Poll: S/O: Setting the table

[eaglei]

The responses to the thread on plating dh's food got me to wondering - do you generally set the table for meals? Many of the responses in the *plating* thread sounded like fixing plates is done at the stove, so I am curious.

 

I set the table for almost all of our meals; however, for the evening meal, we will often have place mats and I *try* to color coordinate the pot holders that I use for putting the serving bowls on. At holidays, I will generally use table cloths. We most always have a centerpiece - just something simple - occasionally flowers (from the yard or clean second-hand silk flowers), or more often than not candlelight (although on hot summer days, the candle generally stay unlit). I put the plates, glasses (or cups/saucers), cloth napkins, and silverware out at each setting. Definitely nothing formal, just simple.

 

So I am curious - what do others do?

[Crissy]

Yes, always.

Even though we have a casual attitude towards meals and we often play board, card or dice games at dinner, the table is properly set with table cloth, napkins, fork/knife/spoon and glasses.

[Daisy]

It goes like this...

 

One kid washes off the table (cats, school, life).

One kids grabs silverware and napkins. We only put out the silverware we need.

Dad fills glasses with water.

I tell the kids if any condiments are needed & they place them on the table.

I dish up plates and they get taken to the table.

 

We pray, eat, and talk non-stop.

 

Everyone is expected to show proper table manners but we could care less about prettying up the table.

 

Nothing fancy. I'm not into decorating and a centerpiece would never work anyway. We do school at that table all day long, and the cats would just destroy a centerpiece of flowers. I don't like tablecloths. I only use them when we have guests or it is a holiday.

Edited September 23, 2010 by Daisy

[elegantlion]

The table always has a table cloth on it. Ds is usually the one setting the table. Plates, drinks, silverware, napkins, and any condiments we might need.

[Old Dominion Heather]

I'll set the table for dinner only and even then maybe two/three nights a week. And by that I mean that I'll tell one of the boys to do it. Otherwise no. They pick up the food like a soup kitchen and get the utensils they need and then put their own stuff in the sink when done.

 

We have taken a long time to get to this point. I grew up NEVER sitting at the table for more than five minutes and dh grew up having 45-90 minute meals complete with family devotions. He would love to have a set table for every meal, but he didn't marry a person who could deal well with that. :)

[Rosie_0801]

"Other"

 

No I don't, but yes I do know what it means and could perform the task if I felt like it.

 

Except for the tablecloth. The only tablecloths we own are in my sewing box to be chopped up to make a skirt.

 

;)

Rosie

[abbeyej]

I said "yes", but really I call to the kids, "Time to set the table!" as I'm finishing up making a meal. ;) It's pretty minimal -- plates, the flatware we need for the meal (so it might just be forks and nothing else), cloth napkins, glasses of water... Then they'll come and carry anything else to the table that I ask them to, like a bowl of salad or a small dish of shredded cheese or other condiment, etc.

 

There are times when I serve plates in the kitchen for various reasons, but we still need napkins and utensils on the table, and usually a bowl of salad or some such...

[tenoraddict]

My kids set and clear the table.

[Joker]

It goes like this...

 

One kid washes off the table (cats, school, life).

One kids grabs silverware and napkins. We only put out the silverware we need.

Dad fills glasses with water.

I tell the kids if any condiments are needed & they place them on the table.

I dish up plates and they get taken to the table.

 

We pray, eat, and talk non-stop.

 

Everyone is expected to show proper table manners but we could care less about prettying up the table.

 

Nothing fancy. I'm not into decorating and a centerpiece would never work anyway. We do school at that table all day long, and the cats would just destroy a centerpiece of flowers. I don't like tablecloths. I only use them when we have guests or it is a holiday.

 

It's exactly the same way here - except I don't even own a tablecloth so I can't put one out for guests or holidays!

[LibraryLover]

Other. I sometimes plate each person's dinner. How it looks to others is very important to me. I cook food with a thought to color.

 

Our table has on it cloth napkins in a basket and silverware. The food is plated at the island, either by me or each person, and water is poured from a pitcher at this island. Folks take their food to the table, where napkins and silverware awaits.

 

The salad bowl and the water pitcher are sometimes placed on the table, sometimes not.

 

Each person puts their plate in the sink. When our dishwasher was working, each person rinsed their plate and put it in the s dishwasher. Makes cleanup a total breeze and keeps people in the kitchen just a bit longer to chat. Plus, many hands make light work.

