How to Set the Table
Planning a lovely dinner with your friends and family? A beautiful table setting is the perfect touch to make your plans even more perfect. Depending on the occasion, you can even give your table a touch of class, all thanks to the plates and cutlery you use. Here’s how to set the table for your dinner.
Seating Arrangements
Determine how many guests are coming to your party, and include the number of your own party to the list. If there are children, you can opt to have a separate kids’ table with booster chairs for the little ones.
Seating arrangements are usually on a “first come first serve” basis, but you can also plan the seating arrangement in advance. You can go about it in the usual way and pair couples and people they’re more familiar with together. You can also spice things up by mixing people who are not familiar with each other but might find the other entertaining. Don’t forget to print and put the place cards on the seating position before the dinner starts.
The Tablecloth
Tables can go with or without a tablecloth. It all depends on your aesthetic, really. Damask tablecloths need a padding underneath to prevent slipping. When using a tablecloth, the middle crease should be perfeclty centered from the head of the table to the foot of the table, with the edges hanging a foot or so for a seated dinner, and to the floor in a buffet dinner.
The Flowers
Flower arrangements should have the two qualities: The arrangements should be low-lying and be composed of flowers that are not overly fragrant or have a subtle scent. This is done as not to throw off your palate with the flowers’ smell.
Basic Table Setting
The basic table setting works great for the kids’ table. If you’re not planning a big, fancy dinner, this setting is the one for you and your guests. Here’s how to do it.
set table
Place the plate first facing the seating.
Put the folded napkin on the left side of the plate, followed by the fork.
Put the knife on the right side of the plate, followed by the spoon. Make sure that the blade of knife is facing the plate.
Make sure that the utensils are evenly spaced from each other.
The bread and butter plate goes to the upper left corner from the plate.
The water goblet goes to the upper right corner from the plate.
Semi-Formal Table Setting
The semi-formal table setting is done when your menu includes a soup course, a salad, an entree and dessert. Here’s how to arrange the setting:
Put the dinner plate in the center, and place the napkin on top, also in the center.
Put the salad fork and the dinner fork on the left of the plate. Follow the “outside-in” rule, which you put the utensil you use first on the outside and the utensil used later on the inside. In this case, the salad fork should be at the outmost left.
Place the dinner knife on the immediate left of the dinner plate, blade facing the plate.
Place the dessert spoon to the right of the knife, followed by the soup spoon, which will be used first.
If you’re using a salad plate, put it to the left of the forks. If not, you can have salad directly served on the dinner plate.
Put the bread plate above the fork, and place the butter knife diagonally across the edge, with the handle on the right side and the blade facing downwards.
For the dessert spoon and fork, place them horizontally above the dinner plate.
For the coffee cup and saucer, place them above and to the right of the spoons and the knife.