Tips and life hacks to properly set the table for guests

There are many tips given with knowledge of the matter, by professionals and complete ignoramuses, and for some guests, when something is not according to the rules, it may subsequently become an occasion for ridicule. But, apart from blatant blunders, there are no special taboos on how to properly set the table.

Basic Rules

Table setting may depend on different circumstances: on Easter a new tablecloth spreads, green, white or red, but if there is no new one, then it can be cleaned and ironed. In especially solemn occasions you need - white starched. Oilcloth used to be considered bad form, but now there are truly festive, with a small pattern, scallops or gilding. If you come your own, you can lay her.

Important!

It is customary to put natural flowers on the table, and the first bouquet brought by guests can also be placed in a vase for symmetry to the master's. The rest of the bouquets should not clutter up the space: vases are prepared in advance for them, but they are put on surfaces that are visible to the eye - this can emphasize respect for the offering and not impede easy communication.

Ideally, if the house has a dinner service - then on the table in front of all the guests the dishes are the same, if there are more than 12 guests, plates from the service are placed on one half, a set of plates is used for the other. They are usually kept at 6 or 12, if there are a lot of guests all the time.

Advice!

Candles as table decorations are appropriate in 2 cases: at an intimate dinner in the evening, and on a birthday cake. At the commemoration, a plate, a glass and bread for the deceased are placed, and the candle burns under a separately placed portrait. For Easter, a lamp or a candle in front of the icons is lit.

A long table is covered with paired dishes so that they do not have to be transferred from one end to the other and enough for each guest. The same applies to sets of spices, gravy boats and spirits. Only a basket of bread, pre-sliced and covered with a cloth natural napkin, can stand on a separate table next to the hostess, who serves it at the request of the guest. It is desirable that it be at least two varieties - dark and white.

Note!

Surely there must be a correspondence of spices and served delicacies - to jellied meat (and to meat, appetizers), mustard and horseradish are served, salt and pepper must be required, store sauces are served in a sauceboat with a spoon, but in no case in a bag and not in the bank. Self-prepared ketchup should also be in a special container and stand close to the dish for which it is intended.

At the round table, drinks and flowers are placed in the center, everything else is located around them. It is worth strictly considering the amount laid out so that it is enough for everyone present, and you do not have to bring it from the kitchen or shrug your hands guilty in front of the deprived.

Permissible deviations from official etiquette

At home, the main thing is the convenience of guests and ease. Therefore, not all plates are placed, as in a restaurant, but snack bars, with a knife and a fork. Each guest should have a cloth and paper napkin, but you can put an extra amount in a special glass - especially if there is a bird, fish, or an other dish that you can eat with your hands on the menu.

Interesting!

In the official etiquette requires placing a cake prepared by the hostess in the center of the table, and serving champagne to the dessert.In real life, it turns out the other way round - a cake or cake is solemnly taken out to the dessert, and champagne on solemn occasions is opened at the very beginning.

If the house has a long-established order, and the manuals of the mentors say something else - do not restructure. You do not need to put three plates, of which the guest is uncomfortable to eat, hold champagne until dessert and put the pie, which takes place at the beginning of the feast, to pray for the eyes of those present. Sometimes it doesn’t even come to him, because the generous owners prepared snacks and stocked up delicious hot.

Fact!

It makes no sense to put champagne glasses on the table, if it is not provided. If vodka is served, glasses can be served according to the number of adults present who drink vodka. But each guest should have a glass or glass for water or other soft drinks, without exception.

For reference!

Hot in the modern world is served after some snacks are eaten and a place is freed up on the table. To do this, take a short break, guests put clean plates, knives and forks. The rules are the same - for a long table - paired dishes, or one large one in the center. But if you follow etiquette, then the hostess should wear it, like a waiter, approaching the guests on the left.

Now the distribution ceremony can be led by a person sitting next to the dish. If it is a pig or a bird, it is butchered in the presence of guests, entrusting a responsible mission to someone who has the appropriate skills.