Beautiful linens and festive items can spice up your holiday settings

Dazzle your guests this Christmas Season with a festive table you’ve created without spending mucho dinero. Get a jump start by scouting stores this weekend for tableware, linens and decorative items.

Remember that the Christmas Holidays are all about your senses, and being affected and moved by your surroundings. A few simple details added to your space, candlelight, tableware, festive accessories and luxurious linens, all create an instant holiday makeover by making an ordinary room extraordinary.

Thanks to specialised retailers, you can find appealing, inexpensive dishes, glasses, flatware and linens to dress your table for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or a special brunch. The look will be rich to the eye, but not disastrous to your budget, which will probably be stretched to the limit by gift purchases.

If you’re at a loss on how to start, these are the trends in today’s tabletop décor.

Always use candles, votives, pillars, tapers, when entertaining to establish a warm and inviting atmosphere. Do not use scented candles on the dinner table, though, because the scent could interfere with food aromas.

Combine faux florals, sparkling ornaments and fresh flowers to create a centerpiece that can be used for various gatherings, simply replace fresh flowers to change the look.

Focus on decorating the spaces guests see first and where they gather most, such as the foyer and living room.

To create a festive mood, set a welcoming table in the foyer with flutes filled with champagne and sparkling juice, interspersed with simple white votives.

Instead of using a traditional tablecloth, let the natural beauty of your wood or glass table shine through and use a runner or two for a layered look.

Christmas parties should be fun. After all, they bring together friends and family, they are filled with delicious food and drink, and everyone is in a great mood.

Well, that’s the plan, anyway. If you’re the host, a party can be filled with stress and anxiety. It shouldn’t be that way, say party experts. Many authors have written books to guide readers through the steps of hosting perfect holiday parties. The key, they say, is lots of planning. With their books as guides, we put together plans for three different types of parties: a cocktail party, a dinner party and an open house party.

Christmas Holiday Cocktail Party >
Since this is a party for adults, you can be creative with your food and beverage choices.

What you serve and the quantities will depend on the time of day for the party. If it is a pre-dinner cocktail party, you will need less food than you would for a party that might stretch into the evening.

At a formal party with people mingling through much of the evening, guests tend to eat less than at a gathering where people are sitting around the fireplace or playing games.

Think in terms of finger foods. For a cocktail party, most of the appetizers should be savory selections such as cheese, skewered meat, shrimp or stuffed mushrooms. A few of the appetizers should be hot, if you can manage it.

Toward the end of the party, you might want to add a few sweet selections: cookies, candies, dried fruit or bite-size pieces of cake.

A few suggestions for the menu include crostini with assorted toppings, miniature cream puffs filled with savory fillings such as cream cheese and crab, filled cherry tomatoes, meatballs, shrimp with dip, miniature quiche, dates wrapped in bacon and sugared or spiced nuts.

Christmas Holiday Open House >
An open house, a drop-in affair where people generally stay and visit for a short time, is a perfect solution to holiday entertaining. Guests will arrive and leave at staggered times, so you will be able to host more people without crowding the house.

But as the host, constantly welcoming and bidding goodbye to friends, you will have less time to attend to the food and beverages, so plan those carefully.

Choose foods that can be left at room temperature for the length of the party. Set up the food and drinks on a table or counter where people can serve themselves. All you will need to do throughout the party is occasionally cruise through the house to pick up empty plates and cups and replenish the serving trays that are running low.

Depending on the time of day, food can be all desserts or a combination of savory and sweet items. This is the time to show off your best fudge, divinity and rum ball recipes or to bring out that chocolate fountain you got for Christmas last year.

Christmas Holiday Dinner Party >
During the holiday season, dinner parties tend to be more formal than the rest of the year. It’s time to bring out the silver, the best goblets and the linen napkins. It’s also an occasion that can be stressful. Here’s a secret that will make you feel better > Martha Stewart has a large staff to help her pull off those perfect dinner parties. You don’t need a staff; what you need is a plan.

Start with the guest list. If you are unsure whether guests have allergies or dietary restrictions, it’s OK to add a note to your invitation asking them to let you know about it ahead of time.

Plan your menu well in advance. Look for recipes that will allow a lot of advance prep. Test any recipes you are considering.

Keep the menu simple. A ham, turkey or roast look impressive and are good choices because you put them in the oven well ahead of the party and they take little last-minute attention. Plus, all need some standing time after they come out of the oven, giving you time to pop the side dishes into the oven to heat up before serving.

