Table Decoration

Christmas is the time when your family gathers around the dinner table with lot of expectation. It is a precious memory that is to be treasured forever. Christmas dinner is a time for families, as many generations as possible. It is traditional to sit down at the table in the late afternoon or early evening and proceed through the courses at a leisurely pace for a couple of hours or so.

Tradition and some amount of formality gives everyone a sense of occasion and will make this Christmas dinner to remember. Use your best china, crystal and silver and lay the places according to your menu and serving method.

If you plan to carve and serve formally, do not lay dinner plates at each place but stack them on a buffet table or at the host's place and pass laden plates to each person in turn.

Candles make a meal extra-special, even if it is still light outside. Silver candles are always in good taste and look elegant in matching candlesticks tied with a ribbon. To prevent smoking and ensure even burning, trim the candle wick to one-fourth inch before lighting it.

While selecting the food and ingredients on your menu, remember that each person gets a generous share and some for leftovers. You would not be in a bad shape if someone asks for a second or third helping.

Go over your recipes in advance and make a menu list. Visualize the preparation procedures in advance too. Get older children to help serve and clear dishes. If your timing is a little off and your guests have to wait, do not worry. This is a family occasion to be enjoyed by everyone-you included.

Some greenery around the dining area also looks pleasing to the eye and increases one's appetite. A swag running down the center of the table is a sumptuous and theatrical reminder of an age of grand entertaining.

Twist together traditional mix of greenery, including ivy, juniper and few berries along with rich red chrysanthemums and organza bows. If you are not setting places at the ends of the table, make the swag long enough to hang over the edges.

Fold crisply starched linen napkins into a fan shape. Lay them at each place with a name card tied with a glass ornament and a gold ribbon for that elegance and style on the table.

While serving the menu, it is important to note that a traditional meal has luxurious five courses. It should be savored slowly. Serve your appetizers on a tray with fore-dinner drinks in the living room.

Place the first course on the table before the guests come into the dining room. Have water glasses already filled. Those serving wine or fruit juice at the table can pour it themselves or have someone do it for you.

As regards the main course, when the plates for the first course have been removed, bring along your main dish. Pass the other side dishes along too-such as vegetables, potatoes, gravy and so on-around the table.

The next turn would be of the dessert. Clear the table of anything not needed for the dessert. Bring the pudding or the sweet dish you made to the table along with the plates. Serve the individual portions and pass around the table.

After dessert, serve some coffee in demitasse cups along with chocolate mints.

If you come from an ethnic background, have at least one dish from the old country to keep family traditions alive. The same goes for decorations and other customs. By combining various elements of different heritages, your family will develop its own unique celebration of Christmas.

Remember to take plenty of photographs and make a collage of the best shots to copy and send to everyone. These tips would help to make you the most unforgettable host .