With the festive month finally upon us, you might have already hung your decorations, ordered the turkey and be ticking off this year’s gift list for friends and family. Have you given any thought to your table setting? Whether you’re someone that likes to keep the table set all year around or a procrastinator that only thinks about the number of place settings required on the day, I’ve got some festive inspiration to give your table settings the wow-factor this season…
TABLE RUNNERS AND TABLE CLOTHS
Table cloths are certainly an essential for protecting wooden or treated surfaces from dings, scratches and marks caused by dropped cutlery and hot drinks. If you are planning on adding table decorations or hanging decorations above your table, you can go for a single, bold colour or subtle pattern. If you plan on keeping the table bare (and give yourself more room for serving food) you can choose a more interesting table runner with festive or colourful patterns. Red check paired with pine branches and sprigs of holly give a beautiful festive feel.
If you fancy introducing something slightly unusual to your table arrangement why not find a table runner with lights or sparkly tinsel stitched in? Or make your own! Choose bright fairy lights – the kind with LEDs threaded onto a single wire – that are available cheaply, are battery powered and are easy to use in craft projects. Alternatively, check out this guide on buying artificial grass to give you inspiration to make your own grass table runner for a gorgeous natural feel – it’s a great base on which to create a wintery woodland tablescape.
STRIKING MONOCHROME
Black is not typically thought of as a Christmas colour but has been made more popular in recent years with the growing trend for monochrome and greyscale interiors. If you want to make your table look ultra modern this festive season introduce some black to your table, either using a table runner, individual place settings or simply the crockery you use. Not only is black considered trendy, it makes bright and bold colours like red, green and gold, come to life and truly stand out.
DECORATIVE TABLE ORNAMENTS
The kitchen might be full of serving dishes but while your guests are waiting at the table, wouldn’t it be nice to have some beautiful decorations to make them smile? There’s no need to rush out and buy anything special, you can make a wonderful, themed Christmas centrepiece with Christmas decorations, evergreen cuttings from the garden or even offcuts of wrapping paper!
Using a fruit bowl or serving stand, layer it up with complimenting colours and materials that naturally give off a festive smell, for example, pine cones, nuts, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks – you can even sprinkle over some cloves and nutmeg to excite the senses! If you’d prefer to use bright, fun colours over natural tones, use spare tree decorations like baubles, tinsel and battery-operated lights to create a table centrepiece that feels joyful.
To keep your table coordinated, why not add finish table settings with a bow wrapped around the cutlery in matching colours to your Christmas centrepiece, or use a sprig of holly and a pine cone with a gift tag attached as place settings to let your guests know where they should sit. I’ve previously personalised some Christmas crackers with photos of my friends to use as place settings – check out my DIY Christmas Cracker blog post here.
GET FRUITY
While it’s normally left in the fruit bowl and moved out the way for festive celebrations, using fruit in your table decorations can add a whole other dimension. Boasting lovely colours and making for a great after dinner treat, you can use ripe pears, pomegranates, grapes, apples and oranges as part of your table decorations, whether used to accent a leafy centrepiece or as a place card to mark their seat.
Your Christmas table settings and decorations don’t need to cost the world and in fact, you can often introduce elements you already own or that can be gathered outside to keep the cost of your table decorations down. The most important aspect is to create a festive setting that makes you smile and is sure to make your guests feel special when they see what you’ve put together for them!
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