Three easy etiquette tips for Thanksgiving hosting and dinning

 Whether you are a guest or hosting Thanksgiving this year, Classic Girl would like to share 3 easy tips for setting the perfect dining room table or dining at an elegantly set table.

• The utensils are placed in alphabetical order from left to right, so Fork, Knife & Spoon are in that order FKS. Forks to the left of the plate and knives and spoons to the right of the plate, with knife blades facing toward the plate.
• If the dining table has multiple forks, etc. the best way to remember which one to use for each course is to think – “outside-in”. Meaning, if you have three forks to the left of your main plate and the first course is an appetizer then you use the furthest left fork, then if the next course is a salad you use the next (middle) fork. You will be left with your main course fork. This also applies to the utensils to the right of the plate. Don’t worry about your dessert utensils they are placed above your plate, at 12 o’clock.
• When it comes to which glass or bread plate is yours – this is easy if you remember a little saying, “It is right to drink, and wrong to eat bread”. Meaning all the glasses to the “right” of your plate are your - water, wine, etc. Likewise, the small bread plate to the left of your main plate is your bread plate. The saying helps me by thinking “right” is the opposite of “wrong”, and right is also the opposite of “left”, therefore “wrong” and “left” are interchanged.

We hope this helps with hosting and dining this holiday season. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I’m grateful for my connections with you all, for my work at CGC and I’m grateful for my family and friends.

Above photograph courtesy of Diane Gottsman, The Protocol School dianegottsman.com