8 steps to a Ravishingly Romantic Dinner Setting a Formal Table High Styling Table Settings Make Your Party Glow With Candles Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas

8 Steps to a Ravishingly Romantic Dinner Contributed By: The Surreal Gourmet

There's a fine line between setting the stage for a romantic dinner and spending the night feeling as if you're trapped in a poorly-written romance novel. Whether it's for a special birthday or just a Saturday night at home, these creative ideas will help you set a relaxed, confident tone for a wonderfully special dinner.

1. Be focused. Turn off the TV, unplug the phone and the pager and the cell phone...You get the idea! 2. Be light-hearted. Candles can transform the simplest meal into an occasion (not to mention, cast a flattering light on your profile!). Beeswax and scented candles compliment the love that's already in the air, but avoid heavily scented candles that could battle with the subtler aromas of the evening's food, flowers and fragrances. 3. Be jazzy. Select music that helps to set the mood, but doesn't distract or overpower your conversation. Pre-select your music for the evening to avoid interruptions. Choose your favorites, or fill the CD player with these timeless classics and hit "shuffle:" Chet Baker: Let's Get Lost John Coltrane: John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman Astor Piazzolla: Tango Zero Hour Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto Billie Holiday: The Original Authentic Recordings 4. Be bubbly. Nothing says "romantic occasion" more than the sound of a cork popping from a champagne bottle. There is a non-vintage Californian or French sparkling wine to fit the budget of each and every sentimental fool. Serve it well chilled. If you don't have an ice bucket, show a little unconventional flair by using an empty four-quart tin of canned tomatoes, or even an empty paint can. 5. Be floral. Scatter a path of rose petals leading from the door to the dinner table. To create a "scent-surround," buy a bunch of tuberoses or lilies and place one or two stems per vase in various locations around the house. 6. Be light-handed. Serve sensuous food, not sensational portions. Nothing shuts down a romantic evening faster than that bloated I-can't-move feeling. 7. Be blind (like love itself). After dinner, blindfold and feed your companion morsels of seductive delicacies - one bite at a time. Try peeled grapes, mango, kiwi, sorbet, chocolate truffles, etc. Alternate temperature and texture, and arrange the morsels in natural pairings. For example, serve a peeled slice of pear followed by a nugget of Stilton cheese, then a spoonful of port. 8. Be sweet & intoxicating. Cap off dessert with chocolate martinis. Here's a quick recipe: 2 1/2 oz. vodka 1 oz. clear Creme de Cacao Hershey's kisses for garnish Combine vodka and Crème de Cacao. Shake over ice and strain into two chilled martini glasses. Garnish with a Hershey's kiss and deliver together with a few from your own lips!

Setting a Formal Table Contributed By: Patty Sachs: Celebrations Expert Many people are intimidated by putting together a formal table setting - but it's really very simple! If you can read a clock, you can set an elegant table. Just use this step-by-step guide and you'll soon be laying out perfect place settings without breaking a sweat.

1. Center your charger plate directly in front of each chair and one inch from the edge of the table. Place your dinner plate in the center of the charger. (A charger plate is not necessary, but it's preferred.) 2. If you're pre-setting a soup or salad plate, center it on top of the dinner plate. (Remember, no bowl is ever placed on a place setting, without a flat plate underneath it.) 3. Using the dinner plate as the center of your "clock," position your water glass at 1:00. Set your red wine glass just below and left of that, and your white wine glass below and to the left of the red. 4. Position your bread and butter plate at 10:00. Center your butter knife so the tip sits across the top of the plate at 10:00 and 1:00. The curved portion of the knife faces down. 5. If you're pre-setting your dessert spoon and fork, they would be arranged at two inches above 12:00. The spoon's bowl would face left. Below that, the fork's tongs would face right. 6. Starting one inch to the left of 9:00, place your dinner fork. Your salad fork should be directly to the left of that. Place your dinner knife at the 3:00 position. Place your soup spoon to the right of that. Hint: Flatware is used from the outside in and forks always go on the left (note that "fork" and "left" have the same number of letters).

High Styling Table Settings Trends Point Towards Elegance and Sophistication

Traditional tables are undergoing a glamorous makeover, thanks to new decorating trends focused on romance and elegance. Luminous candlelight, iridescent fabrics, and shimmering confetti are bestsellers this season.

