Having to cater to a larger crowd which is to gather around your dinner table for Christmas can make the task of setting the table that much more challenging, even if you’re the master of decorating your tree and your home for the season, let alone getting it to look as spectacular as you’d want it to!

We’ve put together a simple, three-step guide to make it much easier for you to create that WOW factor you’re undoubtedly looking for with the setting of your dinner table for Christmas.

Step 1: Decorating and Dressing the Table

Starting off with a totally “blank canvas” (take everything off the table), take into account how many people are going to be around for dinner, which will give you an indication of how much space you’ll need. Since your cutlery and crockery will be eating up a lot of space, when playing around with decoration ideas for your table, you have to consider how it will look with the cutlery and crockery forming part of it, as well as how much room it will be taking up.

Deploy a plain patterned or coloured table cloth to keep your table dressing simple if you suspect that you won’t have that much space left. That should be enough to dress the table a little differently and more elegantly than how you’d dress it for your regular dinners, otherwise the table can be dressed with beautiful coasters, accessories and placemats if you want to show off the table itself.

For longer tables or if you want to achieve both effects discussed, you can make use of a table runner. If you have the room to work with then you can apply both approaches uninhibited, combining your beautiful table cloth with spectacular, layered placemats of different sizes and textures. Make sure to stick to a colour scheme so that you offset the risk of things becoming too busy and chaotic.

Step 2: The Correct Way to Set the Table

Since Christmas time is all about family and fun, the regular rules and regulations of table setting can be bent and stretched to your liking, with the only real importance of setting the table correctly residing in the practicality of the exercise.

Take a leaf out of the books of the restaurants you visit to learn how to correctly set a table, taking special care of your place setting.

Step 3: Adding the Finishing Touches

Ultimately, setting a table for Christmas which looks fit for the spectacular occasion while taking nothing away from the practicality is all about the number of people who will be enjoying the occasion with you, and how you balance out your tableware and table dressing. It’s perhaps an exercise you’ll have to take through a trial-run in more of a visual sense to match the picture you have in your head, because what might work mentally may not necessarily translate practically.

Don’t be afraid to add your own special touches to the more classic table setting and dressing traditions!