Special occasions, like Christmas, are always made more special when the right decorations are in place. You happily decorate the rest of your house, so why stop at your table?
Good food, great company and… a disappointing table setting. We’ve all been to dinner parties or restaurants where everything is perfect except for the table display and decorations in the room. Avoid a festive mistake with our quick guide to setting a beautiful and welcoming Christmas spread.
Keep it simple
Sometimes people can get lost under a pile of cutlery, glasses and crockery. Keep your plates and utensils to a minimum – most of the time we’ll grab the closest cutlery without worrying about which course or type of food it was intended for!
Plan your meal ahead of time and prepare a simple selection that fits with your courses. In most cases a plate for the starter, main course and dessert, with an additional smaller plate for bread or sides will suffice. When it comes to glasses, keep one for wine and one for water. If you’re celebrating with a bottle of bubbly then bring it out separately.
Go with a theme
If you’ve gone with a festive theme throughout the rest of your house, then create a cohesive look by dressing your dinner table as well. Whether you go with black and silver, red and gold or a vintage mixture of treasured decorations, you can find common colours and patterns and continue the theme.
You can achieve this effect with a whole range of decorative items. Start with picking a table cloth that matches your theme. Red and white are popular choices at Christmas time and there are a lot of products out there you can match with.
A table runner in a contrasting colour, such as gold on red, provides a striking effect. Having a centre piece, such as a cluster of candles or a poinsettia (traditional Christmas plant with red leaves and flowers). Surround this with clusters of seasonal plants, such as fir twigs, pine cones, or springs of holly leaves or mistletoe, and you’ll have a unique and festive display.
Put candles up and down the table, which will add to the sense of occasion, and consider tying a contrasting ribbon around the base, to create an expensive look without breaking the budget. Use the same type of ribbon across the table on napkin holds or tied into bows around crackers to create a unified and eye catching theme. A dusting of fake snow can set decorations off with a fun Christmassy edge.
Now you’ve got festive decorations sorted, make sure you plan your menu! From our traditional Christmas dishes like a Roast Turkey Dinner or a Nut and Mushroom Roast. Get Oakhouse Foods frozen ready meals delivered to your door with our meals on wheels service. Stock up on your Christmas favourites – we offer a free delivery service when you spend over £30.