How to Set a Table

Have you invited your elegant friends to dinner, but find yourself at a loss when it comes time to arrange the silverware?
How to Set a Table takes you through the process. From choosing a tablecloth to placing the oyster forks, you'll know just what to do.

Formal Table Setting - How to Set a Table

This video walks you through the process of setting a formal table. The video suggests starting with elegant taper candles and candlesticks, preferably of different sides. Then place the dinner plates. Silver for each course should be laid out. Place the silver ware in the order in which you're doing to use it from the outside in.

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Introduction
- Whether you're having a casual get-together or are planning a more formal gathering, it's good to know how to set a table. Believe it or not, every little fork and spoon has its own proper place. Impress your dinner guests with the correctness of your table and test their knowledge of dinner party etiquette.
Step 1: Determine the Number of Diners
- Obviously, you're not going to put down twenty table settings if only four people will be eating. The first thing you need to know before setting the table is how many people will attend the meal.
- If you're trying to decide how many people to invite and who to invite, see Mahalo's guide How to Throw a Dinner Party for advice.
1. Make sure that your table is large enough to accommodate everyone comfortably. If plates are too close together, there will not be enough room for silverware, not to mention your guests' elbows!
2. Include a full place setting (plates, silverware, glasses, napkin) for each diner.
3. Place cards are a good idea if you're inviting a lot of people.
Step 2: Gauge the Formality of the Occasion
- How you set the table will also depend on how formal the occasion is. If you're having dinner with your immediate family, only the simplest arrangement of place settings is necessary. If you're serving a super formal dinner for visiting dignitaries, you'll want to get a little more fancy. For the most part, though, it's best to keep things simple, as overly-complicated table settings can appear absurd or pretentious.
Step 3: Pick a Tablecloth
- You don't absolutely need a tablecloth, especially for very informal meals. However, a pretty tablecloth does improve the aesthetics of the room and can help to keep your table clean as well. Good Housekeeping has some tips for choosing a tablecloth:
1. Your tablecloth and napkins should be color coordinated. They don't have to match, but they definitely shouldn't clash.
2. Make sure your tablecloth is big enough for your table. It should hang over the edges of the table, dropping about 10-15 inches, depending on the occasion.
Step 4: Choose China and Silverware
- The china and silverware you use will also depend on the formality of your meal. A formal dinner provides a great opportunity to show off your grandmother's china, while a lunch with kids in attendance calls for sturdier plates.
1. MarthaStewart.com suggests mixing and matching plates and silverware from your collections for formal dinners. Just make sure it all ties together. Everything should be proportional and equally formal or informal.
2. For a family dinner, you probably only need one fork, knife, and spoon for each diner, no matter how many courses you serve. If you're not serving anything that requires a spoon, don't bother setting one.
3. For more formal occasions, include separate silverware appropriate for each course. Guests should have separate forks and knives for salad, appetizer, main course, and dessert.
Step 4: Place the Plates
- According to MarthaStewart.com, the only plates that should be part of a place setting are a "charger" and a bread plate.
1. Space chargers evenly around the table. The charger goes directly in front of each seat, in the center of the place setting, and is mainly decorative. The dish containing the first course is set on top of the charger when it is served. The charger is taken away when the main course is put on the table.
2. Put bread plates above and to the left of the charger.
3. If you want to serve salad on a separate plate, it goes to the left of the forks.
Step 5: Place the Silverware
- Generally, you should work from the outside in, placing silverware according to the order of use. Guests will use the silverware farthest away from the plate first and work their way in as the courses progress. In other words, if you're serving salad before the main course, the salad fork goes farther away from the plate than the dinner fork. The Emily Post Institute has some great diagrams of place settings for your reference.
1. Place knives to the right of the charger with the blades facing the plate. However, butter knives are placed on the bread plate, and steak knives tend to be brought out with the appropriate course.
2. Place spoons to the right of the knives. The dessert spoon can also go horizontally above the charger.
3. Forks go on the left, below the bread plate. One exception to this rule is the oyster fork, which goes to the right of the spoons.
Step 6: Place the Glasses
- It's a good idea to have one glass for each different beverage you serve. For instance, don't pour white wine into the same glass that you used for red wine.
1. Glasses go above and to the right of the main plate.
2. The water glass always goes above the knives.
3. Glasses can be placed according to their size. The smaller the glass, the farther to the right and the closer to the diner it will go. Generally, the order is:
  1. Water glass
  2. Champagne flute
  3. Red wine glass
  4. White wine glass
  5. Dessert wine or sherry glass
4. Or they can be placed in order of use, like the silverware.
5. Omit any of the above glasses that you don't need.
6. If you're going to bring the dessert things in later, bring the dessert wine glass at the same time.
Step 7: Place the Napkins
- Don't forget to put napkins on the table. Cloth napkins are elegant, but if you're serving something informal and messy, like buffalo wings, you might want to supply an abundance of paper ones, instead.
1. Either fold your napkins or secure them in napkins rings.
2. Place napkins on the center plate or to the left of the forks.
Step 8: Set the Table for Dessert
- You have a couple options for dessert settings:
1. Always remove plates, silverware, and glasses (except the water and dessert wine glasses) from previous courses before you serve dessert. Don't forget to clear the salt and pepper shakers.
2. You can place dessert silverware horizontally above the charger when you set the table before the meal. If you're serving a dessert wine, the glass should be set next to the other glasses. It will be the smallest glass, farthest to the right.
3. Or you can bring in dessert things on a tray after the rest of the meal.
4. Coffee is often served at the end of a meal. Usually, the coffee cup, saucer, cream, and sugar are brought in only when it is time for dessert. They should be set to the right of the glasses, above the knives and spoons.
Conclusion
- Now you're ready to impress all your friends and family with your elegant place-setting savvy. You'll also have a leg up on the competition if you ever decide to become a waiter or waitress. Make sure your table manners are just as polished: read Mahalo's guide on How to Use Proper Dinner Party Etiquette before your next dining engagement.
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