The most beautiful table in the country
– THIS IS HOW YOU SET THE TABLE DURING THE HOLIDAYS –
If you spend hours in the kitchen to put together a Christmas dinner, you naturally want it to be presented in the best way possible. It's such a shame if that turkey wilts on a table with a red checkered tablecloth and a Santa in the corner. So, you will pay just as much attention to that table as to the dinner to keep everything in balance. Don't stress out right away, because it's all very simple and doesn't have to be expensive at all. Just wait and see.
1. Table
There are plenty of tablecloths, runners, and coasters available for Christmas, but the chance is big that you will never take them out of the closet again afterwards. Keep it basic, and go wild with your prettiest dishes, glasses, and cutlery. That will probably fill the table more than enough. The extras, I'll tell you about in the following points. You can further fill the table with some extras, such as pom-poms, pine cones, or Christmas branches. Oh, and candles of course, that creates the atmosphere.
2. Napkins
Napkins are often not the prettiest part of the table, but they are essential. Now you can of course go for the classic napkin ring that has just been polished, but doing it yourself makes it even more fun. With a piece of string or ribbon, you can neatly tie it into shape, and you don't have to Google swan shapes, and with a Christmas branch, you finish it off. Another fun idea I found on Pinterest is spraying a pine cone. You stay in season, but make it a bit more special.
3. Personal cards
Nothing is nicer than a personal card on the dinner table. This can indeed be done with a plain card where you paint the names with a brush. Leave the laptop and printer behind because at Christmas everything is personal and a laptop is anything but that. There are plenty of alternatives. For example, simply write the names on a Christmas ornament, then you stay in theme and it looks elegant right away. What is also super handy about the personal cards is that you can already make a seating arrangement in advance. It can be quite awkward and annoying when guests keep standing around the table because they don't know who to sit next to. Recognizable? At least for me it is. Just place that fun uncle next to your sister who never talks to him. You also do a bit of family bonding. What those name cards are all good for, huh.
4. Include the surroundings
The table is already so full of food and gifts, so the surroundings around the table are certainly not unimportant. For example, you could hang some decorations above the table, beautifully decorate the chairs, or just hang something simple on the wall. How do you do that? Stay in the same style. If you have a gold table, then do the same with the surroundings. Clashing is not allowed, not even during the holidays. On the chair, you could use those fun angel feathers, and hang some extra lights on the wall. It really doesn't have to be much, think in details or in large objects. Less is more, as long as it creates atmosphere.
5. The accessories
What you shouldn't forget is that the table often looks a mess after eating. Spilled wine glasses, stains on the tablecloth, you know how it goes. To distract attention, you need to ensure that there is still something to see around the table (see point 2).
We have gathered quite a bit of inspiration from Pinterest to bring you new ideas. And to impress that family of yours. Fun extra: at the Hermitage, they have three beautiful prizes for who has the most beautiful dinner table in the Netherlands. You just need to take two photos of it and send them to them. Could you also send them to us? We are really curious.
