A few months ago I was out in Dallas with just Margaret for her big Christmas gift from Santa. She had asked to visit friends and we had the best mother-daughter trip before all of this COVID craziness was on our front doorsteps. Curtis stayed back in Florida with baby Catherine and one night while his mom was also out of two, his Dad came over to cook dinner – just two bachelors and a baby. My FIL Is easily one of the best cooks I know. To eat his food is to be assured a delicious treat. Curtis sent me a picture of their plates that night – the table set with torn, scraggly paper towels – with the caption, “the table is set” and I literally laughed out loud. Not being a meanie here – he sent me that picture on purpose because he knows how much I love a good tablescape and would find their “efforts” amusing. In fact when we plan a party I am way more interested in setting the table than I am in cooking the meal and luckily he picked up some kitchen skills from his father. Obviously I do what I have to do for the sake of the party, but really the food is just the vehicle for pretty centerpieces and place cards – not to mention I’ll take any reason to get together with friends and loved ones and am eager for that normalcy to return!
So cut to life at home. Some days we are on paper plates and with paper towels or eating out of the take-out container. We’re scarfing down our food, or eating in shifts, or standing at our kitchen bar getting whatever we can get because the day got crazy! But other days, a pretty table is just the mood lifter I need and Margaret enjoys it too!
Here are some of my go-to strategies for setting tables:
Layer More is more is more! Layer prints, textures, china patterns, glassware, napkin rings, etc! Mix and match patterns. Especially when it is for something more “casual” – I mean I’m not hosting any state dinners here – have fun with it! This lemon table cloth is a bright and fun base layer. The blue runner was lovingly made by Curtis’s grandmother and is so special to use. I love the Caspari felt-backed place mats. I wish I could find these exact ones but we have others too that add such a nice layer of color like these.
Place cards Why not have place cards on a Tuesday? Sometimes making the place cards is Margaret’s activity. I’ll cut up white card stock and let her watercolor the place cards. Once they dry either I write the names or she does, depending on her mood at that point! Otherwise we have a bunch of these laser cut wood place cards. I actually got them when we were still living in Dallas and had regular rotating Sunday night dinners with some of our best friends. Since I knew we’d have the regular crew around I went ahead and got some for everyone to break out when it was our turn to host.
Centerpiece Fun Think outside of the norm! Cluster together similar vases whether you have flowers or not. Trim greenery from outside and put it in jelly jars or julep cups. Make it a theme like “Under The Sea” or “Racing” and gather things from around the house. For my FILs birthday last summer, a big NASCAR fan, we propped up his place cards with little toy cars from the girls’ collection and had more cars clustered together down the center of the table. In this tablescape pictured I used herbs we had on the kitchen counter and ceramic lemons I keep in the front living room. While I love fresh flowers, they’re not a requirement for a beautiful table.
Bring on the Joy What do you love? For me, I love cloth napkins. So much so that the washing and ironing is worth it. Unless we’re talking like a mountain of napkins because actually that’s more of a nightmare! But I mean on a Thursday, a few extra pieces of laundry especially the kind that makes me happy, is worth it. Here is an option for a set of 24 white hemstitched napkins for under $30! But it doesn’t have to be napkins! Maybe fun, printed paper goods will do the trick. Or light some candles and dim the lights! Some background music even! If you’re in a slump, take a few minutes and make dinner a little special with something that will bring you joy.
