There are different ways people celebrate Christmas. A little get-together with your loved ones is expected on Christmas Day. While decorating your house for Christmas is a must for Christmas, you should not forget the dining table. This is where all your guests will unite for a hearty meal that you might have been preparing for days in advance. Whether you are having a meal at home, on the beach, in a park or while camping, we have a few table styling ideas. Wherever you are, you can have a warm and inviting setup for a Christmas meal.
Picnic Setup
Outdoor dining setups can be tricky especially if it’s not your backyard. But don’t worry no matter where you are we have got a few ideas to make your outdoor Christmas dining setup stand out. First and foremost a picnic basket and blanket are a must. Carry all your food in a basket or a couple of them if you’re feeding a lot of people. Opt for a long picnic blanket or get two or three of them to accommodate all your guests.
Tip: Turn your Christmas picnic into a potluck so, you don’t have to cook and carry a lot of food with you.
You can have a couple of low-lying picnic tables of the same design and line them together to form a big table. However, if you just can’t get your hands on a table, a picnic blanket would suffice.
Personalise The Setup
You can lay your picnic blankets in a haphazard manner with at least one side being overlapped by the other and place a lot of cushions around the area. To add to the seating, add a few foldable camping chairs for those who don’t find it comfortable sitting on the floor. You can personalise it further by using bedsheets instead of picnic blankets. This is an excellent way to use up old bedsheets.
Tip: Go for printed bedsheets as they add some drama to the setup.
Outdoor Decor Ideas
Fairy lights and flameless candles are your best friends for a picnic setup. You get battery-operated versions of both which means you’ll have a well-lit Christmas dinner setup despite there being no power outlets. To add to the Christmas feel, we recommend putting up a few Santa garden gnomes in the area. Tinsels are a great way to add a finishing touch to the whole setup once you’ve set the utensils and cutlery in place.
Unique Tableware
While disposable cutlery and utensils are the best way to go for a picnic, you can opt for some tableware to add some Christmas charm to the whole setup. If you are planning on having a cheeseboard then we recommend going for a cutting board shaped like a Christmas tree. Additionally, reindeer bowls, Santa bottle bags, festive bottle bags and more such unique pieces of Christmas table decor can be added to the whole setup.
Christmas Camp Meals
Camping on Christmas is an exciting way to spend some quality time with your family away from the hustle and bustle of your daily lives. You might be thinking that a Christmas dinner while camping will just be a simple affair but it doesn’t have to be like that. You can still make Christmas memorable for everyone in the family by decorating the camping table in a little more festive way. It is true that decorating your table for Christmas on a mountain or lake in the middle of nowhere can be tricky, but we have some ideas to help you out.
Get Innovative With Decor
When you’re surrounded by nature, make the most of it. Get everyone to forage for some pretty flowers broken branches, fallen leaves and pine cones if you’re lucky. Bunch them all together to form small decorative pieces that can be sprawled all around the table.
Christmas Decor Must-haves
When it comes to decorating the table for Christmas while camping your options are limited. We recommend carrying a festive tablecloth that can cover the camping table. It will make the entire setup feel a bit homier. Add a few Sanata chair covers to add to the festive environment and bring it all together with solar-powered or battery-powered festoon lights.
Delicious Festivities
Along with all your barbecue essentials, you should carry a cast iron pot, better known as a dutch oven. You never know, making mulled wine in a dutch oven over burning coals might end up becoming an amazing Christmas memory. If not mulled wine, dutch ovens are great for making stews, boiling potatoes for mash and more.
Dining Table
The most common dining setup when it comes to Christmas get-togethers is your dining table at home. Here you can let your creativity shine and choose between different Christmassy themes or colour schemes.
The Ambience
Since the dining room of your house is an enclosed space you can create the perfect ambience by decorating the entire room. Lighting plays a huge role in setting the tone for the rest of the decorations. For a dinner setup, we recommend going for low lighting. So, a chandelier with candles lined up on the table should be enough lighting. On the other hand, you can opt for fairy lights on or above the table with a lamp or two in the corners of the room.
Set The Table
While a table cover is not necessary, it does add some colour and warmth to the room. Flannel tablecloths or Christmas-themed tablecloths are the best way to go if you don’t have a specific theme in mind. We also recommend layering the tablecloth with a table runner of a contrasting colour. Festive napkins and bonbons next to every plate, small branches of fir and a few pine cones strewn around the table look beautiful.
As far as tableware or dinnerware is concerned, put your best foot forward. Different wine glasses for different kinds of wine, crystal glasses or tumblers for other drinks; use your best dinner set along with your best silver cutlery and ceramic serving dishes to complete the look.
Special Table Decorations
Wreaths and tinsels can be put to good use when decorating your dining table at home. You can also use various candles and if you have any special candle stands on the table. Bowls full of fruits and nuts also add more colour and warmth to the table. Make sure you spread colours such as red, maroon, white, green, silver and gold around the table.
If you need more inspiration on how to style a Christmas table, check out our festive dining collection!
