There are many ways to dress up your table for the holidays. The most basic of which is to place a brightly colored tablecloth.
If you can’t work this into your budget or simply want a new look without taking away from your table’s natural beauty, here’s an idea. Take a colorful length of material—this could be a large shawl or wrap, a smaller tablecloth or scrap material—and fold it to resemble a table runner. Now drape it across your table.
Tip: For a round table, measure at least 1/3 of the table’s diameter for your finished width. For a rectangular table, drape the cloth lengthwise, adding approximately two inches to the measured 1/3 width of the table. For both shapes, allow at least two feet to drape from the edge for a good balance and fall.