Ideas for How to Set Up a Christmas Dinner Table

Think of your Christmas dinner table as an opportunity to share your enthusiasm for the holiday and showcase your creativity. Feel free to use many different decorative materials, from gingerbread and candy canes to pine cones and holly sprigs -- anything that makes you feel festive and cheerful. Start by working on the lighting in the room. Traditional Christmas lights elegantly strung around windows provide soft, romantic light that complements candles and flatters guests. Does this Spark an idea?

Holiday Settings

Buy a set of Christmas-themed place mats and napkins or find some in Christmas colors so you can use them again once the holiday is over. Instead of traditional napkin rings, use ribbon tied in fluffy bows. Set a pretty glass ornament inside each wine glass as a prismatic favor for guests to take home for their own trees. Fill a vase with some fresh poinsettias, holly or even red roses, and wrap the vase with colorful paper, as if it were a present.

Centerpiece

The centerpiece is your chance to create something truly memorable and festive for your Christmas dinner. Clear vases are versatile tools for building a centerpiece. Fill them with candy canes and tie a bright red bow around them. After dinner, the candy canes can be dessert. Fill the vases with glass ornaments in different colors and include a photograph of your family against the glass on the inside. Fill the vases with pine cones and berries for a natural and elegant centerpiece.

Themes

Pick a theme for your Christmas table and use it as a decorating guide. A "Santa Claus is coming to town" theme works well for a table full of children. Create a Santa tablecloth out of red fabric and white fake fur. Sew or glue-gun the fur around the edges. Then create a belt out of black fabric and attach it, along with a big brass buckle, about 3/4 of the way down the table. Stuff a Santa hat with newspaper so that it will sit upright and use it as a centerpiece, adorned with candy canes and holly sprigs.

Place Cards

Place cards make guests feel welcome and they show how much effort you put into making your table setting personal. Create place cards yourself, out of craft paper and glue, or buy some and decorate them with glitter or stickers.