The Complete Guide To Christmas Dinner Table Decorating

Your Christmas dinner table is likely to be the focal point of your dining room and maybe the primary focus of your whole Christmas day! Christmas dinner brings your family together and sets the tone for the occasion. You can even set up your Christmas table in advance of the big day so it gets your house looking festive and helps you to feel excited for the 25th.

Read House of Oak’s complete guide to Christmas dinner table decorating with loads of tips and advice to make your dinner table look fantastic, as well as extra secrets on complementing the table to help it shine out in the room. Read through the whole article, or skip to the sections that interest you the most…

 

First Things First | Table Themes | Decorations | Complementing The Table

 

First Things First…

Before you can start decorating the table, there are a few essentials you have to consider and decide upon.

1. The Right Table

Your Christmas table decorating has to start with the right table! This forms the canvas on which you can create a fabulous and festive display. Having a table that doesn’t function how you want it will really affect the final look and feel of your Christmas dinner.

Size and Number of Guests

This is the most important thing when you’re making sure your table is up to the job. How many people are you having for Christmas dinner? If it’s your usual household, then your normal table might be fine. If you’re having a lot of guests, then consider how you’re going to fit everyone in!

 

We think the best choice is an extendable oak dining table. They can be adjusted to give extra room for your guests so no one feels too squashed! The oak material is strong and sturdy and will look fantastic no matter what decorations you go for.

 

If you can’t get an extendable table, then you could try a table jigsaw, putting a couple of tables together to create a bigger one. This works best if you cover both sets of tables with one table cloth - or at least two tablecloths that are the same colour. Try to find tables that are of equal height too!

 

 

Shape

You might also want to consider the shape of your dining table. Round tables tend to better facilitate conversation, but this isn’t always possible if you’re having a lot of people over!

Style

When you’re squeezing extra people around the table, it’s worth considering the style of table that you have, specifically the table legs. If people are sitting at corners, are they going to be able to fit their legs under the table? Standard table legs are okay for this, but ‘X leg’ styles can also work well.

 

 

Wobbly Legs

Don’t forget to check for wobbly legs! This is most often caused by an uneven floor, but if your table is extremely old or of very poor quality, they can sometimes have uneven leg lengths. Try to purchase a quality table - it’s a worthwhile investment as it will last you for decades if properly cared for.

If your table has got a wobble, identify which corner has the problem and prop it up. You can use door stop wedges, folded paper or whatever item you can find that’s the right size for the job!

 

2. Children

Are there going to be children at your Christmas dinner? This is an important factor to take into consideration when you’re planning your dinner table setting.

Firstly, it will affect the seating arrangements, especially if you have a lot of people coming. Children can fit into smaller spaces better so you can squeeze them onto the corners of tables. Equally, they might need supervision and to sit next to a responsible adult.

Secondly, it might also affect the decorations you add to your Christmas dining table. For example, depending on the age of the children coming (and how sensible they are!) you might not want candles on the table.

 

3. Serving Food

Decide whether you want to serve food at the table, or serve in the kitchen and bring plates through to your guests. Both can work well, but it depends on the set up you want. It will dramatically affect your Christmas dinner table decorations as it will impact space available.

Serving food at the table allows people to help themselves to the food they love most and to get extras whenever they want some. It’s a great way to encourage a communal feel and allow people to have a Christmas feast.

Bringing already piled-up plates to the table can be another great option, however. It means there’s a lot more space on the table for other decorations and people are less distracted!

 

4. Pick a Theme

Once you’ve got the above things factored in, it can be a good idea to pick a theme for your table. This is an overarching decision that will make the rest of the decorating a lot easier!

Keep reading for loads of Christmas dining table theme ideas!

 

Table Themes

When you’re decorating a Christmas dinner table, picking a theme helps you to make the table look like a whole and ensures it’s aesthetically pleasing. It also makes it simpler to pick decorations.

Complementing the Room

While you can pick any festive theme for your table, it’s often a good idea to consider what would match well with your dining room. What colours are already in the space?

You could choose a contrasting colour theme for your table to help it look more bold in the room. Alternatively, you could opt for a theme that picks out existing colours to make the room blend as a whole.

This shouldn’t just take into account your usual room decor, but also any additional decorations you’ve already put up for Christmas.

 

Theme Ideas

Check out some of our dining table theme ideas, or come up with your own!

