Would you fork out £300 on a Christmas table to flaunt it on Instagram?

Even for the season of excess, it might seem over the top – but families are forking out hundreds of pounds for extravagant table decorations to make their Christmas meal look more festive.

Social media is thought to be behind the boom in luxury place settings, with users keen to project the perfect image on sites such as Instagram.

Sales for the decorations have soared by 30 per cent, according to John Lewis. But the perfect place setting can come at a price.

Upmarket lifestyle guru Alice Naylor-Leyland is selling a collection that turns a table for just four people into a winter woodland landscape for £280 – and that doesn’t include any plates or cutlery.

‘The drive is definitely social media,’ she said. ‘People have been going to eat in someone’s house and photographed beautifully laid-out tables, then want to do the same at home.

‘It’s not just about showing off. The tables are lovely and fun. I want to see a sparkling reindeer or snowman on the table. Little touches elevate the look and you don’t have to spend a fortune.’

But you can. John Lewis offers a ‘snowscape’, complete with silver and white tableware, ornaments of owls and polar bears, frosted baubles and branches for a total of £469.

More modestly, at Lakeland –which reports a 25 per cent rise in sales – the average spend on Christmas table decorations is £30, while it offers a package for a table of six for £128.

The retailer’s research found that half of shoppers planned to invest in Christmas table decorations, with almost two-thirds of them being so keen to impress that they would buy two different Christmas table ‘looks’.

Lakeland buyer Lyndsey Baker said: ‘Young people are driven by the number of likes they get on Instagram, while older ladies – and it is mainly women – want to keep up with the Joneses.

‘It is a form of table wars, but I don’t think it’s nasty.’