Christmas dining: decoration ideas for your table
Want to give your Christmas dining table decor the ‘wow-factor’ this year? Try our simple styling tips and create a festive masterpiece.
Image: Amara
So the Christmas tree is up, the presents have been bought and wrapped and the Christmas food order has been placed – so you’re all set for Christmas Day right?
Now’s the time to turn your attention to those extra details that make for a perfect festive period, and where better to start than by giving your dining room a festive makeover?
Finding the right balance between creating a beautiful space and leaving enough room on the table for the cranberry sauce can be tricky, but with our styling tips for your table you can create a Christmas table that will impress your guests with ease.
Use a centrepiece
Image: Good Homes
Any easy way to give your dining table instant impact is to get creative with a centrepiece. While you may not want to go all out like our rainbow Christmas tree centrepiece from the Winter Carnival Good Homes room set, something simple like a tiered cake stand can make a great centre of your dining table when dressed with festive flourishes.
Create levels with your styling
Image: DFS
They key to dressing yoru table to impress is to think about layers and levels. Stack side plates and bowls on top of dinner plates when laying the table, and why layer napkins with sprigs of foliage or decorations? Choose decorations of different heights so that the table décor doesn’t fall flat. Overloading on candles is a Christmas tradition, but combine candlesticks and tealights holders to create different levels.
One big trend for this year is to use a hanging decoration over the dining table, so we’ve picked a few of our favourite DIY hanging decoration projects for you to try.
Choose a garland for a cohesive look
Image: Matalan
If you’re trying to marry together electic pieces on your dining table that you’ve collected over the years, a garland will be your best friend. Run it along the length of the table, weavin gin and out of your candlesticks and decorations for an easy way to unite the scheme. If you’re mixing and matching a lot of colours, choose something neutral or that is used as a base throughout to help the look come together.
Make simple place settings
Image: John Lewis & Partners
Place settings are just a little bit ‘extra’, but why not? It’s Christmas, afterr all. You may not have the time to go overboard with creating a super ornate name place, but we love this simple idea of tieing a gift tag around the napkin with a spring of festive rosemary.
Set the scene with lighting
Image: Lights4fun
When it comes to create ambience, lighting is everything. Christmas is all about being cosy, as well as all things twinkly, so use candles (whether real or LED versions) along with fairy lights to supplement your usual dining room lighting.
Give guests a table gift
Image: Good Homes
Okay, so you may have overloaded on gifts on Christmas morning, but why not put one stocking filler aside for the Christmas table. Not only is this a sweet personal touch, but it adds an extra decorative element to your place setting. Also, if you’re having issues getting Christmas dinner to the table on time, it may provide a welcome distraction for your diners.
Table favours also make for a good alternative to wrapped gifts – check out some of our favourite table favour ideas for Christmas.