Tablescapes for Holiday Dinners

How do you create tablescapes for holiday dinners? In fact, what is a tablescape? That’s what this page is about. How to make interesting tables for your holiday meals. Whether it’s a Thanksgiving dinner, an Easter brunch or a festive Christmas buffet, a tablescape will add interest and charm to your table.

What is a Tablescape?

A tablescape is just a new-fangled word to describe how you arrange your table. A variation of the word landscape, tablescape encompasses the look of your holiday dinner table. Just like other “scapes” there are variations in height and focal points.

Whether it’s your formal dinner table, an informal setting for friends or family, or a buffet table for your holiday meals, the variations in height make up most of your tablescape.

Creating Height Variations in a Table Setting

Height variations when you are talking about a sit-down meal for the holidays will likely be your centerpiece. You probably don’t want to put too much in the way of guests seeing each other across the table.

That means you tablescape will be mostly shorter pieces and more spread out, not congregated in within a large tall centerpiece. Candlesticks are an easy way to create more variations in your tablescape.

The use of individual candlesticks rather than a candelabra means that you can separate them around the table. Try separating them to either side of your centerpiece.

Tablescapes for Holiday Buffets

Buffets are easier to create height variations. My favorite way is through tiered serving dishes and stemmed cake plates. Cake plates don’t need to be just for cakes either. I use them for many types of foods including setting other serving dishes on, helping to create my buffet tablescape.

A Touch of Flair for Tablescapes

Don’t forget to make use of holiday decorations as part of your tablescape. Things like Christmas salt and pepper shakers tucked around your serving dishes will add to “landscape” of your table. A decorated Easter egg set a each place setting with add more charm for the holiday.

Your tablescapes for holiday dinners and other meals is all about how your present the food and the place settings. So make them delightful with lots of variation in height with little extras tucked around the table.