Table Setting Tips for the Ultimate Host/Hostess 2023

Hosting a gathering at your place and inviting people over is a lot of work and can be very stressful as well – but with all the dinner prep, forgetting to set your table properly is like losing an opportunity for your hard work to stand out. Believe it or not, your table setting skills and how you present your house or serve the food say a lot about you and your etiquettes.

While being casual with cutlery placement and servicing dishes is alright if it's just your family and friends, when you're hosting a formal party or have guests over for a gathering, you have to be extra careful with your presentation. Hence today, we decided to share three different types of table settings and some tips you can use to decorate your table accordingly.

So without further ado, let's learn some tips for setting your table for a basic, casual and formal gathering!

Tips for Different Types of Table Setting

Basic Table Setting

Your basic table setting is for your every meal, such as your daily dinner with your family or a small weekend breakfast with your siblings. In the basic table setting, you need to place the following items accordingly:

● A dinner plate in the center, in front of each chair

● A glass of water on the top right corner of the plate

● A knive on the right side of the plate

● The fork and the napkin and on top of it at the left of the plate

Since this is a basic table setting, you are not expected to serve desserts, so there is no need to place any cutlery for it. Moreover, you can also change the arrangement a bit for the setting as per your guests' ease because it's not formal.

Casual Table Setting

A casual table setting is quite similar to a basic table setting, but it is for more significant gatherings. You can use this table setting for a small brunch get-together with your friends or having your colleagues over for a dinner party. In the casual table setting, you have to place more items and arrange them in the following manner:

● Place a plate in the center with a salad plate and then a soup bowl on top of it. If the table is big enough, you can also place the salad plate with the soup bowl in it beside the dinner plate.

● Next, keep the knife and spoon on the right and the fork with the napkin on the left of the plate, just like you did earlier.

● Along with a water glass, keep a wine glass on the top right corner of the plate as well.

● The best thing about a casual table setting is that there is a lot of room for creativity and experimentation.

You can try funky colored cutlery and play around with different looks. Adding cute napkin rings such as our fruit napkin rings is also a great idea to do something out of the box. You can keep different types of glasses, such as champagne flutes and wine glasses – without a problem because it's your time to shine!

How to set your Table | The Shop'n Glow

Formal Table Settings

This is when you have to be careful and not too experimentative. This is often done at fine dining restaurants or formal business dinner parties. A formal table includes a lot of extra items, and they should be placed in a proper manner, such as:

● This time, you add a salad fork along with a regular dinner fork on the left side of the table

● Place a charger in the center – it is a large decorative plate for formal settings. Place a soup bowl on top

● Add a bread plate with a bread knife placed horizontally on it. Place these items on top between the napkin and the plate

● Don’t forget to add a dessert spoon and plate right above the dinner plate

● Add salt and pepper shakers on the top, in the center, as well

● Add a variety of glasses – at least three for water, red wine, and white wine

● Don't forget to add a classy napkin ring on the napkins – otherwise, fold the napkin in a fancy manner

A formal table setting might require you to be on your toes all the time because once one course is done, it is best to remove the used cutlery and prepare the table for the second course.

Conclusion

Table setting is very important when you are hosting a gathering at your place. As a host or hostess, you need to be careful with presenting your house – especially your dining area and dining table. If you plan to host a party at your place soon and need to buy some cool items for home décor and table setting – visit The Shop'n Glow now!

June 03, 2022 — Gloria Kucich Dearmas

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