---
title: "How to Set a Table for Thanksgiving | Dinner Drape"
description: "Formal, informal, casual and buffet table settings, drawn place by place and numbered: where every fork, knife, glass and napkin goes, and why. Printable."
url: https://dinnerdrape.me/table-setting-guide/
---

Formal, informal, casual or buffet

# How to set a table for Thanksgiving dinner

Forks go on the left; knives, blade facing the plate, and spoons on the right; glasses above the knives and the bread plate above the forks; and utensils are laid in the order they’re used, from the outside in. For a Thanksgiving dinner of soup, turkey and pie, that is the informal three-course setting below. Choose another style or number of courses to see each place drawn, numbered and explained.

## The rules behind every place setting

The Emily Post Institute’s memory aids: the word FORKS (forget the R), and the “b” and “d” you make with your thumbs and forefingers.

The Emily Post Institute starts every setting from three rules. **Utensils are placed in the order they’re used, from the outside in**, so a guest simply works inwards course by course. **Forks go to the left of the plate, knives and spoons to the right**, with one exception: the oyster fork, which sits on the right. And **set only what the menu needs**: no soup, no soup spoon.

A few more follow from those. Knife blades always face the plate. No more than three of any implement go on the table, except an oyster fork with three other forks; if more than three courses come before dessert, the extra utensils arrive with their course. Drinking glasses sit above the knives, on the right, and the bread plate above the forks, on the left. Most of the table is set for right-handed diners: the butter knife lies across the bread plate with its handle to the right and its blade facing the diner.

## A Thanksgiving table: the informal three-course setting

Emily Post calls the informal setting the one for a three-course dinner, and suggests it for many family holidays. The dinner plate is the hub and goes down first. Two forks sit to its left: the larger dinner fork and a smaller one for salad or a starter, outside the dinner fork if that course comes first and inside it if salad comes after the main course. The napkin goes to the left of the forks or in the centre of the plate. The dinner knife sits right of the plate, blade inwards, with the soup spoon outside it.

Above the plate go the dessert spoon and fork, the spoon on top with its handle to the right and the fork below with its handle to the left, so each is picked up by the hand that uses it. Emily Post notes that the traditional arrangement puts the spoon above the fork, though you will often see it the other way round, and that dessert utensils can instead be brought out with dessert. Glasses go top right; a bread plate, if you have one, top left. In its Thanksgiving advice the Institute adds that without bread plates, guests can use the edge of their dinner plate for bread.

## Formal settings, four to six courses

A formal setting is the informal one taken further, for a meal of more than three courses. A **service plate** (charger) sits under the plates of the early courses and is swapped for the dinner plate when the main course comes. Each extra course adds its own utensils in order of use: a fish fork outside the dinner fork and a fish knife beside the dinner knife, a salad fork and knife next to the plate when salad is served after the main course, and an oyster fork outside the spoons for a shellfish starter.

Glasses are set in the order they will be used, up to five. The water goblet goes directly above the knives, the wine glasses just to its right, and a sherry glass or champagne flute for the first course or a toast to the right of those; each is cleared with its course. In a formal setting, dessert spoons and forks traditionally come in on the dessert plate just before dessert. Emily Post’s most formal table is strictly symmetrical, with places evenly spaced, and keeps decorations low enough for guests to see each other across the table.

## Casual tables and buffets

A casual single-course setting can be very simple: the napkin to the left with the fork resting on it or beside it, the knife (blade in) and any spoon to the right of the plate, and the water glass above the knife. Emily Post also describes an even more casual version with the fork, knife and spoon all laid on a napkin to the left of the plate.

For a buffet, a University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension leaflet sets the table for convenience: everyone starts at one end and works along, so the plates go first, then the food, with the silverware, napkins and drinks at the far end, leaving one hand free while guests serve themselves. The leaflet adds that a buffet can be planned for any size or shape of table, served from one side or both.

## Linen and spacing

Emily Post sets place mats one to two inches from the edge of the table and lets a tablecloth hang evenly at the ends and sides, with an average drop of 12 to 18 inches. The extension leaflet draws each place setting about an inch from the table edge.

## Common mistakes, and why each piece goes where it does

- **A knife with its blade facing out.** Blades face the plate, at every setting.
- **Utensils for courses you aren’t serving.** A full formal set looks grand but leaves guests guessing; set only what the menu needs.
- **Bread plate on the right, glasses on the left.** Make a “b” with your left hand and a “d” with your right: bread left, drinks right.
- **A fork resting on the napkin.** Emily Post leaves this to you, though some hosts dislike making a guest move the fork to reach the napkin.
- **Four forks in a row.** Three is the limit (an oyster fork aside); bring the fourth course’s utensils in with it.
- **A centrepiece you can’t see over.** Both sources say to keep it low so people can see each other across the table.

For the table itself, the [dinner seating planner](https://dinnerdrape.me/dinner-seating-planner/) arranges who sits where, and the [dinner timeline](https://dinnerdrape.me/) keeps the kitchen on time.

## Questions

**How do you set a table for Thanksgiving dinner?**

For soup or salad, the main course and pie, use an informal three-course setting: two forks left of the dinner plate, the knife (blade in) and soup spoon to the right, glasses above the knife, the bread plate above the forks, and the dessert fork and spoon above the plate.

**Where does the napkin go?**

To the left of the forks or in the centre of the plate; at a formal setting, on the charger. Emily Post says it can also go under the forks if space is tight.

**Which side does the bread plate go on?**

The left, above the forks, with the butter knife across it, handle to the right. Glasses go on the right, above the knives.

**Where do the dessert fork and spoon go?**

Above the plate, the spoon on top with its handle to the right and the fork below with its handle to the left. Or leave them off and bring them out with dessert, as is traditional at a formal dinner.

**What is a charger plate for?**

A charger, or service plate, sits under the plates of the courses before the main one at a formal dinner. When the main course arrives, the charger is exchanged for the dinner plate.

**How do I set up a buffet table?**

Put the plates at the start, then the main dish, sides, salad and bread, with the silverware, napkins and drinks at the end so guests have a hand free while they serve. It can be set up for guests to serve from one side of the table or both.

## Sources

- Order of use, forks left and knives and spoons right, the oyster fork, dessert utensils and the butter knife: [The Emily Post Institute, Proper Table Setting 101](https://emilypost.com/advice/table-setting-guides) (checked 3 November 2026).
- Formal settings, the charger, glasses, the three-implement limit, place mats and tablecloth drop: [The Emily Post Institute, The Formal Place Setting](https://emilypost.com/advice/formal-place-setting) (checked 3 November 2026).
- Informal three-course setting: [The Emily Post Institute, Informal Table Setting](https://emilypost.com/advice/informal-place-setting) (checked 3 November 2026).
- Casual setting and the FORKS and “b and d” memory aids: [The Emily Post Institute, Basic Table Setting](https://emilypost.com/advice/basic-table-setting) (checked 3 November 2026).
- Thanksgiving settings from one to six courses, and bread without bread plates: [The Emily Post Institute, How to Set the Thanksgiving Day Table](https://emilypost.com/thanksgiving-day-table-setting-advice) (checked 3 November 2026).
- Buffet order, utensils an inch from the edge and a low centrepiece: [University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service, Setting Your Table (leaflet 76-69, PDF)](https://web.uri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1722/Setting-Your-Table.pdf), hosted by the University of Rhode Island.