5 Clever Tips For Setting A Christmas Table

For over 10 years my mother and I have decorated a christmas table at our church’s annual Christmas Tea.  The night is filled with beautiful table decorations, great speakers and wonderful company.  Oh and let’s not forget delicious food.  With so many great memories of this night, I thought it would be fitting to display some of the decorations over the years and give you a few tips for setting a christmas table that have helped us along the way.

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Tip 1: Pick a Christmas Theme

Each year we pick a theme.  Having a theme allows us to focus and narrow down our options.  With so many Christmas decorations out there, it is definitely helpful to narrow it down.  At the end, if you stick to your theme…everything on your table should come together beautifully.

2017 Winter Wonderland

This year we chose a Winter Wonderland theme.  We used natural pieces with a touch of sparkle from the snow.   Over the years we have done a lot of red and white, so it was fun to do a calmer, more natural look.

2016 Peppermint Lane

Last year we made a beautiful peppermint topiary.  Little touches of green were added, but for the most part everything was red and white.  We placed vintage looking tins on each plate filled with peppermints and candy canes.  It was playful, but elegant.

2015 Cozy Christmas

I love the look of rustic wood, plaids and berries.  We brought all those elements together for our Cozy Christmas theme.  Chalkboard tags were added to hot chocolate powder ornaments.  Candlelight gleamed from the rustic box we made from my grandparents old barn wood.  This was one of my favorite tables.

Tip 2: Have Versatile Dishes

For our table, we like to change the decorations each year.  We keep the budget pretty low, so having versatile dinnerware is a must for us.  I have all clear plates and coffee mugs.  My mother has all white dishes and coffee mugs…between those two options, we have endless possibilities.   Another great thing about versatile dishes are they work for all occasions, not just Christmas.

Last year with our peppermint theme, we used white dishes.

For our cozy Christmas theme, we used the clear dishes.  To add a little more detail, we cut out circles of vintage music scrapbook paper and taped it onto the chargers.  A great cost effective way to change the look.

Tip 3: Plan Your Christmas Table

A beautiful table doesn’t just happen, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend hours and hours either.  Starting with versatile pieces saves you a lot of time.  Picking a theme allows you to focus, and planning helps give you an idea if what you have works and what else you need to get.  To be honest, my Mom and I probably did the above tables in about 3 meetings.  Each time, we would make a list of what else needed to be done or bought and then split the responsibility.  Now, we have been doing this for several years, so we do have a rhythm…so don’t feel bad if it takes a little longer.  Sometimes we still get stuck too.

When planning, we break the table down into these main categories:

Christmas Table Centerpiece

The main centerpiece is always chosen first, and then the rest revolves around it.  We often go to Hobby Lobby or Michael’s to get inspired.  Sometimes something jumps out at us, and other times we brew over it for a while.  In the end, my mom and I hash out what we would like the centerpiece to be and go with it.

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Place Settings: plates, chargers and napkins

For the place settings, if you haven’t noticed we love chargers.  If you aren’t familiar with the term charger, they are kind of like placemats.  They come in all kinds of colors and with different details on them.  Chargers are relatively cheap, and between my mom and I, we have plenty of color options.  Dishes are an easy decision, we stick with white or clear, which I already mentioned above.  Lastly, napkins!  We love having a little color on our plates with cute napkins.  It is too much to buy a set of napkins every year to match our theme…so we go to the fabric store.  We buy a yard or two of fabric in plaid or a pattern that we like and it costs less than five dollars.  We cut out the squares and then fringe the ends with a needle.  No sewing and low cost makes it a perfect option, plus it adds that perfect touch to your plate.

Favors For Your Christmas Table

It is always nice to send your guests off with a little something.  For our favors, we try to spend only a couple of dollars per guest.  Most times we will make an ornament or put a little baggie of candy together.  It is just something extra to say thank-you for coming.

Extra Details

To pull a table together, the little details really help.  Consider what dishes you will put the candies in, I even try to match the candy wrapper colors to my table.  We molded edible pine cones one year out of almond paste and almonds, which was a really fun and unique.  The style of votives is considered.  We have added pine cone swags to the backs of the chairs before.  All the touches are nice, but remember not to get too obsessed with them.  Try to pick just a few little details to add, keeping in account the time you have and your budget.

For the wood votives, my dad cut slices from a branch and my husband used a hole saw to make spots for the tealights.  The bark is a little fragile on the outside, over the years we have had to glue a few pieces back on.

Tip 4: Consider Your Guests

Your guests are the most important part.  If you are wondering how table decorations have any weight on your guests, I’ll explain.  My mom and I always try to consider the guests line of view with our centerpieces.  We sit down and try to make sure all the guests can see each other and it is a good atmosphere for conversation.  Some taller centerpieces are a little difficult to work around, but try your best to make sure guests can converse without too much straining to look around the centerpiece.

Tip 5: Enjoy The Decorating Your Christmas Table

Remember the following:

• Don’t try to do more decorating than you have time for.  If you don’t have a lot of time, keep your table simple.
• More is not always better if you are all frazzled and completely stressed out.
• If you have a vision in your mind, try to plan ahead so everything comes together.
• The little details can often be worked on way in advance.
• Your guests are more important than your decorations…so enjoy time with them and stop worrying about every last detail once the party or event has begun.

You will enjoy your beautifully decorated table more if you enjoy the process of putting it together.  Of all the years, what I remember the most is working on the tables with my Mom and how our table always shuts the place down.  The laughter, company and memories are what are really important.  There is nothing wrong with making things look pretty…I do enjoy it a lot, but always keep it in perspective!

Those are my 5 tips to help you decorate a beautiful table.  Thanks so much for checking out my post!  Happy decorating!