It is customary to light candles at the table for the Purim feast, even if the meal is held in the middle of the day and there is abundant sunlight, in order to give honor to the meal. The candles should be lit in honor of Mordechai and Ester. It is proper to bring Hadasim to the table and smell them before the meal, just like on Shabbat.
Although throughout the year it is proper to leave one of the dishes off the table in commemoration of the Temple’s destruction, all dishes should be brought to the table for the Purim feast, and the table should be filled with delicacies. It is customary among the "Medakdekim" (especially pious) to have fifteen foods on the table for the Purim meal, and these should include chicken or meat, as well as fish.
It is proper to celebrate the Purim meal together with one’s family, as it says in the Megila that Purim is observed by "each and every family" ("Mishpaha U’mishpaha"). Additionally, one cannot experience true joy when he is alone. Special care must be taken that the men and women do not mingle, even more so than during the rest of the year, in order to avoid improper behavior on the sacred day of Purim. If there is any concern that the celebration will lead to meaningless frivolity or impropriety, then it is better to have the meal alone and not in the company of family and friends.
(Taken from the Ben Ish Hai)