Edited September 23, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Crissy]

How it looks to others is very important to me. I cook food with a thought to color.

 

 

 

I didn't realize until recently that I do this as well. My son wanted chicken, mashed potatoes and cauliflower. When I hesitated he said, "Oooh, too white?"

[Daisy]

I didn't realize until recently that I do this as well. My son wanted chicken, mashed potatoes and cauliflower. When I hesitated he said, "Oooh, too white?"

 

This is how my mother taught us good nutrition. We could NEVER have foods of all the same color at a meal. She was always hunting for her rainbow of veggies. :D Now I do the same thing.

[Amber in AUS]

I put other. My DC set the table, not me :D They put out placemats, cuttlery, cups, salt & pepper, side plates. I mostly serve at the stove and then I or DH put everyones plates on the table.

[LibraryLover]

I didn't realize until recently that I do this as well. My son wanted chicken, mashed potatoes and cauliflower. When I hesitated he said, "Oooh, too white?"

 

 

Ha! Mine get that too. lol Even a baked mac & cheese needs at least a good handful of fresh chopped parsley.

Edited September 23, 2010 by LibraryLover

[lynn]

The kids rotate this job.

[Parrothead]

Yes the table is set with either a table cloth or place mats. Napkins for either option. Plates, glasses and stemware, flatware because I do not have silver. Salad plates or soup bowls as needed along with what ever serving dishes for each meal.

 

I'm currently in the market for a soup tureen.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, the kids set the table. Place mats sometimes, sometimes not.

[ladydusk]

I voted "Other" because we do a mixture.

 

We set the table with plates and needed flatware M-F. We serve from the table, with Jason and I both filling plates and cutting food.

 

Saturday, I go all out with a full setting of silver (2 forks, knife, spoon, and dessert spoon & fork), dish changes for courses (clear a salad/soup bowl), dessert (as a general rule this is the only night we have dessert), sometimes we do tablecloth/placemats, always cloth napkins. We eat at my parent's on the Lord's Day so I don't get to cook Sunday dinner that way, therefore we do it on Saturday evening. We do this 1) because I enjoy it 2) so the children don't look surprised when served formally and 3) it is a nice preparation for worship in the morning. We often eat Saturdays in the dining room instead of the kitchen table.

 

Sundays are free-for-all. I don't cook in the evening, so we generally have "lunch food" or leftovers.

 

My "sous chef" for the day helps with table setting. My "scullery maid" for the day helps with clearing. Three kids ... each has two days/week where they have those jobs. Sundays my kitchen is mine.

[Ferdie]

Funny you should ask. There was a thread on these boards last week where several people chimed in about the benefits of using a tablecloth vs. placemats. After reading the thread I went out and bought this and love it:

 

http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/kitchendining/tablelinenskitchentextiles/tableclothsrunners/PRD~c20518/Chaps+Home+Adrienne+Floral+Tablecloth.jsp

 

So I am switching from placemats to tablecloths. See how influencial y'all are?

[linders]

:001_smile:.

 

Seriously, we do set the table, and DS7 is now in charge of that, every meal. DS10 is in charge of ensuring that everyone has a beverage (unless it is wine for Mommy...)

[Amy in NH]

We set the table with napkins, the eating utensils that are necessary to the meal, and glasses every night. The plates go on the table after they are filled at the stove. I don't like place-mats because I've found that the table is easier to clean without them.

 

On holidays we use a tablecloth, a full set of utensils, and also set the empty plates on the table. That is the only time we set out serving dishes and platters for the food.

[ereks mom]

...stays on the table all the time. The cloth napkins are nothing fancy; we use them because it's cheaper to use/wash/reuse cloth napkins than to keep buying paper napkins.

[Nakia]

It goes like this...

 

One kid washes off the table (cats, school, life).

One kids grabs silverware and napkins. We only put out the silverware we need.

Dad fills glasses with water.

I tell the kids if any condiments are needed & they place them on the table.

I dish up plates and they get taken to the table.

 

We pray, eat, and talk non-stop.

 

Everyone is expected to show proper table manners but we could care less about prettying up the table.

 

Nothing fancy. I'm not into decorating and a centerpiece would never work anyway. We do school at that table all day long, and the cats would just destroy a centerpiece of flowers. I don't like tablecloths. I only use them when we have guests or it is a holiday.

 

This pretty much. Except our oldest daughter usually fixes the drinks, and dh gets out the silverware and napkins.

