Table Setting Ideas for the Holidays

When you play host for the holidays, you have a lot to consider. From planning a menu that will suit your guests' needs and cleaning your house from top to bottom, your holiday party takes plenty of preparation. Check at least one item off your list after you peruse these table setting ideas for the holidays. No matter the holiday, you can find ways to decorate your table with style this season. Does this Spark an idea?

Christmas

Christmas is a time when families gather together to celebrate the season and eat memorable meals. Set your table using washable linens in holiday colors that compliment your regular decor; choose greens or reds from light to dark or go with classic white or ivory for an elegant look. Add candles to evoke the symbols of the season and fill the room with holiday fragrances like evergreen, cranberry or vanilla. Fill a large, clear glass vase with Christmas ball ornaments or pine cones and golden beads and surround the base with a wreath of evergreen.

Thanksgiving

During Thanksgiving, the dinner is the main event. Use your table to your advantage to get your guests talking. Provide a small place card for each dinner guest; on the inside, write a conversation starter. It could be a question about their biggest wishes, their favorite holiday memories or even a trivia question about the history of Thanksgiving. As guests take turns asking their questions and opening the topic for discussion, the dinner becomes a chance to share with one another rather than just a time to eat. Decorate the top of the table with small gourds and squash, or pile them all together in a cornucopia centerpiece. Use pumpkin-scented candles on either side and use linens in rich fall colors.

Halloween

For a spooky dinner on Halloween, use black table linens or cover a white tablecloth with black lace. Add dripping wax candles on tall silver candlesticks or a candleabra if you can find one. Place miniature pumpkins with ghoulish faces around the table and sprinkle confetti bats on top of the tablecloth for sparkle.

Other Holidays

Use the themes of the holidays to work with your table decorating plans. Cover a red tablecloth with heart-shaped doilies on Valentine's Day and use Valentine cards for each guest as place holders. Fill bowls full of red fruits like cherries and strawberries for guests to munch between courses and let guests drink fizzy punch out of champagne flutes.

On Easter, dig out the glass vase you used at Christmas and fill it with colorful eggs and Easter grass. Tie up the cloth napkins to resemble bunny rabbits and put the place holders inside egg cups or miniature Easter baskets.