The simplest way to personalize a Christmas table is to put a named object at each place and let it go home with the guest. A 5 inch fabric ornament embroidered with a name, resting on the plate, works as a place marker, a conversation starter and a gift in one move — and unlike a printed place card, it is still useful on 2 January.
Why an ornament beats a place card
A place card is a single-use object that tells people where to sit. It is thrown away before dessert. A named ornament does the same job and then does four more:
- It is a gift, given without any of the ceremony of giving a gift.
- It is a record — people hang it on their own tree and remember the year.
- It is reusable if the same people come every year, which most Christmas tables are.
- It solves the children's table problem, because a small soft object is a far better thing for a seven-year-old to find at their place than a folded card.
Taileroom's fabric ornaments are 5 inches, with detailed machine embroidery on textured fabric and a ready-to-hang braided loop, which is the detail that makes them work here — the loop gives you something to tie.
Four ways to place them
On the plate
The most direct. The ornament sits in the centre of an empty plate with a sprig of cedar tucked under the loop. Guests pick it up when they sit down, which is exactly when you want them reading a name.
Tied to the chair back
Use the braided loop and a short length of ribbon. This frees the plate for food service, which matters if you are plating in the kitchen, and it keeps the ornament visible all evening rather than being moved at the first course.
On the glass
Loop it over the stem of a wine glass so it hangs against the bowl. The most decorative option, and the one to avoid if anyone at the table is likely to knock a glass.
In a bowl at the door
Rather than setting them out, put all the ornaments in a shallow bowl by the dining room door and let people find their own as they come in. This turns seating into a small event, and it is the version that works best with children.
Matching the ornament to the table
The ornaments come in solid, stripe or gingham in twelve colours, which is enough range to coordinate rather than clash.
| Your table | Ornament style | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gingham cloth | Solid, in a colour drawn from the check | Two ginghams at different scales fight; a solid settles it |
| Plain white or cream cloth | Gingham or stripe | The ornament becomes the only pattern, so it can afford to be one |
| Dark or wood table, no cloth | Natural, white or nude | Light shapes read against dark wood; dark ones disappear |
| Mixed or busy table | One colour across every place | Repetition is what stops a set table looking accidental |
One rule holds throughout: every place gets the same shape and colour, varying only the name. Different shapes per guest looks like leftovers from the tree.
Getting the names right
Each ornament is embroidered exactly as the name is entered, in a script font, so a few decisions are worth making before you order:
- First names only. A Christmas table is not a wedding. Surnames read formal and they are longer, which means smaller lettering.
- Use the name people actually use. If nobody has called him Jonathan since 1998, embroider Jon.
- Check the spelling twice. The embroidery is permanent, and a misspelled name on a keepsake is worse than no name at all.
- Order a spare or two, unnamed. Christmas tables gain people. An extra ornament with an icon and no name covers the guest who was confirmed on the 22nd.
Building it over years
If the same people come each Christmas, the ornaments can become the tradition rather than just the table setting. Everyone's ornament comes out each year, goes at their place, and goes home with them again — or stays in your box and gets set out annually, which makes the table itself a record of who has sat at it.
The First Christmas design takes a name and a year together, which is the one to use for a guest's first Christmas at your table.
What not to do
Two things. Do not plan the table around matching embroidered napkins — Taileroom does not make them, and a plain napkin is the better choice against a patterned cloth anyway. And do not add a printed place card as well. If the ornament has the name on it, the card is redundant, and two named objects at one place looks anxious.
Frequently asked questions
What can I use instead of place cards?
A named fabric ornament on the plate. It does the same job, acts as a small gift, and is still useful after the meal.
How big are the ornaments?
Five inches, with a ready-to-hang braided loop, which is also what you use to tie them to a chair back or a glass stem.
Should every ornament be the same?
Same shape and same colour at every place, with only the name changing. Mixing shapes across a table looks unplanned.
What if a guest is added at the last minute?
Order one or two spares with an icon and no name. They work as an unnamed place marker and still go home as a gift.
Does Taileroom make embroidered napkins or place cards?
No. The ornaments are the personalized element; napkins are better plain.
Set a personal table
For a guest's first Christmas at your table, the Personalized Embroidered First Christmas Ornament takes a name and a year.
For the rest of the table, the Personalized Embroidered Christmas Ornament in bell, star and tree shapes gives you one shape repeated across every place, in solid, stripe or gingham across twelve colours. Underneath it all, the Ruffle Gingham Placemat defines each setting.
Related reading
More from the Taileroom Christmas series: building an heirloom ornament collection and coastal Christmas tablescapes.
Browse the Taileroom Christmas collection to put the table together.
