Weekend Entertaining … beautifully
Are you having guests over this weekend? Here’s how to turn simple into special … quick and easy table setting tips.
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Always decide on a theme
Pick a colour palette or theme for your table setting according to the season or holiday you are celebrating. For example, this Easter, we have picked our “Wild Wreaths” design as our table inspiration. It features sketches of wild African animals adorned in fabulous floral head garlands. The mats also work perfectly for a birthday celebration or ladies lunch.
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Use a gift or party favour as the place setting
We used golden Lindt bunnies at each place setting and personalised them with a gift tag at each place setting. For a spring lunch, a small packet of seeds or bulbs, tied with a place setting tag, makes a gorgeous place setting favour. After-dinner choccies can be used at a dinner party. This way, your party favour forms part of your table setting.
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Always use fresh greenery or flowers
They add life and colour, but do not need to come at a great expense. You can simply cut green leaves from the garden and pop them in empty jam jars down the centre of the table, or pick garden roses when they’re in season. Glass bowls of lemons or apples always add pops of colour to table decor. If you would like to use your flowers after your lunch, small potted containers of herbs or seedlings from the nursery are perfect table arrangements and can be planted in your garden afterwards.
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Use disposable placemats
They are inexpensive and are made from paper so are recyclable. They also don’t tie you down to the same theme from celebration to celebration and are a fun and effective way to add colour and design to your table without the expense of a fabric table cloth or placemats.
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Keep your napkins and crockery plain and simple
You can never go wrong with classic white crockery; it will give you blank canvas to layer paper placemats, gift tags, lunch favours, flowers and more. 6.Don’t be afraid to layer and mix up your glassware Glassware adds sparkle, fun and interest to a table so mix your best crystal wine glasses with coloured water tumblers from a thrift store.
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Always add candles
They add ambience at night and keep the flies at bay in the day. Pillar or tea light, big or small, candles are essential to any welcoming celebration table.
Disposable placemats, R200 for 30 and gift tags, R100 for 10, from macaroon.co
* Information provided by Taryn Hompes and Cheryl Liebenberg; macaroon.co.za or follow @macaroon_me
