LAYING THE EASTER TABLE
Laying the Easter Table is a wonderful way to welcome Spring. Whether Easter to you is a religious celebration or just a welcome opportunity to gather with family and friends, it will invariably include gathering for a meal, and with it the chance to style and set an extra special table for the occasion.
Whichever way you approach the long weekend, setting the table at Easter is as much a reason to welcome the change in season and the décor and food often references this. New life and spring blossoms bring a welcome freshness, and just cutting a sprig or two from the garden can lift everything.
Even if some meals are eaten around the island or breakfast bar with the occasional celebration given formal table treatment, most of us use the long Easter weekend as an excuse to indulge. Gathering around a wonderfully set table to share a meal is central to that.
Of course it doesn’t mean that it has to be suffocatingly formal; with a cascade of cutlery you don’t know what to do with, stacks of crockery and serving dishes, leaving nowhere to put down your glass and which will keep you washing up late into the evening. Etiquette, old fashioned as that word can sound, can’t be overlooked. It is a system for social ease:
“The dinner table today, wherever it is located, has its accompanying conventions reduced to a useful few. (…) The emphasis is on good food, good wine, relaxation and conviviality. But even though the form is relaxed, the need to know the ground rules remains, for only when people know what is expected of them can things proceed smoothly and everybody feel ‘at home’ and at their best.”
Debrett’s Etiquette & Modern Manners
ELEGANT EASTER TABLESCAPING
Bring your personality to your Easter table with a carefully curated tablescape. Aim for a mixture of form and function as you plan your decor.
Salt and pepper mills, candlesticks, flower or stem vases and napkin rings can all dress up a table as well as serving as part of it.
A spring wreath, sprigs of blossom or potted spring flowers create a bright and fresh statement. Push moss around the stems of bright spring bulbs in terracotta pots, dot the table with hand-painted eggs, or balance a branch of curly willow in a vase or jug as a way to hang Easter decorations to ad pops of colour, height and interest.
Colour
You can take colour inspiration for your Easter tablescape from anywhere you like, though there’s something about sunny yellows and pretty pastels which lend themselves to the season. Select one main colour and an accent colour or two, and pepper with prints to add depth and interest. Easter is the one time you can afford to be whimsical – think tasteful hand-painted eggs, feathers and even bunnies and chicks dotted around your tablescape.
Texture
Layer different textures at your table with carefully-chosen cutlery and accessories. Our textured cutlery patterns such as Honeybourne, Blockley Slate, Skye and Sandstone catch the light and make a statement. The delicate, jewel-like beading on Armscote Bead Bright glistens beautifully in natural light or candlelight. Add woven placemats and natural linen napkins and tablecloths for an organic feel that blurs the line between inside and the natural world outside.
Height
Even on a bright spring day, candlelight definitely has its place. A mix of tall dinner candles and hurricane lamps on the table add light and height, and create atmosphere. Group pillar candles in entwined Windrush Candlesticks inside a spring wreath on the centre of the table. Or weave greenery from the garden – think trailing ivy and other evergreens – around them for a sense of Easter-time renewal and add Drift Bud Vases with single tulips or daffodils.
EASTER ENTERTAINING MADE SIMPLE
As with all entertaining, there’s a balance to be struck between being a fabulous host and giving yourself so much to do that it takes the joy out of the day. Seamless hosting starts with planning your menu, and then building a beautiful – and practical – tablescape to show off all your hard work in the kitchen.
How many guest are you expecting. How many courses are you planning to serve? Asking yourself these key questions beforehand will ensure you have enough cutlery, glasses, serving dishes, plates and chairs to last the day.
Lay your table the night before to free up time on the day – it’s a good time to organise the Easter egg hunt too.
Carefully place your plates, bowls and cutlery in the correct places – read our How to Lay Your Table blog for an effortless etiquette guide – and then add height with candlesticks, bud vases and other floral arrangements. Make sure you don’t place these tall items in guests’ eyelines, so conversation can flow.
Ensure you leave space for serving dishes and boards, and keep carving sets accessible.
HOW TO LAY YOUR EASTER TABLE
Dinner Plates
Dinner plates should sit in the centre of the place setting, with fish plates and soup bowls on top, if required.
Side Plates
Side plates sit on the left of the dinner plate, or slightly above to the left, with a butter knife on top of the plate, the blade edge pointing to the left.
Bread and Butter Plate
This small round plate, commonly called a side plate, should be set to the left of the forks. It can also be placed slightly above the forks, as long as it remains to the left of the dinner plate. Place a small butter knife, spreader or butter blade horizontally over the plate, the blade facing to the left.
Cutlery
Set the table only with the cutlery you’ll use for your menu. Place in order of use, from the outside in. Forks are always set to the left of the plate, knives to the right with their blade edges facing inwards. The only fork to be placed to the right of the knives is an oyster fork.
The dessert fork and dessert spoon should be placed above the plate, with fork prongs facing right and the spoon bowl facing left.
Extra Cutlery
You’ll find plenty of specialist cutlery pieces among our collections if your menu requires. Discover steak knives, oyster forks, lobster picks, snail tongs and pastry forks along with olive spoons and more.
Glasses
Glasses should sit to the top right of the dinner plate with a red wine, white wine and water glass in a triangle. Champagne flutes can be arranged on a Drift Serving Tray until you are ready to pour.
Tea and Coffee
Have tea and coffee cups ready on the sideboard, and place on the table after dessert with a teaspoon or coffee spoon.
Barware
Remember Drift Wine Coasters for red wine and Double-Walled Wine Coolers and Champagne Buckets for white wine and fizz.
Cup and Saucer
Always set the cup and saucer for tea or coffee - along with a suitable stirrer or spoon - a few centimetres to the right above the outermost piece of cutlery. These should only be brought out after the dessert course is finished and the rest of the setting is cleared away.
A Tablecloth
Nothing says 'special occasion' more than a crisp tablecloth, although the surface of a treasured table can sometimes be enough. If you do use a tablecloth it should fall at least a foot below the top of the table but not be closer than 15cm to the ground.
Before spreading the tablecloth, it's a good idea to lay a table protector over the table.
Napkins
Roll linen napkins inside Napkin Rings or tie sprigs of garden greenery and woody herbs together with twine, and place on top of napkins.
Finishing Touches
As with all celebrations, the long Easter weekend is a time to make memories, reminisce and begin new traditions. Gathering your favourite pieces old and new to create a relaxed and welcoming dining experience is all pat of the process.
Easter, particularly, is a time to be playful, to add a dash of personality to your decorations and theatre to your table.
Experiment with place cards, for example. They don’t need to be written – think about using old family photos, or trinkets specific to your guests.
Adding vintage heirlooms to your table will create a talking point. Organising games will keep your guests entertained for longer.
And table presents don’t have to be lavish – a packet of seeds harvested from your garden, a posy of flowers hand-tied together, a chocolate egg or a little bottle of elderflower cordial you’ve made are thoughtful and memorable and will make their experience all the more cherished.