Decorated table vs serving dishes of food - what do you do?

[Jessforless]

I know it’s June… 😂

Just looking at Christmas table decorations and really want to go all out, candles, garland down the middle, saw some lovely pictures.

But then what do you do with all the serving dishes? Does yours fit or do you not decorate the table?

Would you mind sharing where you got it from? This sounds a fab idea but I’m a bit worried it might be too flimsy!

I put all the serving dishes on the kitchen island - we serve ourselves and them sit down at the decorated kitchen table to eat,

Narrow garland ‘slaloming’ around candlesticks - takes up hardly any space. Plenty of space for all your dishes on the table.

Flowers and other decorations and ornaments on the side table.

We just bought a sheet in B&Q. It gives a foot either side and a foot either end...that's why it's not flimsy. Any more overhang at the end and it could break if someone leaned on it too hard etc. To make it even more stable, we do a couple of wraps of duct tape around the middle of the table to make sure the MDF doesn't move. Once it's covered with a tablecloth you'd never know. It's surprising the difference the extra space makes.

@gardenmusic we use tea light candle warmers to keep the food warm on the table. I have added a link so hope it works

https://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjW4sHvneCHAxVVolAGHZpJCBoYABAiGgJkZw&co=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1uLB753ghwMVVaJQBh2aSQgaEAQYAiABEgLIaDDBwE&sig=AOD642XVqOxMHH3JXWaZygqyimqON5U9A&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiF-rzvneCHAxUfV0EAHSCaB0YQ5bgDKAB6BAgFEBQ&adurl=

roonetta

It's my old candle warmer! Thank you!
Anyone else, these get hotter than you would think, so take care.

We prioritise food, but using best crockery which has a red and gold trim so looks festive.
Turkey carved beforehand, and then someone else helps with veg to speed up serving.

We have food set up like a carvery on our kitchen peninsula, DH carves the meat to people’s liking and they then self serve veggies and trimmings. It’s a relatively quick process and means we can all eat together, the last person up covers dishes or shoves them back in the (off) oven ready for seconds if anyone wants them.

We put on a real spread so there would be way too much to fit it on the table and I usually stuff myself so much I can’t bear to see any more food so I wouldn’t like it in the middle of the table anyway.

We have a big chest that we use a sort of sideboard in the dining room. Dishes go on there and people help themselves, buffet style. Sauces go on the table, which is decorated.