If you had to name the No. 1 rule most people stress about when it comes to fine dining etiquette, it's not about keeping elbows off the table (which is apparently safe these days). It's how to use ...

Do you love hosting dinner parties? Then you probably know a thing or two about setting a table. Here's the thing: Whether you're a novice when it comes to this part of entertaining or have been ...

The intricacies of table settings have gone the way of butlers and parasol flirtations, calling cards and dressing for dinner. But that may be changing. After all, Downton Abbey was wildly popular for ...

Not sure how to set a table properly? Whether you're planning a casual gathering or a formal, intimate dinner, this is table-setting etiquette you need to know. Dining habits have changed drastically ...

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 ...

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.

Have you ever wondered how to set a table? The holidays are here, and with it, dinner parties as well as formal family meals that finally put grandma’s silver to use. Laying them out, however, can be ...

It wasn’t a reader letter about formal place settings. It was a real, live person, sitting at a table in front of me. But I wasn’t dining with him. I was his server. Earlier this month, I had the ...