There is no doubt that setting a beautiful table helps make Thanksgiving a special meal for everyone. Here’s a variety of tips to make your day easy and your guests feel welcomed.

Prepare, prepare, prepare!
About a week before the big meal, pull out all of your dishes, flatware, glassware and linens. Make sure you have enough of everything to accommodate all of your guests, and that nothing is chipped or stained. By taking this step early, you’ll save yourself stress down the road. This will also get you thinking about the overall look of your table and what additional decorative items you may want to gather.

A good investment: all-purpose wine glasses
Set your table with water goblets and all-purpose wine glasses instead of both red and white wine glasses. This leaves your table looking much cleaner and less cluttered. Because Thanksgiving food does not automatically lend itself to red or white wines, you should offer your guests both.

The “trendy” wine of the holiday season is sparkling Shiraz from Australia.

Offer guests a memento of the meal
It is fun to give your guests a small gift, either at the table or as they’re leaving. This makes them feel welcomed and special, and helps them remember the evening. An easy and inexpensive gift is a copy of a family recipe that was served at the meal. Print the recipe on nice paper and roll into scrolls tied with pretty ribbon.

Table decorations: napkins
Another way to make your guests feel special is to add a little decoration at each seat at the table. On “The Early Show,” Ritchie shows how to fold a napkin to create a pocket in the front. She suggests placing a sprig of whatever you use for your centerpiece in the napkin pocket. Place the napkin on the dinner plate and suddenly the simple napkin has become a part of the table decoration.

Table decorations: centerpiece
Making your table beautiful is as easy as a trip to the farmer’s market or grocery store. Ritchie prefers decorating with the bounty of the season, pumpkins, leaves, etc., as opposed to flowers. This is an inexpensive decorating theme, and the elements are easy to find. The centerpiece on Ritchie’s table includes white pumpkins, squash, gourds and berries.

Don’t underestimate the table runner
Invest in a nice solid white tablecloth and let this be your starting point any time you set a formal table. Then, add a runner down the middle of the table. Table runners can be less expensive than tablecloths, and they look nice on a table alone during more casual affairs. You don’t even have to buy a table runner to create this effect. Fold a table cloth you already own in thirds and run it down the table. Ritchie also suggests using saris, sarongs or even simple pieces of fabric from the fabric store.

Thanksgiving means a family dinner with lots of good food and music to keep the party voices lively. Here’s a few Thanksgiving and Christmas-morning tease and a toasting-the-holidays treat tips.

How do you set up your house for Thanksgiving dinner?

If your dining room is too small for your extended family of 12 make the living room your dining room. It’s cozier by the fireplace, and all of you can sit at one long table, well, actually it may be two tables, with extensions, put together.

How do you set your holiday table?

Go all out with your family linens, china and silver. If the table is so long, takes several of your grandmother’s damask tablecloths, it looks really festive. Next comes her Wedgwood china from the 1940s with its big flowers, her Wallace sterling and Waterford crystal. You may even use place cards. Buy some nice ones and write out the names and get to choose where everyone sits.

Is there music?

During dinner there’s jazz, like Count Basie, but afterwards put on Christmas carols and oldies and everyone starts lip-syncing and goofballing around. Let’s just say Elvis’ and Jerrys’ songs are not out of the question. Classic oldies are a must.

Do you involve the family in cooking Thanksgiving dinner?

If you are married then both of you (husband/wife) do the turkey and all the trimmings. Your son or daughter can mash the potatoes; your sister brings the relish tray; your sister-in-law makes the rolls; and your mom makes the pumpkin pie. Let everyone do something, it unites the family! 

When time is short, do you have a favorite place to buy holiday party food?

Think about it! They may have all the stuff you love, cookies, chocolates and pastries,  fruits, or any other kind of food or drinks and even dessert plates. Make sure to note down their festive working hours schedule (shop opening/closing hours). 

What’s your family’s most amusing holiday tradition?

There’s got to be one! A friend once told me about their “Flaming Grapefruit”. For Christmas breakfast, his mother would serve each member of his family half a grapefruit on which she’d placed a liquor-soaked sugar cube that she’d light with a match. The deal was, the person whose flame lasted longest got to open the first present. The first flame out? That person opened the last one. He has two brothers and the older they got, the wilder it was around the table. They’d race around trying to blow out each other’s sugar cube and everyone else’s. So, of course, they still do it today. And then, there’s the wishbone garland.

