How To Set Any Christmas Table

Image by Jickie Torres

This is part of our Fa-La-La-La Farmhouse series! To get the free printables, sign up here!

Setting your Christmas table can be fun, or a pain, depending on what you’re using and how confident you are in your tablescape skills. But don’t worry! We’ve got a foolproof method for you that you can use for whatever theme or color scheme you want in your Christmas table.

Standing piece of galvanized metal cut into a Christmas tree shape — This fun galvanized Christmas tree by Mudpie would make a great addition to the centerpiece of your table.

Start With a Base and Centerpiece.

If you have a wood farmhouse table, skip a full tablecloth and opt for a runner, so you can show off the wood grain of your table. If you need to cover up your tabletop, start with a simple white tablecloth.

Then add a centerpiece. This can be arrangements of flowers, vases with fresh evergreens or even a few fun pieces like this one from MudPie. Arrange your centerpiece on the table so the tallest pieces are in the middle, and taper out to the smaller pieces on the sides.

Set of 4 cloth napkins, Ho Ho Ho — Napkins, like these from MudPie, can provide a pop of color to your Christmas table.

Set the Table.

This is the practical part. Layer plates at each place: a charger on the bottom, with a dinner plate and dessert plate on top. Add your napkins, cutlery and glassware. This is when the table can start to look a little crowded, so make sure you don’t have so many items in your centerpiece that you can’t fit glasses at each place.

Printable illustration by Lauren Rebbeck.

Add Place Cards

Your guests will need to know where to sit, and you can tell them with cute placecards! We’ve made a fun printable for you to use; sign up here to get it.

A Classic Holiday Home with Red, White and Gingerbread

Santa salt and pepper shakers for Christmas table — Fun little accessories like these salt and pepper shakers from Mudpie make for a cute accent to the Christmas table.

Fill With Accessories.

Now that you have all the necessities in place, fill in the Christmas table with additional accents. Add votive candles to your centerpiece, place a sprig of green on each plate, and add other small accents like salt and pepper shakers.

Beverage bucket for holiday entertaining — Make sure you know where you’ll be serving guests. Accoutrements like this beverage bucket from Mudpie will make your party festive.

Set up a Serve Station.

Finally, set up a serve station. You may not need this right away if your party or Christmas dinner is still a few weeks away, but it’s good to know where you’ll be serving your guests. Start pulling out the serveware you’ll need, whether that’s from the box in the attic, the top cupboard in the kitchen or an online store. Once you have that serve station set up, you’ll be ready to seat your guests!

Have you signed up for our Fa-La-La-La Farmhouse series yet? We’ll send you printables to help you get organized and inspired for the Christmas season! Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of farmhouse inspiration!

Tags

#christmas Christmas Decor entertaining Fa-La-La-La Farmhouse tablescape

Author Bio

Victoria Van Vlear

Victoria is a brand advisor, marketing strategist, writer and editor. She was the editorial director of American Farmhouse Style for almost 10 years, and now enjoys writing occasional articles for the magazine and receiving the beautiful copies in the mail. Victoria is also a wife and mom to three little ones: two on earth and one in heaven. With any (not so spare) time, she devours books, dabbles in fiction writing and works on her house. As a home décor enthusiast and DIYer herself, she knows what a little paint and patience can do for a room!