Home: Setting a Holiday Table
How was your Thanksgiving? Hope it was filled with time with family and friends eating too much food. One of the ways I contribute to my family’s Thanksgiving is to decorate the table. I started doing it a few years ago to help my Mom out who is usually the hostess. I noticed she was always really busy the few hours leading up to the event and it was one way I could take something off her plate. Even if you are not a design saavy person, if you follow a few tips you can easily create a really elegant looking table.
Drawing inspiration for a table is similar to putting together an outfit. I found a beautiful leaf a few days prior and decided it was the perfect color palette for the table I would be decorating. You can draw inspiration from a printed linen, nature, or a floral arrangement. When in doubt, stick to a few colors to keep it simple.
Gather supplies including linens, utensils, dinnerware and decor. I've created an easy checklist for you to download if you would like to print it out. For the table featured, an antique crocheted tabled cloth, simple runner (my Mom found at a local dollar store and napkins. We used brass utensils, simple white china with a gold rim and our family's crystal glasses. Lastly, I grabbed a few mini pumpkins, pine cones, fake fruit and taper candles.
Putting the table together starts with layering a runner over the tablecloth. This will serve as your background. I wanted to create a focal point so we used a crystal centerpiece and filled with a few tea lights. From there, I added a mix of mini pumpkins, fruit and pine cones on the sides of the centerpiece to create texture on the table. One of the easiest ways to add elegance to any table is a few taper candles. I opted for simple white ones to keep in the color palette of the table.
For our table, we used simple china and only put necessary items that we would use for eating on the table. An appetizer and dinner fork, knife and spoon were the only utensil place around our pates. We had a single drink glass and water glass made of crystal on the upper right side. Finally, we layered a printed napkin at each setting on top of the dinner plate, a bread plate on the upper left hand corner and tiny pumpkin.
For our table, we used simple china and only put the necessary items that we would use on the table. An appetizer and dinner fork, knife and spoon was all that was needed for our meal. We had a drink glass and water glass made of crystal on the upper right side. Finally, we layered a fall napkin at each setting on top of the dinner plate, a bread plate on upper left hand corner and tiny pumpkin.
Setting the table a few hours in advance will give you time to prepare food if you are doing everything yourself. You can even put it together the day before if you find that works for your schedule. I recommend making sure that you inventory your dishes, linens and gather your supplies a few days prior to keep things stress free on the holidays!