Formal place settings are all well and good for weddings and fancy dinner parties, but a note card scripted in calligraphy is a bit much for a Thursday-night dinner with friends. Instead, have fun with your seating arrangements by using a few alphabet magnets off the refrigerator (making sure the kids’ master-pieces don’t fall to the floor) to mark each guest’s spot with the first letter of his or her name. Alphabet soup, anyone?