Which tablescape speaks to you the most?
Or do you have your own Christmas table tradition you love to celebrate?
Tablescapes around the World: The Art of Christmas Dining
Across continents and cultures, Christmas is more than a date, it’s a feeling.
It’s the ritual of gathering, of sharing light in the year’s darkest month, of transforming space into sanctuary.
At Joline & Flo, we believe that how a culture dresses its table reveals how it understands life itself. The Christmas table is a mirror of tradition, emotion, and design heritage, a place where stories are passed, not just plates.
This season, we explore six festive tablescapes from around the world, each expressing its own rhythm of beauty, belonging, and celebration.
At Joline & Flo, we believe that how a culture dresses its table reveals how it understands life itself. The Christmas table is a mirror of tradition, emotion, and design heritage, a place where stories are passed, not just plates.
This season, we explore six festive tablescapes from around the world, each expressing its own rhythm of beauty, belonging, and celebration.
🇬🇧 The English Christmas Table
The British Christmas table is steeped in nostalgia and narrative — a love letter to warmth, comfort, and ritual.
It’s where tradition meets theatre, where texture tells the story of time.
Tradition:
Since Victorian times, the English Christmas has been a season of ceremony: pulling crackers, toasting by the fire, gathering around roasts and ribbons. The table glows with brass, tartan, and candlelight — both grand and familiar.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: deep reds, pine greens, aged brass.
- Mix vintage glassware with hand-painted china.
- Add greenery and handwritten notes for character.
Mood: Heritage, hearth, and hearty laughter.
🇫🇷 The French Christmas Table
The décor for the French Christmas table is characterised by quiet elegance and refined restraint.
It’s a setting where light, linen, and legacy meet — a harmony of softness and structure that defines art de vivre, the French art of living beautifully.
In France, la table de Noël is never ostentatious. Refinement lives in subtle gestures: the shimmer of crystal, the warmth of gold, the scent of evergreen. Elegance blooms in atmosphere, not abundance.
Tradition:
Families gather late into the night for Le Réveillon, the sacred Christmas Eve feast. Candles flicker across porcelain and polished glass, while greenery softens the marble and metal around it. Everything glows softly — never shouting, always whispering.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: ivory, champagne, and antique gold.
- Layer textures — linen on linen, polished wood against soft candlelight.
- Mix heirloom tableware with sculptural simplicity.
Mood: Lyrical, luminous, poetic — elegance without excess.
🇩🇪 The German Christmas Table
German festive design balances precision and poetry — craftsmanship at its most soulful.
Every detail is intentional, every gesture grounded in warmth and ritual.
Tradition:
In Germany, Christmas begins with the Adventskranz — a wreath of four candles, one lit each Sunday before Christmas. Families gather around the table for Weihnachtsessen, a meal that blends simplicity with care: roasted goose, red cabbage, and the scent of mulled wine in the air.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: forest green, cream, and natural wood.
- Incorporate handmade touches — carved ornaments, linen napkins tied with twine.
- Use candlelight generously; the glow feels both sacred and serene.
Mood: Grounded, authentic, and heartwarming — craftsmanship as comfort.
🇩🇰 The Nordic Christmas Table
In the North, design is an act of quiet devotion.
The philosophy of hygge turns simplicity into a sensory ritual — soft light, raw textures, and a sense of belonging.
Tradition:
Scandinavian families celebrate Jul with candlelit dinners that stretch through the snowy night. Every material — wood, wool, clay — honours nature’s rhythm and imperfection.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: snow white, muted oak, stone grey.
- Use natural fabrics and handmade ceramics.
- Keep light low and golden to contrast the winter outside.
Mood: Stillness, honesty, and human warmth.
🇮🇹 The Italian Christmas Table
In Italy, Christmas is life amplified — expressive, abundant, beautifully human.
Design mirrors that spirit: sensual yet structured, refined yet full of soul.
Tradition:
Families gather for La Vigilia on Christmas Eve, where seafood feasts meet song and laughter. Tables become stages — rich textures, bold lighting, and gestures that feel as effortless as they are intentional.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: marble white, olive green, and soft brass.
- Pair sculptural pieces with natural materials.
- Introduce velvet, glass, and warmth in every form.
Mood: Convivial, generous, alive.
🇬🇷 The Eastern European Christmas Table
The décor for the Eastern Christmas table is characterised by rich symbolism, handmade beauty, and soulful storytelling.
It’s a table steeped in heritage — where design carries meaning and every texture honours faith, family, and memory.
Tradition:
In countries like Greece, Armenia, etc, the Christmas Eve meal is steeped in reverence. The table is often set with a place for the unseen guest — a gesture of remembrance and welcome. Grain, honey, nuts, and fruit symbolise prosperity and renewal, while candlelight evokes both prayer and peace.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: deep golds, ivory, and amber tones
- Integrate embroidered linens, carved wooden accents, and earthenware ceramics
- Use soft, layered lighting to create intimacy and reflection
Mood: Sacred, soulful, and storytelling — design that honours history and heart.
🇱🇧 🇯🇴 🇮🇳 🇱🇰 🇵🇭 🇮🇩 Middle East + South Asia Table
The décor for the Warm Hemisphere Christmas table is characterised by radiant hospitality, colour-rich craft, and the poetry of light.
From Beirut to Goa, Amman to Kochi, this is a table where faith, family, and generosity flow together — where light replaces snow and colour replaces frost.
Tradition:
In Middle Eastern and South Asian homes, Christmas and winter feasts are less about cold weather and more about warm spirit. Candles and lanterns mingle with jasmine and citrus garlands; dishes overflow with spice and sweetness. Hospitality is sacred — the door always open, the table always full.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: terracotta, saffron, ivory, and antique gold
- Layer textures — linen, silk, handwoven cotton
- Combine brass, carved wood, and coloured glass for warmth and reflection
- Use floral arrangements — marigold, rose, or olive branches — as natural centrepieces
Mood: Radiant, generous, and sensual — design that glows from within.
🇺🇸 🇦🇷 North + South America Table
The décor for the American Christmas table is characterised by diversity, warmth, and heartfelt creativity.
From the snowy cabins of Vermont to the sunlit terraces of Buenos Aires, each region brings its own rhythm — connected by a shared spirit of togetherness and gratitude.
Tradition:
Across the Americas, Christmas is a canvas for storytelling. In the North, plaid and pine meet minimal modernism; in the South, tropical fruit, woven linen, and music fill the night. Every table reflects identity — inherited, improvised, or entirely reimagined.
Design inspiration:
- Palette: cranberry, forest green, terracotta, and warm neutrals
- Blend rustic textures with bold, personal colour
- Add handmade or heirloom pieces for authenticity
- Let the table reflect real life — layered, lived-in, loved
Mood: Inclusive, soulful, and ever-evolving — comfort as culture.
🌍 The Contemporary Global Table
The décor for the contemporary global Christmas table is characterised by cultural layering, modern clarity, and soulful eclecticism.
It reflects the way we live now — between worlds, between influences, with beauty gathered from everywhere we’ve been.
Tradition:
In homes from London to Dubai, Paris to Singapore, families bring their stories to the table — heirloom recipes, handmade linens, accents collected over time. The result is deeply personal, quietly luxurious, and entirely human.
Design inspiration:
- Combine stone, linen, glass, and wood for natural harmony
- Add global touches: a Moroccan bowl, a Japanese plate, a French napkin fold
- Let texture replace ornament — beauty expressed through balance
Mood: A world gathered in one room — harmony in diversity.