Following are five trend-setting ideas for creating a dramatic dinner table. 1. Define your place settings with chargers. These larger size decorative plates add complementary color and metallic tones to the table when placed under china or stoneware. Traditionally, chargers have been featured on the most elegant tabletops - from posh five-star restaurants to state dinners. Today they are being used in sophisticated homes everywhere. 2. Create drama with table runners. Runners have never been more popular, particularly in shimmering fabrics like organza or velvets. These bands of color and texture enhance your tabletop while highlighting the beauty of its natural surface, not to mention the fabulous food being served. 3. Light candles everywhere. Antique candlestick sets and candelabras are out. Smatterings of tea candles and votives are in. Use a variety of heights, widths, colors, and styles to create a sensational effect. 4. Sprinkle confetti for added sparkle. Paper confetti is passé. Now you can get it in sophisticated shapes, vibrant colors, and metallic materials to meet all your needs. Sprinkle some on your tabletop or buffet for a fabulously festive look. 5. Accent platinum and silver with gold. Glassware instantly adopts a new look with sheer metallic ribbon tied in bows around the stems.

Make Your Party Glow With Candles Contributed By: The Party Guy

Looking for a way to add an intimate touch to a large dinner party? Think candles! There are lots of creative ways to decorate with candles of all shapes and sizes. Just follow these easy tips and get ready to light up your party.

Start by lining your outside walkway with luminaries. Select a color (white is an elegant choice) and use only candles of that shade to decorate. Vary shapes and sizes for dramatic effect. Your flowers and other decorations can match or complement the candle color. Clear out your fireplace (rack and all) and fill it with pillar candles of all sizes for a dramatic glowing hearth. Create a floating candle centerpiece for your dining table. Fill a clear glass bowl with water, add a few drops of food coloring to tint the water (pick a color according to the season or your theme), and float white candles on top. You can also place a few strawberries in the bottom of the bowl instead of tinting the water. To turn ordinary tea lights into floating candles (great for bathtubs, pools, and barrels), carefully core an apple so a tea light nestles snugly inside. Be sure to place each apple in the water before coring to see how it will float. Use tall, graceful candlesticks on your serving and dining tables. Fill entire trays (next to your food platters) with candles of different heights and shapes. For added safety, try hurricane lights and votives (where the candle is enclosed by glass, wood, or some kind of metal, like punched tin). Put them in places where people who have had a few too many hurricane drinks won't stumble over them, like on coffee tables and countertops. (You might want to avoid the kind that attach to walls - I've seen them scorch paint and set off fire alarms.) Use twinkle lights (tiny white light strands) anywhere you don't feel comfortable using candles. They're particularly beautiful when placed around windows and mirrors.

Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas

If your Thanksgiving dinner is like the traditional American feast, there probably won't be much room on the table for a centerpiece. No need to fret. Autumn's vibrant and earthy colors present wonderful opportunities to adorn your table without giving up prime real estate reserved for the turkey and pumpkin pie.

For a simple and stunning look, make a path of leaves down the center of the table. Accent with small pumpkins, gourds, berries, and flowers. (If you can't find autumn leaves in your area, French cheese leaves will work just as well!) Peruse your closets for tablecloths, runners, place mats, or even sheets in yellows, oranges, browns, and golds. Mix and match colorful fabrics to cover tables, sideboards, and any other flat surfaces that might host the holiday meal. Make eye-catching napkin ties using rustic natural materials like raffia, straw, or lemongrass. Wrap autumn leaves around several small glass votives and tie in place with raffia (use a different color of leaf for each votive). Scatter the votives along your table runner. If you need more room on the table, hang your decorations overhead. Just string together vibrant orange, red, and yellow paper lanterns so they dangle a couple feet above the dinner table. Write each guest's name on a place card in gold metallic pen, then punch a hole in the top right corner of each card. Use pretty ribbon to tie them to the stems of pears or mini pumpkins and set one in front of each guest's plate. (For a place card that doubles as a favor, use candles in the shapes of fall fruits or vegetables.) Don't forget about the kids' table! While the turkey's cooking, give the little ones a supply of markers or crayons, construction paper, pipe cleaners, mini pumpkins, and fall leaves. The kids will love decorating their own table - and the grown-ups will love keeping them busy while they get dinner on the table!