Holiday Table Glassware: Which Glasses to Set for Thanksgiving

A holiday place setting needs a water goblet for every guest and one wine glass, with a second wine glass only if you pour two wines. The Emily Post Institute places the water goblet directly above the knives and the wine glass just to its right. Vintage sets can be mixed if each shape does one job.

This guide is written for Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving, and the same table works for Christmas dinner.

Which glasses does a holiday place setting need?

Start with water. Every guest gets a water glass, whatever else they drink. After that, set only what you will pour. The Emily Post Institute’s informal setting treats other dishes and utensils as optional, depending on what is being served.

Guests who do not drink alcohol use the same glasses. Sparkling water, cider or juice in a wine glass means nobody at the table is singled out.

Where do the water goblet and wine glasses go?

The Emily Post Institute’s formal place setting gives the order:

1. Glasses sit on the right, above the knives and spoons.
2. The water goblet goes directly above the knives.
3. A red or white wine glass goes just to the right of the water goblet.
4. A sherry glass or champagne flute, for a first course or an opening toast, goes to the right of the wine glasses.

The Institute says a formal setting can hold up to five glasses, placed in the order they will be used. With more than three, smaller glasses can sit in front. For a basic setting, its table setting guide puts the water glass above the knife or at a 45-degree angle to its right.

On a crowded Thanksgiving table, two glasses per person is a comfortable limit. Serving dishes need the space.

How many glasses should you have for your guest count?

Count one of each shape per guest, then add spares for breakage and late arrivals. Vintage sets are often sold in fours, sixes or eights, so a table of ten usually means two sets.

Two sets bought from different sellers may not match exactly, even in the same pattern. Buy both before the week of the dinner and stand them side by side. If the heights differ, alternate them around the table so the difference reads as a choice.

Should holiday glasses match, or can you mix patterns?

Either works. A single pattern looks formal. A mixed table looks collected, and it is easier to build from vintage sets.

Mixing works best with one rule per table: the same shape in different patterns, the same pattern in different colors, or clear goblets with colored wine glasses. Keep rim heights close so the glasses line up.

If you want one pattern and need more pieces later, choose one that is still made. Our comparison of crystal patterns still in production covers Waterford Lismore and Baccarat Harcourt.

Cut crystal or pressed glass?

Cut crystal is leaded glass decorated on a cutting wheel. The American Cut Glass Association describes it as having a bell-like ring when tapped, clarity and brilliance that pressed glass does not match, and noticeably greater weight than unleaded glass.

Pressed glass is shaped in a mold with a plunger. Wikipedia’s entry says machine pressing was patented in 1825 and that most inexpensive mass-produced glassware between 1850 and 1910 was pressed. Pressed goblets are a practical choice for a large family meal.

Wikipedia notes that red wine glasses have a rounder, wider bowl than most white ones, and that holding the stem avoids warming the wine. Our hub on vintage cocktail glasses covers coupes, flutes and cordials for the toast and the end of the meal.

Amber for fall, ruby for Christmas

Amber suits a Thanksgiving table of oranges, browns and golds. The Corning Museum of Glass explains that iron and sulfur together produce amber and brown glass.

Red glass carries the table into December. The Glass Encyclopedia describes gold ruby glass as colored with gold chloride, and cranberry glass as the lighter version made with less gold. “Ruby” in a listing describes the color, not the recipe, so ask for the maker.

Our guide to vintage colored glassware explains each color in more depth, including why uranium glass belongs in a cabinet and not on the table.

Setting the table for Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving

Thanksgiving is a long meal with many dishes, so keep the glassware simple: a goblet, a wine glass, and room to pass the gravy. Put the most fragile pieces at the adults’ end of the table.

Friendsgiving tables are often improvised, with folding chairs and borrowed plates. Mixed vintage glasses suit that mood. If guests move around, tie a ribbon or a tag to each stem so glasses do not get swapped.

For drinks before the meal, a self-serve station keeps guests out of the kitchen. Our guide to a mid-century home bar setup has a holiday checklist, and vintage punch bowls covers bowl-and-cup sets for cider or punch.

Is it safe to use vintage crystal at dinner?

Most vintage cut crystal contains lead, and official advice treats it as occasional serving ware, which a holiday dinner is. Our guide to lead crystal safety sets out that advice.

Washing the glasses before the meal

Wash everything by hand a few days ahead, so you can spot a chip before the table is set. Our guide to caring for vintage glassware gives the full routine, including gold rims.

If you are a guest, not the host, a small set of vintage glasses makes a fitting present. See vintage host gifts for ideas by occasion.