1. Winter Wonderland

Winter wonderland is a great choice of theme. It works well if you like a cleaner, less busy look as it features lots of white and cooler colours. It fits well in a range of different dining rooms. If you have a darker room, a white theme will help it feel more spacious and light. Equally, it can fit in well with rooms that already have light colour schemes as it will match the existing aesthetic.

White is an all-round good choice as it won’t clash with existing colours and will look great in almost every room.

It often works well with a highlight colour thrown in. Red is a classic choice, but purple, green, gold or blue work equally well.

 

 

2. Classic Christmas Colours

Why not try out some classic Christmas colours for your dining table? Red and gold is a great choice, or red, green and gold. The classic Christmas colour combos will help your table to feel festive without much effort!

Classic Christmas colours tend to be warm, but are often also dark. This is fine in most situations, but if you have a dark dining room, there’s a possibility it will make it feel smaller. However, it can still work if you’re careful; using warm colours in a dark space can create a cosy and intimate feel. Make sure you consider the lighting too though.

 

 

3. Red

Any theme that incorporates red immediately feels festive and will fit perfectly into a Christmas dinner table setting. Red can be paired with gold, silver or green to create a beautiful display.

4. Royal

Christmas is often marked with royal colours. This comes from the Christian tradition of Jesus being called the ‘king’. Purple can be a great choice to create this look. It works really well with other accent colours including gold and silver and helps to create a Christmas table display fit for royalty!

5. Rustic

A Christmas dining table can look brilliant without extravagance. A rustic theme can make the whole room feel warm and cosy. It also helps the experience to feel more simple and authentic. There’s nothing more important in a rustic theme as the wooden dining table. Instead of covering your dining table with a tablecloth, leave it bare so the beautiful wood texture can become part of the design.

 

 

Decorations

Once you’ve decided on a theme, it’s time to get decorating! Read our tips for decorating your table, as well as some of our Christmas decoration ideas.

 

Tips

Balance

As you decorate, be sure to look at the table as a whole to check that it’s well balanced. Symmetry is a really good choice for dining tables, but if you’ve got an odd number of people coming, work out how to factor missing places into your table design. The best idea is often to space out the chairs more so it doesn’t look like there’s a missing space, but this might mean having a different number of chairs on one side of the table to the other.

Look at ensuring that your table feels balanced as a whole.

Don’t Overcrowd

Decorating can be a lot of fun, but this means it can be easy to go too over the top! Less is often more as it allows the decorations you do put on the table to be seen properly and have more of an impact. If you overcrowd your table, it can easily look too busy.

Focal Point

It’s good to have a centerpiece or a single focal point for your table. This could be anything from a large candle to a pot of flowers. It helps to direct the eye and create a focus point, bringing the whole table together.

Avoid tall things

As fantastic as a pear tree might look in the centre of your table, decorations that are tall will prevent your guests from talking to each other and interacting. The whole point of a Christmas dinner is to gather people together, so it’s a good idea to choose low decorations that don’t block eyelines. It can be frustrating to try to talk to someone around a tall vase of flowers!

Lay Out Plates

Even if you decide to serve in the kitchen and bring the plates through, when you’re decorating your table you should lay out the plates so you know where they’re going to be and you can leave room for them.

 

Table Decoration Ideas

There are so many ways to decorate a Christmas dinner table. We’ve got both the essentials and some ideas for special touches that you might want to include. Why not use this list as inspiration to come up with some unique ideas of your own? If it reflects your style and looks festive then, quite literally, nothing’s off the table!

1. Tablecloth

A tablecloth, for most themes, is essential. It helps your table to look smarter, more together and shows it’s a special occasion! A tablecloth also protects the surface of your table from any spills or greasy marks.

Pick a tablecloth that’s the right colour for your theme. Remember that this is going to be the most abundant colour of your Christmas table display so choose wisely. It can be a good idea to choose a more neutral colour for your tablecloth so it can then be decorated with bolder items. Alternatively, you could do it the other way around: choose a bright or bold colour for your tablecloth and top it off with lighter-coloured decorations.

 

 

There are no set rules, so pick something that works with your theme and the colours already in your dining room.

Remember to find a tablecloth that cover the whole table! If you’re extending the length of your table, make sure it still covers the whole thing. If you’re putting two tables together, it can be a good idea to find a single tablecloth that can cover them both. This helps the whole thing to look like one complete table.

