How to Decorate a Christmas Tablescape
Make your feast extra festive this year with Liberty's guide to laying the most magical of Christmas tablescapes
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How to Decorate a Christmas Tablescape
Make your feast extra festive this year with Liberty's guide to laying the most magical of Christmas tablescapes
By: Charlotte Olby
For most, Christmas dinner is the most hotly anticipated meal of the year. From spending time with loved ones around the table for festive lunches, brunches or the main event of Christmas Day dinner, why not make the occasion all the more special and spread your festive decor further than your tree? Liberty's Christmas tablescape ideas will help you to make the most wonderful time of the year extra special - whether you're hosting a 12-person banquet (let the merriment commence) or a cosy festive table for two. After all, the size of your guest list doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with the napkins that counts (as the saying goes)...
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First, Pick a Theme
Before you start to gather your hoards of Christmas tabletop decorations or even think about adding to basket, consider settling on a theme for this year's table. This way you'll be encouraged to stay focused and keep the setting looking cohesive, even if it's eclectic (all the best tables are). Your theme doesn't need to be blindingly obvious, it could be as simple as a common motif or a single colour that appears throughout your linens and accessories to really give your table a look of being professionally styled. If you don't know where to begin, consider the loved ones that will be gathering around said table. Will it be a glamorous affair or will everyone still be in their Christmas Eve box pyjamas? Will their be masses of in-laws or a more quiet, romantic dinner for two? Think about how the ambience (lighting, music, food) all relate to your own gathering and adjust accordingly. No one wants to feel out of place on Christmas Day.
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Start with Linens
If you’re a traditionalist through and through, we’re talking red, green and gold, this might just be the setting to invoke the Christmas spirit in you. There is immediate comfort in a time-honoured colour scheme with threads of gold. Our hand-painted Helen’s Stars tablecloth will help you create a magical starry canvas - emerging from the sky like tiny fireworks, these delicate blooms of light will make the perfect backdrop to your tablescape. Start to build your table with a statement tablecloth that perfectly nails your theme, then choose your mainstay: a placemat or charger plate. To anchor your scheme and keep it looking fresh, select the brightest and most vibrant napkins to layer up for extra Liberty-print magic and look to patterns in placemats that sit happily together, without being too matchy-matchy. But, there are no rules here. Try rethinking typical Christmas decor with joyful stripes and painterly crockery, accented with gold in the small details.
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The Perfect Place Setting
Since the tablecloth is a 'hero' piece once accented with print-on-print placemats and napkins, your crockery needs to feel complementary. True it doesn’t matter which piece shouts the loudest (it doesn’t have to be the linen), so long as the balance is right and all looks intentional. You can experiment by adding more print with Vaisselle's heavily detailed painted plates or alternatively if you don't want overly busy patterns to feel distracting, choose classic crockery from Feldspar and add the fun with a cracker of small gift for every place setting. This could be a cracker full of truffles, a jar of homemade chutney or a bauble for your guests to keep. With the latter, it’s fun to pick different decorations for each guest, then make them guess which one is theirs. The main thing is to decorate to please yourself; rules don’t matter if you like the look of it.
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Finishing Touches
Choosing the finishing touches is the most transformative part of table styling. These are the elements that will tie your scheme together and you can add as much or as little drama as you prefer, depending on the mood you’re setting. In true Liberty style, we like to go all-out with a Christmas tablescape and really pack the surface full of little details, but a minimal table with just a scattering of candlesticks can look equally as beautiful. Remember that your guests will still need to be able to converse so try to vary your heights and not block eye-level with multiple vases or large items. When styling candles and flowers together, pair your taller vases with tea lights or shorter candle holders and elevate smaller bud vases with traditional pillar or tapered candles. Another way to vary heights is to include some smaller bowls and plates on pedestals – then your serveware isn’t all on the same level, and means you can elegantly display your bakes for all to see.
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