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Picture your situation: you have been designated to host a dinner party for several people. Some of these guests are friends and colleagues, yet there will be others that you never met before.

You planned the meal, have the entertainment in place and chose an outfit to wear for your big evening. Now comes the difficult part. How does one create an impressive table setting for such an important event?

In the early 1990's, I had worked in the Royal Doulton china department of a major store while attending modeling/professional development classes at a modeling school. I not only had the opportunity to meet my share of party planners and couples that wanted to choose the perfect china patterns during my employment, but also was able to assist in creating the correct table settings for specific types of parties.

Let's say this is a formal dinner party. For this type of table setting, china in white or cream colors are usually the most acceptable. Tablecloths, napkins, and candles may also be white or cream.

Flatware should be simple without embellishments. For glassware, choose either crystal or clear. Any other color is considered cheap looking and gauche.

A simple arrangement of flowers is used for the centerpiece. Some color may be used, but nothing too bright or excessive. The key word for a centerpiece is just like the rest of your table elegant.

Now you are ready to set the table. Begin with placing a dinner plate for each guest in the center. A dinner fork is placed on the plate's left side, followed by a salad fork beside it (Salad forks are slightly smaller than dinner ones).

On the right side of the dinner plate, a dinner knife and soup spoon is placed in their respective order, with the soup spoon at the knife's right. If wine glasses are being used for your party, the proper place for these are to be located above the knife with water goblets (these are larger than wine glasses) to the left of the wine glass.

Bread and butter plates (these are usually between six and six and three-quarter inches in diameter) belong above the forks with the butter knife (a small, dull knife with a either a rounded or pointed tip used for slicing butter and spreading on the bread) placed lengthwise on top of the plate. Lastly, the dessert spoon lays on the table above the dinner plate, pointing to the left.

All of this may look difficult on paper, but once it is actually done, setting a table is very simple. Your guests will be impressed as well as enjoy the specialty that was prepared for this night. May you have a very successful party!

Learn more about this author, L. Anne Carrington.
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