Mackenzie Schmidt is the Home and Travel Editor for PEOPLE. She's worked at PEOPLE for over five years as a writer and editor on the Lifestyle team. Real talk: You eat all your meals on the couch.

How one handles themselves, particularly while eating in the presence of others, can make an enormous impression. Though, genetically, we may not differ much from our chimpanzee brethren (yes, ...

Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. In 2023, a standard table setting, the ones today that weirdly try and ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I entertain, whether on holidays with family or for dinners with friends, I like to use my good china and crystal. But we usually have drinks and appetizers first, so people ...

In an October 1985 issue of the “The New York Times,” editors published what was essentially an obituary for dining etiquette, accompanied by a notecard-size illustration of dinner party guests ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I learned, as a child in an all-right-handed family, to set the table with the knife and spoon on the right and the fork on the left. Since I gave birth to a left-handed child, I ...

Table manners are often viewed as an out-of-date, classist set of rules that have no place in the 21st century. But in his new book, Table Manners: How to Behave in the Modern World and Why Bother, ...

When hosting formal events, which entail a multi-course meal, elegance is of the utmost importance. Supporting pieces, such as chargers, napkin rings, and place cards play a critical role in ensuring ...

Have you ever wondered how to set a table? The holidays are here, and with it, dinner parties as well as formal family meals that finally put grandma’s silver to use. Laying them out, however, can be ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I frequently attend team lunches and dinners with my immediate department members, both supervisors and associates. These dining experiences are mostly personal affairs and come ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a shared living room/dining space, and a separate breakfast table off my kitchen. However, my formal dining table is always set, but rarely used. Judith Martin, known as Miss ...