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.

Don't know how? Time to call in the reinforcements.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Mary Hollis Huddleston Setting a perfectly laid table is an essential part of hosting.

While there are certain protocols for basic, casual, and formal table settings, there is some flexibility. Get creative based on the items you already own and what you’ll be serving. For a formal ...

When it comes to entertaining a large group at a sit-down dinner, it can be challenging to make everything look right. Chances are you don’t have service for 14. You may have enough for eight or 10, ...

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 ...

Most people walk into a restaurant, glance at the menu, maybe check the lighting, and sit down without giving the table itself a second thought. That's a mistake. People who have spent years working ...