all in and do placemats with
chargers, dinner plates, bread plate, napkins (folded or ringed), silverware
and drinkware. There are a ton of options between minimalist buffet and
full-out plated dinner, the goal is to find a version that fits your timeline,
décor preferences and budget.
Tip #3: Match your table settings to your meal.
If you’re
serving a traditional, homespun meal, keep your place settings and décor within
that style. It would be incongruous to have crystal goblets and silver chargers
for your crockpot mashed potatoes in a buffet-style meal. With traditional
meals, you have the option to create minimalist place settings that are
enhanced by strategic placement of natural elements, like pine garland or fresh
pears, apples, oranges and cranberries. For those meals that are a bit fancier,
keep the natural elements, but consider adding a few pillar candles either on
candle sticks or placed a glass, ceramic or mirrored tile. Include coordinating
placemats and folded cloth napkins and you’ve instantly elevated the
traditional. Now, if you’re planning to go all-out, with a plated meal, go
all-out on the place settings as well. I’m always budget conscious, so I would
say “spare no expense” but my brain isn’t going to allow me to give that
advice. So, instead I’ll say, set a budget for each place setting, and stick to
it. Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Ross and At Home are great places to start pulling
together a complete table setting, each store has a variety of linens,
dishware, drinkware, and silverware to choose from.
In all, when you’re planning your table setting, remember
that it’s up to you how involved the process is. If this is your first time
hosting a holiday dinner, please keep it simple. Don’t try to do a plated
dinner for 10 people if you’ve never done one for 2. Save yourself the time,
energy and money, and remember that you and your guests want to have fun, to
enjoy this most wonderful time of the year with family and friends.
*Written by Lindsay S., proud writer and resident at Redwood.
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