Behold the bounty of a fabulous Thanksgiving table. Beautiful holiday tables don’t just happen. They require planning in advance to ensure you have the right bowls and platters for the menu you have planned. I’ll let you in on my secret for making it work.
The first step is to choose the plates you are going to use. This is Thanksgiving, people. Do not trot out small, skimpy plates. Your guests will not be thankful for having to heap. Let them spread. Some of us (I won’t say who) want our individual food items to have a buffer zone around them. No touching! These vintage-looking turkey plates are the right size and just the look I was going for.
Next, start pulling out the serving pieces you think you might want to use on your Thanksgiving table (or whatever the holiday or occasion might be) and place them on the table to make sure everything will fit and will look good together. I would pull out a few extras, just because you don’t want to end up with something way too big or too small for what it is going to hold.
Knowing that guests are often anxious to help get the big dinner on the table, get the bowl and platter candidates out, then, while you’re up to your elbows in gravy making, have someone else take little slips of paper and write down each item that will be served. You can then eyeball the various containers to determine what will not only best fit in each one, but also what will look best in each one. Drop the relevant piece of paper in each container. Then, when it is time to get the meal on the table, your helpers have a “road map” for what goes where.
You will be pleased and amazed at how much more quickly the meal is pulled together and your guests will be so happy to have played a helpful role in creating a fabulous Thanksgiving table! They’ll be popping out their cameras!
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