Setting Your Thanksgiving Table

Let’s talk etiquette about setting the table. I know many people these days don’t set a proper table at home, but Thanksgiving and Christmas are often times they do. So if you need a little refresher, this one is for you!

Since it’s not tradition any more, I often get a lot of questions when it’s time for an event that requires such. And go ahead and teach your kids or friends these tips . . . don’t let this etiquette die!

I am also often asked when I’m sitting at a table with a group of people, “which glass is mine?” or “which bread plate is mine?”

So here are some tricks I use to help.

First, when I’m at a banquet or wedding, I always remember BMW (you know, like the car). Bread/Meal/Water from left to right. That way I don’t accidentally use my neighbor’s bread plate or drink their water. Like this:

Second, and a big pet peeve for me, is the placement of the silverware. Here are some tricks:

  • The fork goes on the left – FORK and LEFT both have 4 letters.
  • The knife and the spoon go on the right – KNIFE, SPOON, and RIGHT all have 5 letters.
  • From left to right, they are in alphabetical order – Fork, Knife, Spoon.
  • And there’s no real trick for this, you just need to remember it: the blade of the knife always faces the plate. 

The other question that always comes up is that crazy coffee cup and saucer. People get those confused more often than the bread plate. The way I remember this is that all your beverages are on the same side of the table, the RIGHT. And since I know the BMW trick and know that my water is on the right, then I know that the right coffee cup is mine!

So your basic formal table would look like this:

And this image has everything you would need at the biggest and best dinner party ever. So if you’re using all of them, please invite me!

The Ulitmate Table Setting Guide.

 

4 comments on “Setting Your Thanksgiving Table

  1. One friend taught me BED for Bread, Entree, Drink (similar to BMW). My mom taught me about the utensils. I need to work on teaching my kids though!

    1. Interesting…that’s a new one on me but it works!!!

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