This question made me remember...and laugh.
Several years ago, my MIL was helping me to put a lovely cream colored table cloth that had cut-work and lace inserts onto my dining room table for either a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. First layer was the water-repellent sheet, then the "silence cloth"(dense fabric that is between felt and batting / it softens the edges of the table and protects fragile china and crystal.) Yep, I wad pulling out all the "good stuff" for this meal. Finally, we draped and arranged the table cloth. My MIL was ready to "dress the table" with the centerpiece, candles, etc.
"No, Mother. Not today."
"Why not?"
"Let's put this clean sheet over it all and in the morning you'll see why we didn't 'set the table' ."
Sure enough, the next morning when we went into the dining room, there were indentations from kitty paw prints and cat hair all over the sheet. My MIL just shook her head and laughed...and so did I...because I didn't have to wash and iron a tablecloth that would have become a cat lounge.