The Christmas tree is trimmed, gifts are wrapped, and the halls are decked! Now it’s time to spruce up your dinner table to keep your spirit bright. O come, all ye faithful, for JCPenney brings you all the neat tricks to set your table properly and help you understand the simple rules. Keep in mind that your menu choices will guide how you place the dinnerware. Whether you’re serving a gourmet meal made from scratch or dishing up store-bought appetizers and desserts, food will seem divine when presented on lovely dinnerware and platters. It’s time to treat your guests to a beautiful table.
| Place Them Right Your dinnerware will center each place setting. The large service plate acts as the underplate, sitting beneath the plate that holds the first course after that’s brought to the table. The service plate stays in its place through all subsequent courses until the plate that holds the main meal is served. At that point, you’ll exchange the two plates. The butter plate, a smaller plate, sits above the forks on the left side of the setting. Show off some personality with dinnerware that’s painted in colorful prints, intricate designs, or holiday classics. |  |
 | Perfectly Placed Flatware Once you have your service plate set, it’s time to move to the flatware. Place the largest dinner fork on the left side of the plate. From there, the smaller forks used for other courses need to be arranged according to when you’ll use them. |
Let’s Break it Down
- If you’re serving a fish course, the small fish fork goes to the left of the dinner fork since it will be the first fork in use. If the salad comes after your entrée, you’ll set the salad fork, another small fork, to the right of the dinner fork, so it’s next to the plate. On the other hand, if you’re serving the salad course followed by a fish course, all before you get to the entrée, arrange your forks in this order from left to right: salad fork, fish fork, and dinner fork.
- Your knife placement mirrors your forks. Place the large dinner knife to the right of the dinner plate. Some formal tables also use a salad knife. If you’re having salad following your main meal, place the salad knife next to the dinner plate and the left of the dinner knife. When you serve salad first and fish after that, the order for the knives is dinner knife, fish knife, and then salad knife.
- The butter knife is also an integral part of any formal table. This small knife goes on top of the butter plate. Make sure to place it on top of the plate diagonally and that the handle is on the right and the blade down.
- Don’t forget your spoons! You’ll likely serve either fruit or soup as your first course. You should place the accompanying spoon in that case to the right of your knives.
| Say Cheers! Glasses go to the right of your setting. Place glasses above the knives and spoons. You can use up to five glasses on a formal table, and again, you’ll place them in the order that they’ll be used. If you’re using more than three glasses, you can also put the smaller glasses in front. Place your water goblet right above the knives. To the right of that, put a white or red wine glass, depending on your choice for the meal. From there, place a champagne flute or sherry glass to the right of the wine glasses so you have something to go with your first course or to make a toast. Remember to remove the glassware used for each course at the end of that course. |  |
 | Dress the Table Napkins and tablecloths add the final elegant touch to your formal table, so make sure your setup is crisp. White linens are the most formal option, though some people today choose patterned or colorful tablecloths in tasteful styles. Before you start with the plates, glasses, and silverware, spread a tablecloth so that it hangs evenly at each side and end. Once you finish the arrangement, put your napkin on top of the service place. It’s also appropriate to place it on the left side of your forks; if you’re running low on space, you can put the napkin under the forks. |
Perfect for a meal at home that’s more than three courses, a formal table makes a holiday meal or dinner party something special. Show us your memorable meal by tagging at #AllAtJCP. Then, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see if you are featured.