The wishbone garland?

My friend’s Italian-cooking mother makes a lot of chicken soup during the year, and she saves the wishbones because she loves them. So her collection just grew and since they always needed all the good luck they could gather, she’ve been making them into a garland. It goes around their big neon heart that’s over the kitchen window.

Do you have a favorite holiday drink?

It may be your granddad’s Tom & Jerrys. Tom & Jerrys were the very special drink he prepared for their annual Christmas dinner party. You can still make them throughout the holidays and they’re especially great on Christmas Eve after midnight Mass. Think which is your favorite holiday drink and serve your family and guests a shot! 

The holidays are just around the corner and families will be getting together in celebration.

Whether it is your first attempt at hosting an event or your 20th, there always will be moments of tension. Proper hostess etiquette taught during the Gilded Age (1865 to 1901) and into the mid-1960s, can make the experience of entertaining much easier and more enjoyable. While some of the old rules or customs of that time period have changed, many of the rules of polite society still remain.

My family usually entertains adults in an adult setting so formal traditions are continued easily. However, I have fond memories of Christmas celebrations where the children sat at the adult table and used the good china, silver and glassware.

Preparing yourself and your table for the occasion can be a fun and rewarding experience. The holidays are a time when family and friends can come together and create or renew traditions for the celebration.

Your china cabinet might hold new or old family dinnerware, but there is a story behind each of your pieces, where, when and who made it, and how it is supposed to be used. Every item brought out of the cabinet is cleaned and polished before it gets put on display.

We have great fun coming across pieces of china, glassware or silverware that we may have picked up or inherited, and have no clue who bought it and what it was used for.

In today’s society, many individuals are familiar with the traditional five-piece place setting for silverware and china, but there are dozens of other pieces that can be added to complete your set. What food you regularly serve will help determine which additional pieces you might need.

When hosting a dinner party without entertainment, you might choose to serve the meal in courses. This gives the dinner a more elaborate atmosphere and helps with the timing of the evening. Each course should be presented about 20 minutes after the previous course.

This creates a more relaxed pace and environment for the guests with less on the table when the guest sits down. A table too crowded can be intimidating and leads to accidents.

(Read More)

How to set a dazzling table >
 
The goal is to create a specific ambiance from all the items that are placed on the table. The theme can be centered around the food to be served - for example, Mexican or Indian - in which case you would choose all sorts of objects that are in keeping with that motif.

For an Asian meal, chopsticks, bamboo place mats, bamboo sprouts, etc. would create a lovely effect. But the theme could also be dictated by the date of the meal: Christmas, Easter, New Year, Halloween… all occasions that give you an excuse to create a splendid table.

Consider using tablecloths, place mats, serviettes and napkin rings not only for their functional purpose, but also for their important decorative role: with their varied shapes and colours they contribute to the beauty of your table.

Sparkling silverware and glassware are also elements that add to the table’s appearance. Be sure to inspect each piece carefully, and wipe the cutlery with vinegar to make it shine.

Flowers are also an important part of making your table pretty. They provide a simple way of decorating. You can, for example, place a small bouquet on the plate of each guest as a sign of welcome. The overall effect should be one of harmony with the other elements of the table, particularly by tying into one colour scheme.

Flowers on the table

There’s nothing like flowers to brighten a table. The flowers can be natural or dried, depending on the season or your budget. Choose seasonal flowers if you can, because they will give a note of authenticity to your table.

Allow yourself to be guided by the colors in your tablecloth or dishes. You can compose a graduated palette based on the dominant tone or take a risk with colours that contrast with the principal color. If your table is already very colourful, opt for a bouquet in a single tone that will add a sophisticated touch to your decor. Don’t forget to add greenery to enhance the flowers. Avoid flowers with a very strong perfume. You may also want to add some fresh herbs that complement your menu (thyme, rosemary, bay or tarragon).

Usually the bouquet is placed in the middle of the table, where it can be seen from every angle. You can use any kind of vase, but it should not be so high that it will block your guests’ view. The maximum height of the bouquet should be 30 cm. The vase should not upstage the floral arrangement, but rather should complement it.

Candles

Candles on the table should be placed where they are not in the way and do not block guests’ view of one another.

Is the base of your candle too wide for the candlestick? Soak the base in very hot water before pushing it into the candlestick.

Do your candles look dull? Rub them with an old sock or nylon stocking to shine them up.

