If you are anything like me, you have invited friends over for dinner and procrastinated until the very last minute when you scramble to pull things together before they walk in the door.

Between the frantic run around the house picking up toys, the quick walk to the laundry room to close the door on the chaos inside, and checking on dinner to make sure you haven’t burned anything in the meantime, the table is often the last part of the process.

So here are three tips on how to create the perfect table setting for your dinner party, without adding to your stress.

First, decide where you want people to gather. This might sound like a basic thing, but it will define how you organize your food and table settings.

Do you want people to relax and congregate wherever they feel comfortable? Then bypass the formal table setting and stack your plates in the kitchen buffet style. This will set the informal vibe from the start so that your guests will help themselves and not feel obligated to sit at the table. I often find this is the best method for larger gatherings. This will allow people to mingle in small groups throughout the space, and reconvene in the kitchen every time they want to get seconds of their favorite dish!

For this serving method, make sure to put a little thought into your “food flow”. You want to have your plates located in an area where there is enough room to gather and set out your dishes in the order that you want people to have them. Salads and rolls first, gravy after the mashed potatoes and so on.

Alternatively, if you want everyone to navigate back to the table for a sit down meal, then plan the time to set the table with your plates so that each person chooses their seat before they fill their plate.

Second, determine the tableware needed based off of your menu and the amount of people who will be attending your party. If you are going with the informal buffet style, make sure you have enough plates, cups, and silverware out for both dinner and dessert! That way when someone is done with dinner and ready to fill their plate with that amazing apple crisp, they won’t need to track you down to find more forks.

For the formal table setting, you don’t necessarily need to have everything set at the table right off the bat. Start with setting the table for dinner and make sure to include a smaller plate for salad or rolls, if needed. You might have a picky eater who doesn’t like the salad dressing to mingle with the lasagna, and they will appreciate your thoughfulness! On a side note, I was that child who cried when my food touched, so this one always makes me smile.

For your utensil placement, here is a cute little rhyme that I learned as a child to remember the proper order of the silverware. “The knife, spoon, and fork went to visit the plate and got into an argument. The plate was in the middle but the knife and spoon said they were right, so the fork left.”

And last but not least, choose a few decorations to give your table a wow factor! It is amazing how simply you can create a table setting that looks like you put tons of time and effort in! For the casual buffet, I usually stick with something simple like flowers in the center of the island with the food arranged all around.

For the formal table, I usually take inspiration from the theme or holiday we are celebrating. So whether its tiny cute little pumpkins lined up down the center of the table, or a mismatch of glass vases with greenery from your yard, you can find inspiration from what you have at hand or go all out and buy everything you love from Hobby Lobby. Just remember to keep things small not tall so that people can still see and talk over the center of the table.

At the end of the day, your guest won’t remember if you put the fork in the “right” place (on the left). 🙂 They will remember that you invited them, talked with them, and spent quality time with them. And that makes you a great friend and host!