For some, it might be a bit soon to be talking about Christmas, and for others, it might be acceptable whatever time of year it is! Regardless of people’s opinions on Christmas itself, this time of year is the perfect time to start planning your dining room for a stress-free Christmas Day! Juliettes Interiors put together a list of factors to consider when preparing your dining room for Christmas.

Choose your perfect dining table

The first and most important step is to have your dining table ready – if you don’t already have a dining table or want to change it, this must be done as soon as possible or it may not arrive in time.

Below are some tips and factors to consider when choosing a dining table:

Ensure there is plenty of room for anybody and also options/space for additional seating.

Consider your current interior style and choose a design which will compliment it e.g., modern or traditional.
Find and order chairs at the same time to ensure they go well together – keep comfort as well as style in mind for your chairs.

Consider different shapes and try to choose one that will complement the room and space available. Pro Tip: If you have a lot of sharp angles and ‘square’ items in the room, a circular or oval ended dining table could be a nice way to break this up.

Plan your Christmas table setup

Once you have the perfect dining table, you can now start to plan your Christmas table settings and layout.

Choose a complimentary Christmas colour scheme

The first and most important step when deciding on your table setup and decor is to choose your colour scheme. Perhaps you’re more traditional and want to go with reds, golds and green. you want to keep a more modern look to your table and choose white and silver, or just want to have some fun and decide to go all out, you can even try pink and blue.

If you’re stuck on a Christmas colour scheme this year, try and choose a colour scheme that compliments your home’s current colour scheme – although Christmas decor is only out for a month (or maybe even less for some) you shouldn’t have to deal with clashing colours around your home unless that’s the look you’re going for.

Below are some examples of complementary colours based on existing home colour schemes:

Neutral Colours – If your home is made up of neutral colours, it’s a good idea to continue this into your Christmas decor as it will fit seamlessly – try more neutral tones such as crystal clear, white, silver, champagne, and gold (in whichever combination you think will go best with your neutral tone). If you’d like to add a pop of colour, icy blue goes perfectly with white/grey tones.

Darker Colours – If you have used darker colours such as black, navy, or forest green in your home, using gold and/or copper within your Christmas decor would compliment these colours perfectly – you could even mix metals and use gold and silver. If you want a pop of colour within your Christmas decor, rust orange is a great option as it goes perfectly with many rich, dark colours, especially forest green. These colours are also perfect if you did want to go a more traditional route as red will pair well with navy and black, or darker wood tones.

Pastel Colours – If your home is made up of pastel colours (e.g., pastel pink, blue, mint) silver and white go perfectly with all pastel colours and will make your home look like a winter wonderland for Christmas. If you’re hoping to add another pop of colour, then opt for other pastel colours which will compliment your main interior colour – if your interior is pastel blue then pastel pink decor will tie perfectly into this.

Once you have your colour scheme decided, you can move on to dressing your table.

Choose your table runner/cloth

The first thing you lay on your dining table is a table runner or cloth. Table runners are simply a fabric that runs just down the centre of your table and table cloths cover the whole thing. We feel table runners are a better option as they don’t hide any of your beautiful dining table. The most important part of choosing a table runner or cloth is to ensure they’re the right size for your table. To work this out for a runner, measure the width of your table and divide it by three and for a table cloth, measure from the centre of your table outward, then multiply the measurement by two.

Choose your centrepiece

Once you have dressed your table with a runner or tablecloth, you can move on to selecting the perfect centrepiece.

Often, your perfect centrepiece will depend on the shape and size of your table – if you have a large circular table, then one large centrepiece placed bang in the centre will work well. If you have a longer, rectangular table then you could either have one centrepiece but ensure it isn’t too wide and gets in your guest’s way, or you could have a few centrepieces along the table – it’s completely up to you, just keep the table space in mind.

Some popular Christmas centrepiece ideas include:

A vase of baubles
Mini Christmas trees
Candles and or tea lights
Holly and acorns
A low-hanging light
Wreaths and feathers

Choose your place settings

Last but certainly not least, your guests must have a table setting each. This should include a placemat, plates, napkins, cutlery, and glasses.

Similarly to table runners, placemats could either be the same colour as your interior so that you can use them all year round, or you could opt for your Christmas colour scheme or a Christmassy design. On top of the placemats should be the plates for meals. Traditionally, place setting should be set up the following way:

A dinner plate should be on the placemat with a side plate stacked on top followed by a bowl to finish. There should be a water glass to the left and a wine glass to the right above the placemat. As for cutlery, forks should be laid on the left of the plates, with the one that will be being used last the closest to the plate – the bread plate should be above the forks. Knives should be on the right-hand side and in the same order as the forks, as well as any spoons that aren’t dessert spoons, which should be placed above the plates.

When placing your napkins, they can be put on top of the plates, or to the side – try getting creative with your napkins and folding them into a Christmassy shape, or invest in some napkin rings to add an extra layer of elegance.

Finishing touches

Once the above steps are in place, you can begin adding finishing touches to truly make your dining table magical for Christmas and impress your guests.

Once you have selected your centrepiece, you can include complimentary decoration around the table to make it look truly dressed for Christmas (but remember to make sure there’s still plenty of space!) Dot some tea light candles around the table, preferably ones with wintery scents, intertwine fairy lights across the table or scatter some acorns of faux berries around.

Depending on how many guests you have and if you want people sat in a certain place, you can add name cards on top of the stacked plates – try and find place cards that match your colour scheme or have a Christmassy design. You could also include a small gift for guests and make these your place cards – gift wrap a small keepsake such as a candle, chocolates, alcohol etc., and add a label with each person’s name to double up as a place card.

It might feel like you have a ton of time to organise your dining room for Christmas, however, it will soon come around and it’s best to be prepared and not panic closer to the time.