Christmas: Impress guests with a well-set table

Christmas is here again and so it is time to have guests over at your house for a party or a simple get-together.

It also means that as a host or hostess, you need to ready yourself with charm and most importantly, a befitting dining table to wow your guests.

The tip behind setting a table starts from having the right silverware, and if you don't have any right now, you may consider going shopping for it.

"The cutlery should be good silver or new to bring out the sparkle. You need to polish it well," says Janet Nabwire of Bridals Bouquet by Janet in Kampala.

In order not to get it wrong, Nabwire says the order of cutlery on the table should be able to guide the guests as to what piece(s) to use for each course of the meal.

"You put the dinner plate in the centre and place the forks on the left and place knives and spoons on the right. The knife blades should face the plates and the forks facing up," she says, adding that the order of cutlery should be from big to small.

Since this is the Christmas season, Nabwire suggests that hosts can consider Christmas colours. "A Christmas table should have a few traditional decorations in the red, green and gold. Or you can two of the colours or even one, whichever looks classier to you," she says.

Warm mood
To create a warm mood that is imperative when hosting guests, Nabwire swears by candles.

"These lift up the room and they make a statement even as a centrepiece," she says.

Depending on the colour scheme in your home and on the table, you can use coloured candles such as red, gold and green to drive the theme further.

Alternatively, if you don't want candles, you can dim the lights so that you have a warm look akin to candles that can create a bit of silhouettes and yet enough to see your guests.

Napkins
According to Nabwire, napkins are very vital at the dinner table. They can also add an artistic touch to the general look of the table if you know how to fold them into shapes. In case you don't know how, you can try online searches for quick tutorials on how to fold napkins into a butterfly, swan, envelope…or any shape you want and find easy to make.

"If you hire waiting staff, they can simply place it on you and your guests as soon as you sit at the table. Or if you don't have waiters, then the guest of honour is always the first to pick up the napkin," she says.

She adds that the napkins are either placed on the left of the forks or on the main plate, and it is not necessary to fully open the napkin; just fold it in half.

As etiquette demands, the napkins are never used to blow the nose or wipe off lipstick she says. "The napkin should remain on your lap throughout the meal," says Nabwire.

However, she says that serviettes are rarely used if you plan on having a fancy dinner. Nabwire says serviettes are better left for quick meals.

"Napkins or serviettes should be of a neutral colour, not bright and they can be folded into a simple rose or squares or triangles," says Nabwire.

Glassware
Ordinarily, Nabwire says one wine glass is used along with a water goblet as glasses. The glasses can be arranged in a straight line, parallel to the edge of the table or diagonally angled towards the edge of the table.

"The water glass or goblet is placed closest to the hand, near the knife, and the wine glass is placed to the right of the water glass," she says.

She says a water glass should be plain, simple, basic and straight; a curved glass works best for juice and the bowl glass with a stem for wine.   "When serving wine, the glass should be half," she says.

Flowery delight
Flowers or plants are an added bonus on the dining table because they brighten it up. In addition, depending on the scent they give off, they can relax guests, but be careful on the type you use. This is because some guests may find, say lavender, offensive and others may have allergic reactions.

To play it safe, you can go for flowers or plants that don't have a scent such as lucky bamboo or hyacinth in tasteful vases.

Fruity pleasure
Nabwire says the dining should have fruit that guests can easily pick and eat as they wait for the meal. It can be placed in an artistic basket or a glass bowl.

"Small flowers (very small) like roses placed in small pots on edges of the table can also be used to make the table look beautiful throughout the dinner or lunch," she says.

The table should also have clean placemats in front of each seat when it is time to serve.

Dishes
For the dishes, Nabwire says they should be from one set or a similar set to look organised. "They should be beautiful dishes that make food look appetising, and big enough for food not to pour or drop on the table when a guest is serving," she says.

The serving plates also come in different sizes, and Nabwire suggests that if one is serving a 3-course meal, the table should have the three plates for each course. "They will be small, big and bigger plates," she says.

She adds that the chairs and table should be placed well enough to allow easy standing up without knocking the table and disorganizing other users.