Dinner Party for 12 to 24 at Home: What to Rent and How to Seat It

A dinner for 12 to 24 is the sweet spot where your own dining table runs out and a banquet hall is overkill. The room is probably a dining room, a living room cleared of furniture or a covered patio. What you rent depends on how the guests are seated and how many courses you serve.

Pick a table shape

How much table you need

Plan 24 inches of table length per seated guest, and 30 inches for a more formal dinner. A 6-foot banquet table seats 6 on two sides, an 8-foot seats 8. For a 16-guest long table, join two 8-foot tables end to end, giving 16 feet of length with 8 on each side. See banquet table sizes for dimensions.

Allow 48 inches behind each chair so a server can pass. If your room is tight, set seating on one side only, and put the hosts at the end.

Pick chairs that go with a long dinner

A dinner sits for two to three hours, so comfort beats everything. Cross-back chairs (estimated $8 to $11) have a sturdy back and a padded option. Velvet dining chairs ($18 to $25) feel like a restaurant. Bentwood chairs are light and easy to move. Mix two styles for a stylish look: use velvet at the two ends and cross-back along the sides.

Set each place

For a three-course meal, each place needs:

• A charger or dinner plate, a salad or soup plate, and a bread plate
• A dinner fork, salad fork, dinner knife, soup spoon and dessert spoon
• A water glass, a wine glass and, if you like, a second wine glass
• A cloth napkin, 20 x 20 inches

The formal place setting diagram shows spacing and order, and how many forks, knives and spoons per guest gives the counts. Linen sizes for a 96-inch table come from the tablecloth size chart. For long tables, many hosts use a table runner and let the wood show. See table runner sizes.

Plan the evening

Chicago-area notes

Chicago dining rooms and bungalows often fit 12 comfortably, but 24 means using a living room or a sunroom, or a tent in the yard. Measure the room before you order, including doorways, since 8-foot tables need a doorway of 36 inches or a diagonal tilt to pass. Plan for coats in winter and a place to hold deliveries. For a covered backyard dinner, see how to size a tent.

Mistakes to avoid

• Tables that are too tight. A table that fits the room but leaves 20 inches behind chairs traps guests in their seats. Measure the room, then subtract 48 inches behind each chair.
• A wobble at the join. When you join two banquet tables, check that the tops are level. A quick fix is a folded card under a short leg. Cover the seam with a runner or a long cloth.
• Candles at eye level. Tall tapers block faces across a long table. Keep them under 3 inches or above 14 inches.
• Too many courses for the crew. If you have no help in the kitchen, a three-course meal for 24 is a lot. Plate the starter in advance, serve the main family style, and set out dessert on a table.
• Forgetting the other furniture. Move the sofa, the rug and any coffee table before the table arrives, not after.

Take a photo of the room from the door and sketch the layout on top of it. It is the quickest way to see whether the plan works.

Plan your dinner

Book a free 15-minute seating call and we'll test your layout, or request a quote with your guest count and room size.