[smrtmama]

The table is set (tables, napkins, utensils, beverages, food on hot pads on the table), but my son does it. :)

[Sasharowan]

Weekday meals are often eaten in between books at the table or on tv trays in the living room since we are either schooling, on our way somewhere, or just getting home. We do make it a point af having sit down, table set meals on weekends. No place mats or tablecloths, though.

[justamouse]

we try -and for the most part succeed at setting the table. The kids do it all. Table cloth, cloth napkins (cause I'm too cheap to buy paper) and utensils we need are put out by the 8, 8, 7. 11 yo ds handles the glasses and ice, 15 dd manages the diningroom and wields the knife in case the littles need. I serve it up at the kitchen, and each kid carries thier plate out to the diningroom. They get seconds themselves if they want. 19 is normally at classes. Dh is never home for weekday dinner, only the weekend.( I reheat his dinner in the microwave and most of the time sit with him while he eats. ) Dinner talk is normally pretty hysterical and irreverent. This is my nod to my Dh's Italian family table where at dinner and holidays everyone needed to argue and yell over eachother and laugh till our sides hurt (over 13 courses, of course). 19 ds rinses and loads the dishwasher, 15 dd unloads. I do the pots and pans.

 

On the weekend it's family style with serving dishes out on the table-because I have more time and more help.

 

I don't do it to make pretty, I do it so that they know how to eat at a proper table, not mortify me when we go out, and to give them a sense of heritage.

Edited September 23, 2010 by justamouse

[Caitilin]

At our house the youngest child who is old enough sets the table--it's the first household (ie. not personal) chore assigned. Right now my dd6 is doing it, and has been for a year or so. We always set though, unless it's one of those really rare "cereal for dinner" nights. :D

[myfatherslily]

I couldn't care less about setting the table:) And there's no way I'm gonna dirty an extra serving dish when we could serve from the pan or have to wash a tablecloth when I could just wipe the table after. I'm just that lazy;) Don't misunderstand - I do think nice tables are lovely! But I'm too scatterbrained, do-things-after-the-last-possible-minute to be bothered with it!

[wapiti]

I couldn't care less about setting the table:) And there's no way I'm gonna dirty an extra serving dish when we could serve from the pan or have to wash a tablecloth when I could just wipe the table after. I'm just that lazy;) Don't misunderstand - I do think nice tables are lovely! But I'm too scatterbrained, do-things-after-the-last-possible-minute to be bothered with it!

 

:o This is me.

 

Though I do have a tablecloth (cloth over a separate vinyl one) to protect the wood table, that we'll see again many years from now.

 

We set it when we have guests. Otherwise, we bring dishware to the table only as needed. Drives my mother nuts when she visits.

[joannqn]

We set the table with plates, cups, napkins, and the silverware that we need. We don't own place mats or table clothes. Centerpieces just get in the way so we don't usually do those either. If I happen to have flowers on the table, they get moved off the table during meals so that they are out of the way.

[Ellie]

I had to vote "other." :)

 

When dc were home, I always set the table, including putting food in serving bowls. We always use cloth napkins, btw.

 

Now that it's just Mr. Ellie and me, I still set the table, but I often plate the food and serve it...unless it's something like tacos, in which case I put everything in serving bowls and put them on the table.

[RoughCollie]

Either I or one of the children sets the table for meals with placemats, napkins, silverware, glasses, and salad bowls. The napkin holder, salt and pepper shakers, and condiments are placed on the table. One of the kids pours the milk. Another kid takes the plates the table after I fill them.

 

I use tablecloths for more formal meals (holidays, company) when I add leaves to the table. I took out all the leaves a few months ago to make the dining room less crowded, and I don't have any tablecloths that are small enough to use.

[DawnM]

Not sure I can answer.

 

We have gotten fairly lazy in our eating together. This time of year it is really bad.....DH isn't home in time for dinner (busy season) so the kids and I just grab our food and sit at the kitchen counter.

 

Our dining room table is covered in games right now, so until that is cleaned up, we will continue to use the kitchen counter.....no setting.....grab the plates from the cupboard and serve up at the stove and then hand it to whoever.

 

Dawn

[Dawn in OH]

Our table gets set for dinner more often than not. I personally don't do this very often, but oversee the process while I'm cooking.

 

The children wipe off the table, put out plates, napkins, utensils, cups, fill the water pitcher, and set out things like hot pads,butter, salt, dressings, etc.