Napkin Rings & Place Card Holders

Napkin Rings

Dress up your dinner table and put the finishing touch on cloth napkins with napkin rings. Use them to create a chic dinner table, in styles ranging from glamorous to boho and classic to rustic. Choose metallic napkin rings to coordinate with existing flatware, or add a natural touch to your place settings with wooden or woven rattan rings. Hosting a formal dinner party? Find napkin rings in polished gold or silver finishes. Either way, once you've selected your napkin rings, anchor the tablescape with tableware in the same style; think a centerpiece of metal lanterns atop an iron tray for metallic napkin rings or neutral stoneware plates and wood serving dishes with wood napkin rings.

Place Card Holders

Add the finishing touch to special dinners and parties with place card holders. Personalize each place setting with a place card holder that complements other table decor, including runners, placemats, candle holders, vases, serving pieces and floral arrangements. Keep reading for specific ideas about how to use place card holders at special events, including weddings and potlucks.

How to Use Place Cards and Place Card Holders

Weddings: Not only do place cards help you organize your wedding party and keep track of guests themselves, as well as supplies needed, they also make guests feel special. The cards themselves can also be used to signify table numbers, keeping the venue ordered and making it easier for guests to navigate. For modern weddings, look to sleek metal card holders in classic shapes. For more whimsical affairs, experiment with unique shapes, such as birds, and constructions, like birch.

Holiday Parties: Typically special occasions that bring in a sizable crowd of friends, family and neighbors, these gatherings are the perfect excuse to create an elaborate tablescape—one that includes place cards. If you set up a separate kids' table, make them feel as grown up as the adults at the big table by naming their placemats as well. Look for sturdy holders that could potentially withstand a beating. Clip holders tightly secure papers, potentially keeping them from slipping out if the holder is accidentally knocked over. For an elegant tablescape during the holiday season, be sure to coordinate your place card holders with your Christmas napkin rings.

Cheese and Wine Tastings: While wine tasting parties can be held during any time of the year, they feel especially elegant during the spring and summer. If you choose to host it outdoors, set the table with rustic wood place card holders. Natural birch has a chic farmhouse look. If you're serving cheese alongside the wine, coordinate with mini slates—they complement the soapstone cheeseboards, and you can write directly on them with chalk.

Potlucks: Potlucks are an excellent way to bring separate groups of friends together. When setting the table, write both the name of the guest and the dish that they brought to share on the paper. It's a great conversation-starter, gives more insight into the food and creates a social ease for the gathering.

Work Parties: Up the elegance of a celebratory gathering, cocktail hour or office holiday party with personalized place cards. Switch it up and set the table based on guests' job titles instead of their names. Or, to make employees feel special, write a personal message of encouragement or appreciation for their hard work on the back with their names on the front.

Wondering what the unwritten rules of gift giving are for weddings and various wedding-related events? Crate & Barrel has you covered (in writing) with our Wedding Gift Etiquette Rules Guide and Bridal Shower Gift Etiquette Rules Guide. Learn how much to spend on wedding gifts, what type of wedding gifts to give, how far in advance to buy wedding gifts and all sorts of useful information when shopping for nuptials.