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NEW YORK (JTA) — Seder night is a challenge. There’s just so much to do and so many things to put on the table!

With so much “stuff” there, who is going to notice those gorgeous new napkin rings or your gleaming flatware and crystal glasses? 

In addition to a formal setting — charger, dinner plate, appetizer plate, water glasses and wine glasses, four kinds of forks (salad, fish, meat and dessert), two knives (one for fish, one for meat), three spoons (appetizer, soup and tea), and dinner napkins — there are ceremonial foods and objects that need to be available to the seder leader.

Sometimes making enough room means adding leaves to the table, putting two tables together or putting a round table at the end of a rectangular one.

Keep things as simple as possible. Use rectangular tables and get the smallest folding chairs you can find. You can get sturdy folding tables at Home Depot or Lowe’s, or use hollow core doors on saw-horses.

Where to start? Make a list of the things you will need for the ceremony itself:

Now that we know what goes on the table, it’s time to set it in a most attractive way.

When putting two tables together, make sure they are on the same level. If that’s impossible, use two separate tablecloths, or everything will tilt and fall if the cloth is pulled. You can customize your tables by choosing yardage from your favorite fabric store. One family bought a brocaded stripe in red, gold and black, cut the cloth to the lengths needed, and it looked great against gold-trimmed ivory china and gold-plated flatware with ivory napkins.

Make a matching cloth for a small TV table to set up next to the leader without interfering with your seating. It can hold most of the ceremonial foods, extra matzah and some of the wine bottles (which also can be placed on the floor below the table, along with other beverages.)

Finally, the question de tutti questions: Should you put a plastic table cloth over the fabric cloth?

A good white linen damask table cloth will be ruined forever by red wine. Stain-resistant fabrics are available, but you need another set for the second night, and you do spend time cleaning them. There are different grades of plastic, and you can sponge and wipe heavier kinds. Or use a thinner sheet, lift off, toss and replace.

Be creative — one family built a pyramid!

They must’ve had more room than most.

(Jeanette Friedman is co-author with David Gold of “Why Should I Care? Lessons from the Holocaust.”)

I accept the JTA Privacy Policy.

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