40 Ways to Dress Your Dining Table for a Cheery Christmas Dinner
A peek at what's ahead: Charming centerpieces, DIY place cards and festive flower arrangements.
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Trust us: A festive tablescape involves more than breaking out the good dishes. If you're hosting a holiday party or Christmas dinner, your guests will spend hours sitting around the dining table, so opt for decorations that strike up conversation. To spark inspiration, our editors (and a few of our favorite bloggers) are sharing a ton of Christmas table decoration ideas that you can try at home.
Find everything from simple Christmas crafts, like personalized place settings and homemade table runners, to creative holiday themes (think winter florals, pops of plaid or dried fruits). Try your hand at napkin folding, hang ornaments from the chandelier or repurpose glass bottles into candleholders, to name just a few. No matter your style — minimal, modern, rustic or eclectic, these DIY Christmas ideas will transform your dining room.
Winter Florals
Embrace bright colors and floral patterns year round — but, try a moody flair this holiday season. For this festive dining table, we set gold flatware, green dinner plates and purple napkins atop a dark floral tablecloth.
Cupcake Liner Poinsettias
These pretty poinsettias, made from red cupcake liners, are a perfect way to add a finishing touch to table settings.
Directions: Flatten your cupcake liner, fold it in half twice and cut out a single petal shape (when you unfold it, you should have a flower with four petals). Repeat with more cupcake liners to create layers of petals. Place the liners on top of one another so the petals overlap and secure them with double-sided tape or glue.
Homemade Pomanders
An inviting aroma makes the holidays even cozier. Get the effect by pressing cloves into clean, fresh citrus — navel oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes or grapefruit will work.
Directions: Use a skewer to poke shallow holes through the skin, then place the stem of a whole clove into each hole. Arrange the finished pomanders on your favorite platter or bowl and enjoy the scent all week long.
DIY Ornament Chandelier
Use satin ribbon to string metallic baubles from your dining room chandelier. Our advice? Opt for lightweight plastic ornaments, so you can secure them safely and easily.
Dried Fruit and Preserved Leaves
Arrange dried fruit (think oranges, cranberries and pomegranates) with greenery sprigs along the center of the table. Turn magnolia leaves into place card holders by writing names with a metallic Sharpie. Keep in mind: It can take several days to successful dry out the fruit and leaves.
Upcycled Bottle Candleholders
Turn glass bottles into elegant tabletop decor. Fill them with evergreens, fresh cranberries and tap water. Rub sticky candle wax to the bottom of a taper candle and place it in the bottle opening. Don't forget: Replace the water every few days to keep greens fresh.
Ribbon Tied Silverware
In a pinch, an elegant ribbon can give candles, stemmed glassware and silverware a festive look. Choose a silky ribbon in a jewel-toned hue or keep it traditional with red, green or gold.
Furoshiki Gift Wrap
Not only does this elegant bowknot make a striking place setting, but it's the perfect way to surprise dinner guests with a small gift. The Japanese wrapping technique is easier than it looks — you'll only need a standard 20" cloth napkin, plus a few faux cranberry sprigs for decor.
Layers of Pattern
From the nature-inspired table cloth, paisley napkins tied with a red velvet ribbon to the blooming floral centerpiece, interior designer Erin Gates fills this table setting with pattern and color.
Felt Christmas Trees
Turn your dining room table into a Christmas tree farm with these adorable felt cut outs. Added bonus: your flatware will fit perfectly if you follow our easy tutorial.
Touches of Greenery
Elevate your wood dining set with fresh greenery, taper candles and ceramic village tealight holders in time for the holidays, like Emily Henderson does in this elegant interior.
Fancy Plates
Break out the fine china, or put one gilded salad plate atop an everyday set to make each place setting feel special. A runner of greenery and blooms is a low-profile floral option that's easy for guests to chat over.
Crafty Leaf Garland
Make your own leaf garland out of green craft paper, drawing on lines for a more realistic look. Add red jingle bells to finish the festive look.
Christmas Tree Napkin
From the moment your dinner guests spot this origami-inspired place setting, it'll be all they can talk about. To recreate this look, fold a square dinner napkin (we used a green fringe napkin) and decorate it with mini baubles.
Wooden Bead Stars
Add more visual interest to a table runner by using wooden beads to make star-shaped decorative accents.
White and Blue
From napkins and table runners to dishes and vases, stick to a simple color palette of white and blue. But, don't miss the chance to layer in a few gold accents (note the vintage-inspired candlesticks).
Mini Christmas Trees
Line a table runner with small Christmas trees in a variety of colors (neutrals, for instance), as interior designer Kate Lester does her. To create a textured look, use a mix of paper, wooden and bottle brush trees.
Personalized Place Settings
A bit of greenery is all your neutral linens need. After making name cards with cut cardboard, secure the tags to a circle of leaves welcoming each guest.
Felt Tree-Topped Hurricanes
Transform your table into an enchanted pine forest. Just cut out fir shapes from felt and hot-glue them onto candle holders filled with faux snow.
A Pop of Plaid
Go for a snowy New England vibe and consider using a few plaid throws as tablecloths — preferably old ones that can withstand inevitable spills.
Alyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries.
Monique Valeris is the home design director for Good Housekeeping, where she oversees the brand's home decorating coverage across print and digital. Prior to joining GH in 2020, she was the digital editor at Elle Decor. In her current role, she explores everything from design trends and home tours to lifestyle product recommendations, including writing her monthly column, "What's in My Cart."
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