How To Set a Formal Table

Written on November 20, 2009 at 11:07 am, by Guest Blogger

If you’re like us, the prospect of setting a formal dinner table adds a frightening new level of stress to holiday planning. Salad forks? Butter knives? Yikes! Our friend Christy of Beach Brights Blog is here to remove our anxiety and help us pretty up the tabletop in style. If your Thanksgiving soiree will be a formal affair, you’ll love Christy’s super-simple guide! — Team DIY

KEY

1. Bread and butter plate
2. Water glass
3. Red wine glass
4. White wine glass
5. Dessert wine or champagne glass
6. Dinner plate
7. Dessert spoon and fork
8. Salad fork
9. Dinner fork
10. Dinner knife
11. Soup spoon
12. Butter knife

Glassware

• Always serve water. The water glass should be set at 12 o’clock.
• Wine is usually poured before the course it is being served with.
• Red wine, white wine, and dessert wine glasses should form a triangle.

Soup or Salad

• If serving soup or salad, set a plate charger on the table and set the napkin on it. The soup bowl should be served on top of the charge

Flatware

• Knife blades always face inward.
• Forks and knives are always set together.
• If a spoon is set but no soup served, it is usually set for dishes with thin sauces.
• Coffee flatware is served with the coffee.

Napkin

• Once seated, unfold the napkin on your lap. If you leave the table mid-meal, set your napkin on your chair. When the meal is finished, place your napkin next to your plate.
• Napkin folding tutorials can be found here.

Basic Etiquette

• The host or hostess will be first to start eating.
• Food is always served to your left and cleared to your right.
• Beverages are always served to your right.
• When you are finished eating, the table should be cleared. Do not leave spoons in cups or small bowls. Also, leave your silverware on your plate parallel to each other in a diagonal position.
• Centerpieces should be low so that conversation and eye contact is not obstructed.
• Individual salt and pepper shakes are placed above the main-course fork or above dessert flatware.
• It is acceptable to use placemats without a tablecloth.

XOXO-BeachBrights

www.beachbrights.blogspot.com

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DIY’s Thanksgiving Tabletop Tips – Take Two

Written on November 19, 2009 at 4:40 pm, by Team DIY

Yesterday, we featured fun and creative was to dress up your holiday dinner table without pawning the TV. Today, seven more fabulous tips for wow-ing your friends and fam!

Better Bowls. Cut the tops off of acorn and butternut squash and use a spoon to scoop out the pulpy insides and seeds. Fill them with finger-foodie apps, like gourmet olives.

Mighty Menu. Post your T-Day dinner menu so guests can appreciate what’s to come. Another bright idea: Have recipe cards printed, signed, and ready to go, especially for the most popular dishes. Send them home (along with a plate of leftovers) with your guests.

Personalized Pumpkins. Use inexpensive stencils and acrylic paint to paint on a monogram for each guest at the table. Set the finished pumpkins inside soup or salad bowls for a pretty presentation.

Buttered Up. Way cuter than plopping a boring brick of butter on the table. Soften up a stick of butter and gently press it under plastic wrap to flatten. Use cookie cutters dipped in hot water to cut the butter into fall shapes. Set the shapes onto a saucer and cover with plastic wrap until serving time.

Delish Doggie Bags. Rather than enduring two weeks of turkey sandwiches, send guests home with leftovers. Have pretty ribbon and tags ready to go, and wrap recyclable silverware into a napkin for a nice touch.
Lovely Leaves. It doesn’t get much simpler. Tuck a single leaf into the napkin on each place setting.
Branch Out. Twigs and branches that clutter your yard look perfectly elegant on the table. Use them to highlight gourds and candles for a fab fall centerpiece.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for step-by-step instructions and photos on how to set a formal dinner table and a buffet table!

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