If, however, you don’t have a single tablecloth big enough. Get two matching tablecloths for your seperate tables and use a single runner to bring the two together...

2. Table runners

A runner can be a great way to decorate a table. It’s a narrow strip of fabric that ‘runs’ from one side to the other to join the whole table together. You could look for festive runners, or just choose a colour that fits with your theme.

Make sure your table runner and tablecloth complement each other nicely. This could be by picking similar colours, but often works well to choose two different colours that pair together. For example, a white tablecloth with a red runner, or a blue tablecloth with a silver runner.

3. Tinsel

Because tinsel only comes out at Christmas, it’s a great way to make your dining table look festive! You could use tinsel in place of a table runner, or you could lay it in a circle around your centrepiece. Thin tinsel can be tied to wine glasses or wrapped around the tops of chairs.

4. Centrepieces

No Christmas dinner table is complete without a centrepiece. There are so many different things you could opt for, but having one decoration in the middle of the table helps to create a focal point that brings the whole thing together.

Here are a few ideas, but there are loads more! Keep your eyes peeled in shops, including charity shops, for festive items that might work well as centrepieces.

Christmas Wreaths

Traditionally hung on doors, Christmas wreaths can make create centrepieces. It’s often a good idea to put a wreath in the centre of a table with something in the middle of it like a candle or a handful of baubles.

 

 

Candles

There are all sorts of things you can do with candles as centrepieces. You could have a small trio of candles or a single large candle. You could surround candles with other decorations like holly, or even invest in a beautiful candle holder that can function as the centrepiece.

When you’re using candles, be sure to take into account the fire risk! Keep naked flames away from anything flammable to prevent accidents.

Mini Christmas Trees

A mini Christmas tree can be a great centerpiece, but be sure to keep it small; you don’t want it getting in the way when people are trying to talk to each other!

Hanging Items

Instead of a traditional centerpiece, you could hang something above the table. This works especially well if you can hang it quite low so it still feels part of the Christmas dinner table display.

The Turkey

Instead of a fixed centrepiece, you could put the Christmas turkey in the centre of the table. This would mean, however, that the table wouldn’t look complete until the turkey was there!

5. Foliage

Bring some green to the Christmas table by adding foliage. There are a lot of different plants and flowers associated with Christmas. The best thing to do is to go out into your garden and take some clippings! Lay out sprigs of holly (be sure to include the red berries!) or find some mistletoe for the centre of the table.

You could collect pine cones from your garden or local park. They make great festive table decorations, especially if you paint them silver or gold with some spray paint! Ensure they’re completely dry before spray painting, then set them out on your table.

 

 

6. Food

Food itself can be a decoration. You can lay out the Christmas dinner over the table so your guests can help themselves. Alternatively, you could scatter a few Christmas biscuits, Ferrero Rochers, chocolate coins or candy canes on the table for a little special touch.

7. Christmas Crackers

Don’t forget about the Christmas crackers! These make a great decoration and, of course, are a lot of fun. There are different ways to lay out Christmas crackers to make them look great on your dining table display. You could create a big stack of them in the centre, or put one out in the middle of each person’s plate.

Remember that crackers are usually pulled at the beginning of the meal, therefore it’s okay for them to be in the way of plates initially!

 

Complementing The Table

Once your Christmas dinner table is looking fabulous, consider the wider room. It’s important that it’s decorated to complement your table. This way, it will help bring out the colours and designs in the table so it becomes the focal point of the room.

Lighting

Consider what lighting you want in the room to fit with the tone and feel of your table setting. At Christmas, warm and cosy lighting often works best. Instead of using the main light, have candles on the table with lamps around the room.

It will also depend on what time of day you’re having your Christmas meal as to what lighting you want. At midday, there’ll be more natural lighting to take into consideration, while post 4 o’clock it’ll be dark.

Matching decorations

Maybe take some of the table decorations and apply them to the rest of the room. For example, if you have a few silver pinecones on the table, you could also scatter them on the mantelpiece or windowsill. Matching up the decorations will help the dining table to fit into the room as a whole.

 

 

Christmas Dinner Table Decorating

Follow our tips and tricks to make your Christmas dinner table look fantastic this year! If you’re looking for a high quality dining table, then explore the collection at House of Oak. We have a huge collection of high quality wood furniture.