A lot of people have been e-mailing me asking how to keep their place setting easy to do for the holidays. Instructions for napkin folds and difficult crafts aren’t so realistic during the busy holiday season, I know.  In the evenings leading up to the holidays I try to do at least one task to prepare for the rush of Christmas and New Years. For instance, tonight I’ll iron the napkins and tablecloth so they are ready. A very simple, but elegant place setting is to fold the napkins into a rectangle, and put a beautiful ribbon around the napkin- easy! But it still shows you put some thought into making your table special. If you don’t have a wide ribbon like I show here, use any width ribbon, and you can even wrap the napkin like a present with a tied bow in the center instead of a place card. You can use any tag, or go online to print out a pretty font for place cards- they don’t always have to be calligraphed. Or have the kids write out each name to get them involved. Place all the folded napkins up and out of the way until you need them.  This way it’s one less task to do the day of the celebration.

Napkin, Jars plates and olive place card all from my shop, little blue dish.