Christmas On The Table, Start With The Dinnerware

Christmas is here once again and, as the song goes, it's the happiest time of the year. You will want throw dinner parties for family and friends as well as officemates and neighbors in the run-up to the big day itself. Your fine dinnerware will once again see action on the table and, therefore, you have yet another opportunity to impress others with your excellent tastes.

But before you can impress others and bring Christmas to the dining table, you must choose the right dinnerware in the first place. Your five-piece set of Oneida Juilliard spoons, forks and knife is impressive, yes, but only when it complements the rest of the dinnerware.

Choose the Theme

The first logical step in selecting the right dinnerware is to choose the Christmas-related theme. You need not be bound to the stereotypical Santa Claus theme as the holidays present so many opportunities to play around with where your dinnerware is concerned.

Your final choice depends on many factors like the budget for the purchase of new china, the prevailing theme in the house, and the level of formality of the dinner parties on the calendar, to name a few. In short, it is your personal preferences, tastes and themes that rule the day.

Anyways, your choices in Christmas themes include colors of the season, angels, nativity scenes, snowmen, penguins, polar bears, and even licensed characters for kid-focused parties. You may even use the same dinnerware for different dinner parties with different themes simply by adding in a few relevant accessories like new napkins, table decorations and, of course, the dishes.

Choose the Dinnerware

Now, when you have chosen the theme for the dinner party, you can start going through your fine dining sets from the plates and glasses to the forks and spoons. To make your choosing easier, you can lay out a couple of pieces on the table, look them over and then select the set with the most suitable fit to the theme.

Well, of course, you can always reverse the process. Your existing dinnerware will dictate the theme of the dinner party from the table accents to the room decorations. This is a more affordable option especially when you want to focus on the dishes.

But if you want to extend your dinnerware collection - it is an investment, after all - then by all means, purchase new ones. Think of the Oneida Easton silverware and other fine china as gifts for yourself.

Just be sure that the dinnerware selected adheres to the level of formality of the dinner party. As a general rule, formal dinner parties require at least 5 pieces of dinnerware for each guest while casual settings only have 4 pieces.

Choose the Table Accents

Dinnerware is not all there is to setting the table for Christmas and we all know it. You also have to look for table accents to spruce things up, said accessories of which can include tablecloths and runners, cloth napkins and napkin rings, place cards and centerpieces from candles to flowers.

When you have laid out everything on the table, you will be able to admire your handiwork. Your guests will take one look at it and, hopefully, get in on the spirit of the season. Now, for the food but that's another story.