How to Set a Table for Any Occasion

From casual dinners to formal parties, we've got you covered.

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Chances are, at some point in your childhood, you set a table or two whether it was a daily family chore or a holiday task. So the whole thing might seem pretty straightforward: knife, fork, napkin, plate. Are we missing anything? Well, yes! Believe it or not, unless you went to etiquette school, you probably never learned how to properly set a table. Not to worry, because it's an easy art to learn and will help showcase your beautiful Thanksgiving menu or a home-cooked meal.

Ree Drummond knows better than anyone that life can sometimes be too busy for a sit-down meal, so it's a pretty big deal when all the Drummond kids get the chance to gather around the table. There are those special occasions like Christmas or New Year's when you want to pull out all the stops, including all those elegant table decorations. Plus, the traditional table setting rules are incredibly helpful when it comes to serving a multi-course dinner. Just think—you can finally find out why there are so many forks!

This guide will show you how to set a table for any occasion, from a laid-back family dinner to a fancy dinner party. We've outlined the rules for basic, semi-formal, and formal table settings. Just keep in mind that these are guidelines, and you can always tailor your setting to your needs!

How to Set a Basic Table

This is the standard setting you might have learned as a kid and reference whenever you're trying to remember which side the knife goes on. For reference: fork on the left, knife and spoon on the right. The Emily Post Institute, an authority on etiquette, suggests this simple method with some optional additions.

1. Lay your tablecloth or placemat on the table.
2. Place the dinner plate centered in front of the chair.
3. Fold a napkin and lay it to the left of your plate (or on top of the plate, if you'd rather).
4. Place your fork on the left side on top of the napkin (if you've put a napkin there).
5. To the right of the plate, add the knife first, closest to the plate. Make sure the blade is facing toward the plate.
6. Sit the spoon next to the knife.
7. Place a water glass on the top right, a few inches above the space between your plate and knife.
8. Optional: Place your bread plate on the top left a few inches above the fork. Place a butter knife on top of the plate, laying diagonal with the blade facing where 10:00 p.m. would be on a clock.

If you're having a salad course or soup, the salad plate will go on top of your dinner plate, and the soup bowl on top of that.

How to Set a Casual Table

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Just like the basic setting, this style can be tweaked depending on your meal, but this is the one you should use if you're hosting people for holidays, dinner parties, or anything else. It's an elevated version of the basic set—elegant, but not overwhelming or stuffy and meant for a typical three course meal.

1. Lay your tablecloth or placemat on the table.
2. Place the dinner plate centered in front of a chair.
3. Place your napkin, folded, on top of the plate at center or to the left.
4. Place your dinner fork (the larger one) to the left, closest the the plate, then place the salad fork to the left of the dinner one. Put these on top of the napkin if you choose to lay your napkin to the left.
5. To the right of the plate, add the knife first, closest to the plate. Make sure the blade is facing toward the plate.
6. To the right of the knife, you'll place your teaspoon then add the soup spoon to the right of that.
7. Place your water glass and any wine glasses you'll be using to the top right of the table, a few inches above the knife and spoons.
8. Add your salad plate to the table just left of the forks. The Emily Post Institute says that if you're serving salad with your meal, you can skip this step.
9. If you're serving bread and butter, place your bread plate on the top left a few inches above the fork. Place a butter knife on top of the plate, laying diagonal with the blade facing where 10:00 p.m. would be on a clock.
10. Optional: Place your dessert fork and spoon directly above the plate with the fork's prongs facing the wine glasses and the spoon facing the opposite way just underneath it.

Most hosts will serve coffee at the end, but if you'd like to set it out upfront, place the mug and saucer all the way to the right past the space left between the forks and glasses.

How to Set a Formal Table

Now we're getting really fancy. The formal setting is one you'd likely see at a fine dining restaurant or holiday meal consisting of four courses or more. It involves a lot of fine china and polished silver, but just like the others, this setting can be modified for your specific dinner.

1. Lay out your tablecloth. The Emily Post Institute says that white linens are considered the most formal but colored can work too.
2. Place a charger (or service plate) on the table centered in front of a chair. The dinner plate won't be brought out until the first course is cleared.
3. Place your napkin, folded, on top of the plate.
4. Place your forks to the left of the plate, working from closest to the charger out towards the left: salad fork, dinner fork, and fish fork (if you need one).
5. To the right of the plate, place your dinner knife closest to the charger, then your fish knife next to it on the right.
6. To the right of your fish knife, place your soup spoon, then place an oyster fork (if shellfish is being served) all the way to the right.
7. Set glasses down starting a few inches above the space between the charger and the dinner knife and work out to the right: water goblet, red or white wine glass (or both), and champagne flute.
8. Place your bread plate on the top left a few inches above the fork. Place a butter knife on top of the plate, laying diagonal with the blade facing where 10:00 p.m. would be on a clock.

For the full formal effect, decorate with candles, flowers, and place cards. The most formal tables will have everything completely symmetrical, down to even numbers of candles and perfectly distanced place settings. Remember, only set the table with the items you actually need. If you're not serving bread and butter or oysters, leave those pieces out.