Tips For Making Your Celebratory Table Extra Special This Year
If you’re hosting holiday celebrations this year, you’re likely to be spending a lot of money (an eye-watering $2,577 each on average*), buying a pile of gifts, cooking mounds of food – and feeling very stressed. Whether you’re celebrating Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah or Valentine’s Day, the big celebration comes down in the end to just one special meal, when friends and family (or your beloved) sit down at your table to enjoy your hospitality and company.
If you’re preparing for a big celebration and want to make your table looks like a million dollars without all of the stress, we’re here to help. Our experts have put together an easy guide to planning the perfect celebratory table – and you’ll be happy to hear that the key to it all is to keep it simple! Here are a few tips to get you started.
Theme and color
Having an overall theme can really help with planning effective table decorations. This can be as complex as a “woodland” (for spring or Easter) or “polar” theme (for Christmas or Hanukkah), or as simple as a set of three theme colors – as long as you keep in mind the 60:30:10 rule. This means 60% of your table and decorations should be the dominant color (often – but not always - a neutral or pastel), 30% a secondary color, and 10% a bright accent color.
Mood
Set the mood – and get the party started – by using both fragrance and music to engage your guests’ senses. Choose a natural fragrance if possible, but scented candles work brilliantly too – just avoid overly artificial or pungent scents that could overpower your dinner. Spring-like fragrances such as jasmine and citrus are great for Easter, pumpkin is perfect for Halloween, and cinnamon is one of the scents people most associate with the Christmas holidays.
Then make sure you have some music playlists ready to go – you can’t go wrong with a mix of old and new hits, whether your theme is spooky, festive or romantic.
The centerpiece
The centerpiece is arguably the most important element on the table – but you don’t need to spend fifty dollars on fresh blooms. Instead, fill a big mason or apothecary jar with simple string lights, festive ornaments or fruit – or have a string of smaller jars filled with lights running down the center of the table. Alternatively, fill a tiered container with seasonal flowering plants, such as roses (of course) for Valentine’s Day, lilies for Easter and poinsettia for the winter holidays.
Place settings
The key here is keeping it simple – choosing a set of complementary colors and a theme to coordinate everything. Save money and create a chic crafted look with place cards and napkin holders made from recycled cards or wrapping paper – you’ll be helping the environment too.
Tablecloth
Keep the tablecloth plain to avoid a cluttered look, although do get creative with a few seasonal scatters. Get the kids to paint some pine cones in bright or metallic colors, or use mini cookies, chocolate eggs or candy canes as edible scatters.
Seating
If you’ve got the world and his wife coming over for dinner, you might need to draft in some chairs from other areas of the home. Disguise mismatching seats by covering the backs with cloth in seasonal colors (matching the tablecloth – remember the 60:30:10 rule), or wrapping with sashes or bows.
Greenery
Your choice of greenery will depend on the season, but the key is to have accents of greenery rather than a forest! Try using evergreen herbs and fragrant fruit alongside (or instead of) more traditional greenery for a unique look and subtle scent. Avoid too much prickly foliage such as holly, though, as it can make reaching for the side dishes a little painful!
For more tips and fun facts, have a look at our holiday table decorations infographic.
* Based on the National Retail Foundation's figure of total holiday spending of $832.7bn for 2015-16, divided by the estimated US population.
