Tables Merry and Bright

Some of our favorite designers and products dress the table for holiday gatherings

It’s time to bring out the china, silver, and crystal, and set holiday tables that sparkle and twinkle like the season. Click the arrows (or swipe if on a mobile device) to see more.

Elegant Dinner Soirée
Rufolo glass gold service plate by Vietri • Giralda china by William Yeoward • Ladder-stitch dinner napkin by Hibiscus Linens through Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers • Boxwood napkin rings by Michael Michaud Table Art through Adams Antiques • Renaissance flatware by Christofle through Replacements, Ltd. • Salt and pepper by Gorham through Beverly Bremer Silver Shop • Saint-Louis Bubbles wine hock through Scully & Scully • Sterling cup from private estate • Antique French gilt-bronze jardinière through Adams Antiques. Photo by Laurey W. Glenn
Breakfast With Santa
Round tassel linen place mat by Hibiscus Linens • Old St. Nick dinner plates and limited edition salad plate by Vietri • Tours dinner napkin with monogram by Julia B. • Tara flatware by Reed & Barton through Beverly Bremer Silver Shop • Ernestine tumbler highball by William Yeoward • Hand-embroidered Christmas cocktail coasters by Julia B. • Roman pewter centerpiece by Match • Suzanne Kasler accent ornaments by Ballard Designs. Photo by Laurey W. Glenn
Festive Holiday Brunch
Grapevine charger by Ballard Designs • Edgey glass charger by Annieglass through Hudson- Poole Fine Jewelers • Tiffany Holiday china by Tiffany through Replacements, Ltd. • Orange Blossom, Old flatware by Alvin through Beverly Bremer Silver Shop • Ivory hemstitch dinner napkin featuring Carlisle embroidery monogram by Leontine Linens • Salt and pepper by Dominick & Haff through Beverly Bremer Silver Shop • Mushroom table card holders by Buccellati • Antique French marquetry jardinière with bronze mounts through Adams Antiques. Photo by Laurey W. Glenn
Christmas Day Luncheon
Marie-Antoinette service plate by Bernardaud through Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers • Winter Shimmer dinner plate and dessert plate by Herend • Tours with Line dinner napkin by Julia B. • Buttercup flatware by Gorham through Beverly Bremer Silver Shop • Colleen water goblet by Waterford through Replacements, Ltd. • Royal champagne coupe by Moser • Lady Hamilton white wine glass by Moser • Antique water pitcher through Mirror Lake Antiques • Revere bowl by Simon Pearce • Stocking by Rebecca Vizard. Photo by Laurey W. Glenn
Christmas Eve Feast
Pastel glass red service plate by Vietri • Bernardaud Grenadiers Limoges porcelain china through Scully & Scully • Tassel dinner napkin with monogram by Hibiscus Linens through Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers • Rose Point sterling flatware by Wallace through Beverly Bremer Silver Shop • Pear and Apple salt and pepper by Godinger through Hudson-Poole Fine Jewelers • Optical Gold water, wine, and champagne glasses by Vietri • Pair of antique French brass jardinières through Adams Antiques • Suzanne Kasler plaid glass ornaments through Ballard Designs • Chubby Drummer nutcracker by Steinbach. Photo by Laurey W. Glenn
"My table is layered with suzani tablecloths, Indian palampores, 18th-century Spanish pottery, and Swiss etched crystal with mountain scenes. I pile the table with greens from the garden, ruby amaryllis, red roses, and edelweiss. It’s sort of a winter wonderland."—Michelle Nussbaumer. Photo by Melanie Acevedo
hanukkah dinner table
Hanukkah Dinner
Icy blues, grays, and whites give this tablescape a wintry feel, warmed by the glow of a menorah and lantern lights that flank the hearth. Silver julep cups are filled with mixed arrangements of dusty miller, white spray roses, Muscari, Ornithogalum arabicum, silver-painted rose foliage, ranunculus, white tulips, and brunia. Silver and white Jordan almonds in a star bowl and silvered gelt round out the pretty setting. Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner
In a sterling epergne, a muted arrangement by Katharine Davis of Offbeat Blooms includes dusty miller, roses, seeded eucalyptus, and anemones— homeowner Mila Hirsch’s favorite flower. Each place setting is a mix of treasures both recently collected and passed down from family.
entertaining essentials, amaryllis arrangement
We asked tastemakers and designers for their holiday entertaining essentials. Barclay Butera responded, "An exquisitely set dining table. I always use my Ralph Lauren Empress dinnerware, Ricci Bamboo silver, and cobalt glassware. Fresh paperwhites, pepper berries, and greenery complement the look without overpowering the table. Simple white unscented taper candles add ambience without interfering with the aromas of good food and wine."
This dining table shows off a masterful grouping of more contemporary elements such as the wooden charger plates and marble cheese board joined by formal china and elegant white linens trimmed or monogrammed in gold from Table Matters, one of the designer Marjorie Johnston's go-to shops. “A lot of people have fine china they never use because it feels so formal, but if you mix it with more rustic pieces, you can create a whole new look. We had metallic elements throughout that tied this table setting together,” says Wendy Barze of JoJo Home.
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On Ashley Wiltshire Spotswood’s table, crystal, china and silver sparkle around a small, ethereal arrangement of amaryllis ‘Tarantula,’ anemones, mixed eucalyptus, painted plumosa, and foraged bits in an antique silver piece.
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A casual Christmas breakfast gets a lift from monogrammed napkins and cheery holiday thoughts in place card holders. Connecticut designer Carmiña Roth gravitates toward amaryllis during the holidays. “The red amaryllis is one of my favorite choices when decorating for the Christmas season,” she says. Photo by Tria Giovan
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