If you're hosting Christmas dinner this year, you'll want to make the table setting perfect. The best way to ensure that everything goes together is to choose a theme for your setting, as well as your colors. The general rule of thumb is to keep the colors simple one or two main colors along with two or three complementary accent colors. Of course the colors you choose will depend on your theme, so choose something that you'll find easy to work with, and a theme that will inspire your imagination. Here are some ideas to spark your creativity.
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town This table setting is light and fun, and especially appropriate if you have lots of children at your holiday table. If you're planning to set up two tables, one for adults and one for children, you can either create two identical table settings, or consider dressing the children's table up as a gift, wrapped with simple paper and featuring a large bow as the centerpiece.
For the tablecloth, use fire-engine red fabric. You'll want to find something inexpensive, since you'll be sewing and gluing accessories directly onto the fabric. To make it extra special, sew or hot glue a white felt or fake fur trim around the entire edge of the tablecloth. Use a wide strip of black felt to make a belt place the red cloth on the table and center it, then attach the belt with your glue gun about 2/3 the length of the table away from the head chair. Trim the ends of the belt so it lies flush with the white trim on either side of the tablecloth. Fashion a belt buckle out of stiff cardboard, which you either spray paint gold or silver, or cover with aluminum foil. Glue the belt buckle to the center of the belt.
For your centerpiece, use a plush Santa hat that you can pick up at most dollar stores, or anywhere else Christmas decorations are sold. Stuff the hat with crumpled tissue or newspaper so that it will stand upright, and adorn with artificial holly sprigs, candy canes, or ribbon.
At each place setting, place a small wrapped gift. The gifts themselves should be token – after dinner mints, homemade cookies or candy, or small Christmas ornaments from the dollar store. Use pretty gift tags on these presents to turn them into place cards if desired.
If you're really into the Santa spirit, you can even use small mittens to tuck cutlery into, and place a pair of shiny black boots near the entryway to your dining room, Put on some fun and lively Christmas music, and you're all ready to serve dinner.
Have a Holly Jolly Buffet If you're expecting a large crowd, the buffet table may be just the answer to your seating dilemmas. Use your dining room table as the main attraction, and have extra chairs set up throughout the house for people to relax and enjoy their holiday meal. The theme for this example is "Back to Nature".
For your table covering, you'll want fabric that is extra long, and something natural like linen, cotton, or even burlap or canvas. It should cover the table and hang down to almost floor length, with a bit of extra length for raised areas that we'll detail in a moment. Use a bright color rather than white, as there are bound to be small spills and splatters that will damage a pure white cloth.
By creating a line of raised space on the buffet table, you'll be able to highlight certain pretty dishes and add a height dimension to your setting, making the overall display more appealing. To achieve this, use cookie tins, sturdy rubber/plastic containers, or solid boxes that can handle a heavy plate of food placed on top of them, and place them in a cluster or a row. Place the cluster or row at the back of the table if it's set up against a wall, or in the center if your table is in the middle of the room. Place the tablecloth over the table, and tuck it in around the objects you used to create the raised space.
If your table isn't quite large enough to handle all of the food, you can use extra folding tables, or even a short dresser or cabinet covered in a plastic tablecloth first (to avoid damage from heat or spills) followed by a fabric table covering.
Rather than using a single centerpiece for a buffet table, plan on smaller decorative touches scattered around the table. Small glass bowls filled with nuts are nice, especially when some are spray painted gold, or use sprigs of pine and pinecones. For ribbons and bows, use natural raffia or even twine, with real or artificial holly leaves as accents. You can use mini potted poinsettias or tiny Christmas trees as well. Try to avoid candles, since your guests will be reaching over the table frequently, and from different angles.
As an added touch, provide a menu for your guests. This can be done up on parchment paper or any other type of paper that has an aged look to it. Write down all of the dishes you plan to serve, including drink selections and desserts. If someone is bringing a dish, include that on your menu as well. Hang the menu above the buffet table, or place it in a large picture frame and place it directly on the table.
One final tip: set the table up in such a way that there is a natural progression from one side to the other. Put all of the plates on one side, followed by main dishes, side dishes, salads and pickle trays, and rolls, then finish off with a basket of utensils (tied in bunches with raffia) and napkins.
Perfectly Peppermint Peppermint suits the Christmas spirit well. Maybe it's because of the colors associated with both red, green, and white. Or perhaps because the candy cane is such a widely known symbol of the season. No matter the reason, using a peppermint theme can be a fun way to set a lovely holiday table.
If you can find fabric with red and white or green and white stripes, it would be absolutely perfect for your tablecloth. Otherwise, pick your favorite from these three colors and start there. If you wish, you can add stripes to your cloth by cutting strips from appropriately colored fabric and sewing or hot gluing them on.
For your centerpiece, there are many options to choose from. Take pillar candles and hot glue candy canes around the base of some of them, with the 'hook' facing outwards. For the rest of the candles, hot glue round peppermint candies in randomly or in various patterns around them. These should be safe to burn, since pillars generally burn inwards, pooling the hot wax towards the wicks. As a precaution however, never leave a lit candle unattended. Use candles in red, white, and green, and in different heights, for maximum appeal.
Instead of candles for your centerpiece, you can use small glass vases or bowls and fill them with peppermint candies and fresh mint leaves. Spruce these up even more with a pretty bow tied around a miniature candy cane in the center.
Scatter mini candy canes and round peppermint candies down the center of the table, interspersed with mint leaves. Tie napkins with thin red, green, and white ribbons, and accent these with mini candy canes tucked into the bows.
For something extra special, create a cocktail using Peppermint Schnapps or Crème de Menthe, and serve with a candy cane as a swizzle stick. Offer a non-alcoholic version if you can, using peppermint extract for the flavoring. After the meal, offer a tray filled with a wide selection of after dinner mints.
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