Set your Easter table

Are you hosting Easter lunch/dinner at your home this year? Don't stress! It's really not hard at all to dress up your table to be simple, yet classy, and inviting.

What you'll need:

⋒ dinner plates - I love pulling out my nice dishes for special occasions but if you don't have a nice set or want to deal with cleaning them afterwards, plastic is fine. I would, however, suggest grabbing the white ones from Costco as they are the closest look to the real deal and include salad/dessert plates.

⋒ salad/dessert plates - see above

⋒ flatware - If you have nice flatware and don't mind using them for your gathering (considering how many guests you plan to have), go for it! Otherwise, again, Costco for the win on this one! They have a giant box of clear plastic flatware.

⋒ drinking glasses - Now is your chance to use your nice drinkware! However, if you've been using mismatch glasses all year, you can grab a box of drinking glasses from HomeGoods for roughly $20 that'll be just fine.

⋒ table runner or table cloth - If your table is less than desirable, grab a nice table cloth to throw over it. In the past, I've even used a $10 drop cloth from Home Depot in a pinch! On the contrary, if you have a nice wooden table that you want to show off, simply use a table runner to bring all of the tablescape elements together.

⋒ napkins and rings - Whether you go with paper or cloth is up to you! I personally love putting out cloth for special occasions, and working with colors is always fun. Either way, you can purchase inexpensive napkin rings online or at a local store like HomeGoods in order to dress up your napkins. I've even once used gold jewelry wire I had on hand to make some on the fly!

⋒ candle sticks & tapers - These are optional but always my fave! Brass candle sticks can usually be found at your local thrift store but if you want to bypass mixing and matching, simply order on Amazon, check out FB Marketplace, or grab some cheap ones at your local Dollar Tree. If you're not into the brass/gold vibe, they have really nice glass candle sticks on Amazon as well that won't break the bank. The same goes for tapers (hint: that's the fancy word for the actual candles that go in the candle sticks/holders!) - typically, Dollar Tree carries ivory tapers but you can always order on Amazon or another local department store.

⋒ vase(s) - If you have some on hand, use them! However, if this isn't something you keep at home, you can find at HomeGoods, thrift store or another local shop. I suggest working with odd numbers! If you have a round table, one vase (with some candles) may suffice, however, if you're setting up a 6' rectangular table, I'd recommend 3 similar size vases or a slightly larger one for the middle and two smaller ones on either side.

⋒ bouquet of fresh flowers - Trader Joe's is always #1 for the most unique fresh florals and greenery, however, if you don't have a TJ locally but do have Costco or Sam's Club (and a membership of course), simply grab a bouquet and divvy out between your vases. If you don't have access to any of these stores, visit your local grocery store.

Hosting doesn't have to be a huge production, including setting a table for your nearest and dearest! If I could give a single bit of advice, it would be work with what you've got as much as you can. Do an assessment of the items you have on hand and if you can piece them together, then fill in things you definitely don't have in order to put together a presentable table. Keep it simple!