Dinner Table Etiquette
Manners are a part of life. You were taught basic manners when you were a child, and if you have children, you teach them to say “Please” and “Thank you.” And of course, table manners are some of the first manners we learn as children. Whether you are a child reading this or an adult, here is a little article to help you brush up on your dining etiquette.
Place Settings
Setting your table the right way is a form of manners. You can make your dinner guests and/or family feel more civilized and inspire good manners in them as well! The plate is placed in the middle of the place setting. Forks go to the left and knives and spoons to the right. In a casual setting, you will likely only have one of each utensil, but if you are using more (i.e. salad fork and soup spoon, as well as the dinner fork and dinner knife), you will place the utensil to be used first on the outside. Knives are placed closest to the plate with spoons on the outside. Knives should have the blades facing the plate. In order from left to right, you will have: salad fork (if needed), dinner fork, plate, dinner knife, soup spoon. If you also have salad plates, you may place them on top of the dinner plate. Glasses are placed on the right above the knife. Napkins may be folded and placed to the left of the fork, or on the plate. Click here (http://maidensofvirtue.com/napkin_folding.html) for some fancy napkin folding video tutorials.
“Please Pass the Potatoes”
When serving, always pass dishes to the right. It is polite to offer a dish to the person next to you before serving yourself. The host or hostess should start the serving. It is also polite to serve elderly guests first.
Courses
Not all dinners will have multiple courses, but if courses are served, you will serve soup first, then salad, the main course, and then dessert. Whether or not courses are served, if you are serving dessert, you should clear away the dishes from the rest of the meal before bringing out the dessert.
Basic Dinnertime Manners
Below is a list of common courtesies that most people know, and yet for the sake of this article, we will mention them anyway. This is by no means an exhaustive list, as we are only discussing common manners.
• We all know that you should never put your elbows on the table. It is acceptable, however, to place hands or rest forearms on the table.
• Place your napkin in your lap. Do not tuck it into your shirt.
• Do not reach across the table or across someone else to get a dish you want. Ask politely for it to be passed to you in a low voice so as not to disturb the conversation.
• Chew with your mouth closed. It is very unpleasant for others to see your food while you are eating it and it is not polite to make people decipher what you are saying because you have your mouth full.
• Never make negative comments about the meal, especially when a guest at another’s house. Always thank the cook even if you do not like what is offered. Do not ask for something else instead of the food available. If you have food allergies, make your host aware of them before your visit.
• You should not talk on your phone or text message at the table. This is very rude to your guests/host. If an urgent call comes in, excuse yourself and go into another room to finish the call.
• When served a dish, make a mental note of how much is left in the plate and how many more people have not yet been served and do not take too much.
• Wait to take your first bite until your hostess has taken her first bite. If you are the host/hostess, you should wait until everyone has been served before eating.
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here."