While there are certain protocols for basic, casual, and formal table settings, there is some flexibility. Get creative based on the items you already own and what you’ll be serving. For a formal ...

Mackenzie Schmidt is the Home and Travel Editor for PEOPLE. She's worked at PEOPLE for over five years as a writer and editor on the Lifestyle team. Real talk: You eat all your meals on the couch.

How to set a table used to be common knowledge, but in today’s fast and busy world, knowing how to set a table properly has become somewhat of a party trick. If you’ve been tasked with hosting a baby ...

Though British and American table settings play by their own set of rules, many of them overlap; forks on the left, knives and spoons on the right; glassware above the knives. Make sure the knife ...

Don’t panic if the table is a little on the smaller side. Garten once called a too-large table a “party killer.” In her Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Back to Basics, she shared specifics. “For small ...