Setting Your Christmas Dinner Table (1/3)

Setting Your Christmas Dinner Table Christmas atmosphere, or the holiday spirit, is what the diners are looking for, beyond a good meal, when selecting restaurants for their holiday banquets or corporate party events. The first place they would look at would be the dinner tables at your eateries, and how the tables are set to elaborate the festiveness. More often than not, the table setting is the last consideration for many Asian restaurants. Menus might be carefully planned; greeting cards are gracefully designed and sent out to your loyal customers. Decorating the tables should also be treated with equal importance. Table-setting should be an art to reflect you, your culture and your interests – Asian restaurants would be in a great position to combine the traditional western Christmas style with Asian antiques, collectibles, and other cherished objects. Successful table-setting should bring out the jolly ambiance of holidays, attract the immediate attention of everyone who walks into your restaurant, get them excited about the dinner, and leave a lasting memory of your restaurant. ARN editors have done some research on the techniques of setting the holiday dinner tables. We hope to bring you some insights as you plan to “Dec the halls” for your restaurants. With a few simple steps you can achieve a magnificent display on your holiday tables. Remember the four basics and take them on one at a time: color, lighting, centerpiece and place setting. Choose The Color Scheme For The Table Find a common color theme when setting the table. Designing your holiday tables around your existing color scheme is one option for the tablescape theme. Start with the tablecloth, or table covering, and choose one or two complementing tones. Festival Christmas red and green, winter white, shimmering silver or glistening gold, try a tone-on-tone color palette for an elegant look, keeping all your accessories in different shades of the same color. Instant Christmas ambiance can be achieved with pine-green tablecloth, poinsettias-red linen napkins on snow-white plates, placed with jade chopstick pairs. For example: Table Setting In Red And White The tablecloth is red, for Christmas time. The tableware is white and in china. Knives and forks are in silver. Wine glasses are crystal. The predominant colors are: white (snow), green (nature), red and gold (Christmas). Lighting Candles create a warm and inviting ambiance. They are inexpensive and extremely versatile. Choose the colors and styles of candles to match the color scheme of your tablecloth. There is nothing like a little candlelight to enhance the place setting for a Christmas dinner tradition. Centerpieces Table centerpiece will greatly enhance the ambiance and draw immediate attentions. Place festival, in-season centerpieces on a few of your large round tables, if not on every table. For example: The centerpiece is made of white roses and ivy, a refined ornament for your table. Purchase a flower arrangement, or simply a pot of Christmas poinsettias, enhance the design by adding a complementary mat, napkin, or piece of fabric under the arrangement. You can also add candles or other accent pieces you might have on hand such as fall leaves, pine branch or herbs. Pick a woven basket; fill with small gift boxes, Christmas ornaments, pine leaves pinecones and ribbons. Sided the basket with two pairs of candles. Feature a special ornament collection as a centerpiece. Use greens and candles to add seasonal touches. Pile up layers of trays on a festival placemat, and fill the trays with seasonal fruits such as grapes, oranges, cranberries, and holiday cookies. Top the layers with a candle cup, or a special ornament. Enhance it with a pair of candelabra of some red candles. Place Settings