Preparing For Holiday Entertaining: Tableware

Have your China prepared and ready to go.

You might have a set of China that’s packed up in a box or some mismatched plates that you’ve accumulated over the years, but before the holiday season begins, pull out all of the items you currently own and see what you might be missing. Miss-matched China, or several mixed patterns, can make a great holiday table if the colors work well together. It might be that you just have to add a few pieces to pull them all together. That’s why it’s important to pull everything out to see what you have. One set of China, or dishes can be used for various holidays and mixed with other things to create a different look.

Decide what tableware items you need to supplement.

You might have a variety of dinner plates that work well together, and you might want to add some smaller salad plates or dessert plates that work well with the patterns you already have. You could also add white plates, mixed with a variety of other items you have, to allow you some flexibility and create numerous different looks when you’re setting a table for entertaining. The key is knowing all of your items can work well together.

If you’re starting from scratch, choose white dinner plates and white salad plates.

This will allow you to mix and match with some of the items you might add to your table and also give you the ability to use different color schemes with glassware and table linens. You could also add different patterned plates to your white items for a variety of looks.

The quick and easy way to create a beautiful holiday table is to add accessories like candle holders and decorative items.

These pieces can be purchased rather inexpensively and can be used to mix and match to create different looks, even though you are using the same China items on the table. If you have a few candle holders that are different heights, this will allow you to mix and match easily.

Look to see if you have the table linens that you will need for the look you would like to create.

If you have solid white China, you have limitless possibilities with the selection of linens. You could use holiday prints or any solid or metallic tablecloths, placemats, or napkins.

Glassware and flatware.

Pull out all your glassware and flatware. See what works with your China, and where you need to supplement. Decide on the colors that work best for the looks that you would like to create. Clean and store these items until it’s time to design your tablescape.

Until Next Time,

Gia