The Most Bang for Your Buck: How To Squeeze 12 Around an 8-Person Table

Do you come from a large family? Are you too popular for your own good? Did you overlook this fact when you volunteered to host Thanksgiving Dinner around your inadequate dinner table? Fear not… you can still host your dinner party, it will just require a bit of clever strategery. Here are some tips for maximizing your Thanksgiving in minimal space.

1. Consider your furniture

Look at the furniture you have to work with, taking into consideration your dining chairs, additional chairs (both formal and folding), stools, and benches. Get out all the furniture you have to work with and start arranging. Obviously, if your dining table is round, a bench is not going to be a good option. Likewise, if the bench has a back, it will limit people’s ability to get up from the table without disrupting the other diners. The more narrow your dining chairs, the better. You might find that the seating works better if you can alternate a dining chair with a folding chair or stool, especially if your table is round. For rectangular tables, you can fit four seats on each side, and two at each end. Finally, if your chairs are too wide, see what your friends and family own, or consider buying some different ones.

2. Think about the menu

With a lot of people at a small table, you will want to minimize the place settings, and general amount of stuff on the table. Forget the ultra-formal table setting and choose something that will serve needs without clutter, including glasses for water and wine, dinner plates, bowls for soup (if you want to serve it), napkins, and only the necessary silverware. In consideration of the place settings, opt for a simple meal that will not require an additional salad/bread plate, etc. Consider letting guests serve themselves away from the table, or serving them from a single dish in front of you, instead of trying to pass large plates of food around a crowded table (and then having to hunt for somewhere to put them down).

3. Keep it simple

Take into account the smaller details that will make the meal more enjoyable. These may not be the factors that people will notice, if you do them, but they are the sure-fire things that people notice if you don’t.

-Pull the table away from the wall and other furniture, so that it is easy for guests to get in and out.

-Ask close family and/or friends to to follow your lead by sitting in the less comfortable seats to allow less regular guests more comfortable seating.

-Don’t go overboard with the decorations; make sure people can see each other over the centerpiece, and that the table arrangements aren’t taking up too much room.

-Keep the table as uncluttered as possible by combining bottles of wine in a carafe, placing the food platters on a buffet or console, and serving fewer courses and sides.

-But make sure to account for convenience by keeping small salt and pepper shakers (and any other necessary condiments) on each end of the table. Don’t make your guests reach for the gravy boat and butter.

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