Image credit: Molly Mahon

Instagram is awash with ideas to vamp up your festive tablescaping and there’s a trend and theme to suit every taste. Dressing your Christmas table in spectacular style will wow your guests and add a magic atmosphere to your yuletide hosting. It’s a great way to elevate your dining experience and bring everyone together.

Maximalism is big for Christmas tablescaping in 2023 and when it comes to decor, it’s the more the merrier. Clash prints and colours, texture and materials, and get really creative with your tableware and accessories.

If bold brights are not for you, then create a cosy Christmas with natural linens, soft flickering candlelight and scented winter foliage. Creating a handwritten menu can add a personal touch. Happy decorating.

Pattern play

When it comes to festive tablescaping, Truffle Tablescapes are the go-to for bringing your hosting to life. Their woodland sage tablecloth is 100% cotton and is one that you can bring out year after year.

It works as the perfect backdrop for a range of styling. Here, the warm glow of the tortoiseshell candleholders and cutlery, along with the soft velvet green bows adds a decadent touch. Helpfully, they’ve newly launched a rental accessory section. So if you wanted to hire a full look for a short period you can.

Crisp white linen

Nothing quite beats a crisp, white tablecloth when creating a chic, fresh look for your festive tablescaping. And the Chalk Pink Linen Company has an award-winning selection. It’s also the perfect complement to the rich, winter berry tones that you’ll find in natural foliage at this time of year.

In terms of cutlery, solid silver will stand out against white linen and work especially well if you add a little sparkle to your table with baubles. Go for cut glass or crystal to elevate the look, along with long white tapered candles for a timeless, elegant finish.

Maximalist brights

Dopamine decor has been one of 2023’s hottest trends, so bring it into your festive scheme. Molly Mahon’s fabulous frilly bow tablecloths in burgundy and rose are made from heavy organic cotton and are hand block-printed, hand finished and hemmed in India.

With a passion for colour, pattern and good craftsmanship, Molly says she finds “a room full of textures, layers and colours exciting and uplifting”. These linens make a great base for your tablescaping, and you could extend the bow theme across the whole room.

Dopamine decor can be a welcome departure from the typical December reds and greens, but still brings a healthy dose of the festive, joyful cheer we all crave.

Layered place settings

Layering, layering, layering, seems to be the key to festive tablescaping and when the tableware is this pretty, that’s no bad thing. Dust your placemats off from the back of the cupboard, because they’re having a moment again. These gorgeous Rebecca Udell waxed linen placemats in cherry red are both stylish and practical, and you can wipe them clean.

Add one of her hand-woven rattan chargers on top of the placements before stacking scalloped crockery. Don’t forget a pressed white linen napkin and buy a roll of deep burgundy velvet from your local haberdashers to tie a festive bow around each one.

Play with height

When making a statement table for a large amount of guests, you want to make a strong visual impact. Here, there’s a uniform look to the decor, with a matching theme. The grey/green of the linen napkins is picked up in the fluted glassware and accented with on-trend gold cutlery.

The ordered feel is softened with What a Host’s hand-crafted Margot candleholders running down the centreline of the table. Smithed in iron, these slim, tall candleholders come in a set of three in different heights. Layer them with tapered candles among the floral displays to add atmosphere.

Create a hanging centrepiece

If you think you’ve exhausted all the creative Christmas wreath ideas, think again. Hanging centrepieces are in, like a Christmas chandelier wreath over your festive tablescaping. There’s a variety of ways you can make your own, but the simplest is to take your wreath and to hang it horizontally by tying ribbon on each side of the wreath. Martha Stewart has a great step-by-step guide to show you how.

Dependent on how minimal or maximal you want your wreath you can add baubles, decorations or even starburst lighting to hang down from your chandelier. Adorn them with velvet bows and fairy lights, and if you want to create a dramatic impact and have a long table, create a series of wreaths at different heights. Lights4fun have got packs of tiny, cute red and white toadstool decorations you can easily tie to your wreath.

Add marbling

Marbling is a trend you’re likely to see all over this Christmas, especially in the form of crackers. These fun eco-friendly crackers from Talking Tables are a riff on the traditional with their cool, wintry tones with hints of white and gold, but have a playful touch.

Team them up with Talking Tables blue and yellow ombre honeycomb tree decorations and a pop of turquoise with their two-tone candles.

Hang paper stars

Paper stars are one of the easiest ways to bring festive cheer into your home. They’re also one that you could leave up all year round. They’re quite often hung in windows come Christmas time as they give off a welcoming, soft glow. Although hanging them over your table can make for a statement addition to your festive tablescaping.

Dobbies has a range of block colour stars, while Paper Starlights has a huge range of intricate, hand-crafted stars to choose from.

If you feel like getting crafty, then you can make your own pretty easily. This step-by-step guide from Call me Cupcake features a cute, rustic version made with brown paper bags.

A cosy Christmas

The natural look is perennially popular at Christmas time and creating a warm, cosy look is key. Bringing in a natural palette of neutral tones and rustic touches can be the perfect antidote to the excess of bold colour, sparkle and glitter that’s around at this time of year.

Drape your table with a hessian tablecloth, keep your pillar candles cream or white and plentiful, and make your own green foliage wreath. To make it a sensory experience, add scented winter foliage like eucalyptus, holly, winter pine and bay. Drying out orange slices slowly in the oven and adding them to your wreath with cinnamon can also get you into the Christmas spirit.

Don’t forget the breakfast table

So much thought goes into your festive tablescaping for the turkey dinner it can be easy to overlook the all-important Christmas breakfast. Set the tone for the day with a decadent spread. B&M has a lovely range of robin eggcups and holly mugs.