Impress Your Holiday Guests With A Dazzling Dinner Table

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The holidays are quickly approaching and it is time to deck the halls!

Whether it's a big party or a small family gathering, you don't have to be a professional to impress your guests with decorations.

Miriam Lora, with M. Lora Designs, shares some simple tips to make your holiday table look like something out of a magazine.

First, Lora suggests adding natural elements, like pine garland she placed along the table.

"You can buy it wholesale," she explains, "Or you can go wherever they sell Christmas trees and they will probably give you leftover branches for free, and it has the beautiful smell."

Then, she adds fresh holly berries and red roses to complement her red, green, and white theme.

A few mason jars can serve as vases for more flowers and garland. Add a little fake snow from the craft store to complete the rustic Christmas charm.

The second way to decorate like a pro is by adding chargers to the place settings.

"Chargers are an easy and inexpensive way to accent your table," Lora says.

She used gold ones to give a festive pop. She says the same look can also be achieved with place mats if you don't have chargers. Stacking different sizes and colors of plates, like the small red ones she added to some of the seats, gives a little extra polish.

Third, she says, is to make it personal.

"You don't have to have a perfect china. You can use what you have on hand, your daily plates, and your daily china. Just make sure, when you pull the colors together, that they're in the same family, so it seems coordinated."

For example, she mixed and matched gold and red goblets.

Other ideas include adding ornaments to the table, patterned napkins, and even large gift tags on each of the place settings, where you can write the guest's name.

Whether it's for Hanukkah, Christmas, or any gathering, she says all you need is a little creativity.

Follow the simple steps of adding fresh and natural decorations, using chargers for polished place settings, and incorporating personal touches within your chosen color scheme.