Image Credit: Google
Let’s face it. Most of us are going to be more than happy to say goodbye to 2020. We may not get to have the usual big celebration to usher out the old year and welcome in the new year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate in style. The library read through has brought us to a section called Meals and Table Service. The modern word for table service is “tablescape.” This post examines how to build an attractive table for your guests. What great timing for this post with New Year’s Eve right around the corner.
Tablescapes can be really fancy using china and expensive dishes,
Image Credit: Pinterest
fairly informal yet stunning using paper products
Image Credit: Oriental Trading
and plastic pieces (as in the first image and the one above) or anything in between.
The types of books in this section of the library are again they type in which you can “read the pictures.” Unfortunately I can’t reproduce all the pictures for you. I can only show you some of the books I’ve checked out this time and encourage you to check out these or similar types of books.
Image Credit: Thrift Books
Image Credit: Amazon.com
Image Credit: AbeBooks.com
If you’re having an extremely formal affair, you may have your meal served to your guests. Many parties use a sort of potluck approach in which the tablescape is made and the food is presented potluck style on another table. There are infinite variations to this approach, but suffice it to say the food itself forms a tablescape on a different table or tables.
Being a practical sort, my overall advice (along with what I’ve gleaned from countless hours of pouring over pictures of tablescapes) is that you want your party to be attractive without a lot of extra work. You will want to be able to concentrate on your guests when they arrive. Choose simple yet elegant party decorations. I personally would probably use a mix of paper and plastic table service pieces (easy to obtain and set up, easier clean up, and not too hard on the budget). Whatever you use, the decorations should set the tone. Often a simple table runner down the center of the table with a few event appropriate decorations will serve nicely without detracting from the actual serving pieces you use.
Image Credit: Pinterest
Do you entertain for New Year’s Eve or any other event? What is your favored tablescape style?
Dewey Hop 
I dislike entertainment or going to big parties but I like looking at the tablescapes. And I love reading about parties in fiction, of pretty much any era. I recently finished a mystery series set in Roman Britain and enjoyed many social occasions there!
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That’s interesting that you enjoy reading about parties in any era. Were any of those social occasions in your reading New Year’s Eve parties?
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To be honest I read so much that I can’t tell you (I mean over my lifetime of reading) but I do remember a lot of Christmas parties (in print). I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers so you can imagine that often there are some…problems…that arise at them that don’t involve correct etiquette! In the Roman Britain series I mentioned they did, in a recent installment I read, mention New Year’s traditions (Romans and Celts both are very superstitious people, I learned!)
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