Place Settings

As the holiday season falls upon us, families will be gathering together to eat. Whether you will be enjoying a fancy Christmas day feast or celebrating New Year’s by tantalizing the palate in style, here are some traditional ways to properly set a formal table.

1. bread and butter plate with butter knife
2. napkin
3. dinner fork
4. dinner plate and bowl
5. water glass and juice glass
6. knife and teaspoon
7. teacup/coffee cup and saucer

1. bread and butter plate with butter knife
2. dinner fork
3. napkin
4. dessert spoon and fork
5. dinner plate
6. knife, teaspoon, and soup spoon (oops)
7. water glass and wine/iced tea glass
8. teacup/coffee cup and saucer

1. salad plate
2. napkin
3. salad fork and dinner fork
4. bread and butter plate with butter knife
5. dessert spoon and fork
6. dinner plate and soup bowl
7. knife, teaspoon, and soup spoon
8. water glass, champagne/sparkling cider glass, and wine/iced tea glass
9. teacup/coffee cup and saucer

When you have a server (or if you just feel like it), you can include a charger (that’s the silver thing underneath the plate in the picture).

Things to Remember

• When you are serving cereal (for breakfast) or soup (for lunch or dinner) as the main course, place a bowl on top of the dinner plate and the napkin to the left of the left-hand silverware. If not, then you have the choice to place the napkin to the left anyway or lay it vertically over the plate.
• If you are serving a side salad with either lunch or dinner, place a small plate to the far left.
• While preparing a proper place setting, keep in mind that the silverware is used from the outside in.
• The knife is always directly to the right of the plate with the blade facing the plate.
• The butter knife always points to the left.
• The dessert spoon always points to the left.
• The dessert fork always points to the right.
• If you are serving shrimp cocktail, place a cocktail fork (that’s the tiny fork) to the right of the last spoon on the right of the plate.
• The bottom edges of the napkin, plate/charger, and all the silverware should be in a neat, straight row about one inch from the edge of the table.
• For lunch or dinner, you can have up to 4 glasses: a water glass, a champagne flute, a large wine glass, and a small wine glass. If the guest selects red meat for their meal, serve them red wine in the larger wine glass; if they select white meat, serve them white wine in the smaller wine glass.
• All the glasses should be in a neat row at the angle illustrated above. Do not “hide” smaller or shorter glasses by placing them behind a larger glass. Keep them in this order from left to right (omitting the ones you’re not using): water glass, champagne flute, large wine glass, small wine glass.
• If no alcoholic beverages are being served, you can serve sparkling cider in the champagne flute and iced tea in the large wine glass; omit the small wine glass.
• Although in some formal settings you may see people turn their tea/coffee cup upside-down to indicate they do not want tea or coffee, this is actually considered rude (remember this when William and Kate invite you to their wedding). Instead, you are simply to say “No, thank you,” when the server offers you tea or coffee.
• If you have a place card with the guest’s name, place it above the dessert silverware.
• Prepare place settings according to the menu. If you’re not serving soup for lunch, don’t put out a bowl or a soup spoon.