Do you have a problem with dripping candles? Try this old trick: pour salt in the hollow around the wick. The wax will mix with the salt and form a compact mass. You can also use a candlestick flange (a glass ring that holds in the wax).

Don’t store candles in the refrigerator. In fact, the cold may make them crack. Instead, store them flat in a box in a cool, dry place away from any light that could discolour them.

The indispensable table pad

Before setting your table, whether it is round, oval, square or rectangular, you should cover it with a table pad. This is a thick fabric cloth that you can make yourself or purchase. The padding helps keep your tablecloth on the table and protects your table against damage (hot plates, spilled wine, burns, etc.), adds body to your tablecloth and keeps down the clatter of dishes.

When you purchase a table pad, choose the appropriate length and width. There should be a 3 cm drop on each side. Buy a larger one if you plan to add leaves to your table.

How to choose a tablecloth

You don’t have to use a round tablecloth on a round table, or an oval tablecloth on an oval table. Instead, try a square tablecloth on a round table and a rectangular tablecloth on an oval table. They will fall and maintain their shape better. If this is what you decide to do, always check to make sure that the corners of the tablecloth are properly aligned with the table legs.

If you decide to layer two tablecloths, the bottom one should hang as low as possible, while the top one should cover mainly the tabletop with a 30-centimeter drop, approximately.

On a round table, you can use a second round or square tablecloth; on a square table you can place a square cloth diagonally over the first.

A tablecloth can never be too long or too wide. In general, plan to have a drop of between 25 and 35 cm (10 to 15 inches) on each side of the table. A natural fibre tablecloth will shrink from 8 to 10% the first time it is washed.

Setting the table

Place the knife to the right of the plate, with its blade pointing to the plate.

The fork is placed on the left, with the tip of the tines resting on the tablecloth (French style) or pointing up (English style). Place a knife-rest in front of the knife, but do not put the knife on it since it is clean.

If you are serving fish, place the fish utensils on either side of the other cutlery. If you are serving soup, the soup spoon goes to the right of the knife. Dessert and cheese cutlery is brought to the table when serving the dessert or cheese. You may also set it out in advance, between the glasses and the plate.

How to care for tablecloths

100% cotton and 100% linen tablecloths are easier to care for than synthetics which eventually yellow (if white) or grey.

Tablecloths are machine washable. When washing, remember to consider the fabric content and colour. Natural fibre tablecloths can tolerate a little bleach and hotter water than the others. Coloured tablecloths should be washed in cold water with detergent.
Hard-to-remove stains can be rubbed with a bit of detergent before washing.

It is easier to iron your tablecloth if it is still damp, or if it is dry, spray while you iron.

Store your ironed and folded tablecloths (right side folded in) on shelves, in a drawe or on hangers.

Cake servers

There are two types of cake servers. One has rounded sides and is used to serve already-cut pieces of cake. The other has a serrated side and is used to cut slices of cake or pie. Usually, this type of dessert is brought to the table uncut.

Foie gras knife

This type of knife, used for cutting foie gras, was recently invented in France by a major manufacturer. It is useful for serving foie gras because it has a long narrow blade. After dipping the very fine blade into hot water, it is immediately used to cut a perfect slice of foie gras. Pour the hot water into a carafe or tall pitcher.
 
Salad preparation

Salad greens should be torn into small pieces with your fingers and placed in a salad bowl that already contains the vinaigrette. Toss the salad just before serving. For an informal family meal, the salad can be tossed at the table. When eating salad, never cut it with your knife. Just use your fork, which is why the salad greens should be small and easy to eat.

Preparing a bed tray

Taking your time the day after a big party, stretching out luxuriously under the blankets, getting up late: that’s pure indulgence. To add to the enjoyment, why not eat breakfast in bed?

The ideal way to serve breakfast in bed is on bed trays with legs (foldable or fixed) for greater stability. If bed trays are not available, an ordinary tray will do. For two people, two separate trays are preferable.

Start by placing a lovely cloth napkin on the tray. Next, pour some cereal into a bowl or prepare a breakfast plate for toast or croissants that you will cover with a towel to keep warm. Next prepare a cup and saucer (for tea or coffee), a small spoon, an individual butter dish, a knife for spreading, a creamer and sugar bowl, and tiny cups for jam. An insulated teapot or coffeepot will keep your tea or coffee piping hot. To complete your tray: some fruit, a seasonal flower and the daily newspaper!