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Christmas table cloths and table dressing the easy way

Being prepared for the Christmas holidays can make the whole event more relaxing and enjoyable.

Christmas Eve is the time to prepare your table for the big event. When I say Christmas Eve I mean the whole day before. It will give you time and you will if you have the opportunity to get someone to dash out for something if you have forgotten it. Christmas morning is not the time.

The tablecloths for your Christmas feast can be a major problem. The first thing is you have more people sitting at your table than normally so you may be extending it. Have you got a cloth big enough? These are things that cannot be thought about on the day, they need to be addressed well before the event.

Preparing the tablecloth. By it's nature the table cloth that you use on Christmas Day will be big. Now that in itself poses a problem. How do I iron a huge table cloth? There is no easy way to explain how to deal with this so the best way is for me to describe how we do it in our home.

About 2 weeks before Christmas Day we make sure we have a table cloth big enough. We endeavor each year to put our table cloths away to use again. However, when it comes to digging it out, we can either not find it, it was too badly marked on the day or we just want to have a new colour theme to the day. In  the end we usually end up getting a new one.

As soon as you buy the cloth or bring it out from storage, inspect it. Make sure it is in good condition. If you have bought a defective cloth then return it to the store. Then you need to give it a wash. Once washed you can give it a rough iron. This is to get most of the creases out.

When you are ironing a large item, you need to place an old sheet or large towel on the floor. Then place your ironing board over the sheet or towel. The reason being is, as the item hangs over the ironing board it will drape onto the floor. The sheet will prevent the item from picking up any stray marks, dog hairs or anything else that might be lurking on the floor. You can guarantee that clean tablecloths are a magnet to dirt. Now that you have given it a rough iron you can fold it up and store it until the day before Christmas. 

It is so important for you to prepare your table the day before and your table cloth is a great example of why. When you open up your table cloth it will have a multitude of folding creases. So if you like your Christmas table cloth to be flat and pristine on the day the only solution is to iron it just before it goes on the table. As described earlier you need to have an old sheet or towel on the floor when you iron, to prevent dirt latching onto your tablecloth. Taking your time, you will be able to get your cloth looking great for the day. 

Once you have ironed the whole article on the ironing board, you can place it on the table. With the cloth is in place you can make sure that you have not missed any areas. If you have missed any areas, you can correct them while the cloth is in place. Place a towel between the table and the cloth and give the cloth a blast from your steam iron. The creases will just fall out. Do not place the iron directly onto the table as this will scorch the table. If you do not use a steam iron then double up on the amount of towel that you place between the table and the cloth. Lightly spray the creased area with water and gently iron with your flat iron.

I hope that you find this information useful and my heart will be with you when you watch your guests drop sauce, potatoes and turkey all over your pride and joy.