Many of my fondest memories are of time spent around the table with friends and family. Holiday dinners are meant to be savored and enjoyed, and a beautiful tablescape creates ambiance and inspires conversation. Small details such as a personalized place card or a beautifully folded napkin show our guests how much we care.
When I entertain, the table reflects my mood and hopes for the evening. For a formal occasion, I bring out sparkling crystal, candles, my finest linens, and, yes, even place cards.
The idea of seating charts or place cards may seem a bit stuffy, but wouldn’t you agree that sparkling conversation is as important as the food to the success of a party? By pairing extroverts with introverts or matching guests based on their interests (an oenophile and a vintner for example), you’ll spark lively discussions.
An elaborate place setting, although gorgeous, can be daunting to guests. If you’re worrying about which fork to use, it’s much harder to enjoy your meal. Yet I’ve found that the bread and butter plate causes far more stress than the cutlery. If I can, I try to leave enough space between place settings to make it obvious which butter plate to use. But if my table is too crowded, I’ll put a personalized place card on each butter plate to eliminate the guesswork!
I’ve written before about my love of linens. By mixing and matching your linens to create different looks, you can “dress” your table to fit any mood or season. Have you ever noticed that some guests feel uncomfortable using your white napkins for fear that they’ll stain them? Dark or patterned napkins won’t show a lipstick or food stain and will put these considerate guests at ease.
Setting the breakfast table with your favorite china encourages your family to linger over the meal and to enjoy the time together before starting another busy day.
When setting the table, it’s ok to break the “rules.” For a modern table, we’ve used table runners horizontally in lieu of place mats.
