Thanksgiving dinner is only a couple days away, and while you’re probably thawing your turkey and getting a head start on baking your scrumptious pies, it’s also time to start thinking about your Thanksgiving table decorations. Here, you’ll learn some of our favorite tips and techniques for making the table look (almost) as delicious as the meal itself.
Monochrome Décor
It’s certainly tempting to break out all your favorite autumn items to use as Thanksgiving table decorations, but why not do something a little different and try a monochrome color palette for your table? Skip the oranges and yellows for now, and instead pick a lovely ivory or red. You can accent either of these with glittery or metallic silver without taking away from the palette, too. Remember – you don’t have to use just one shade of red. You can use a variety of shades, ranging from pink to candy apple to deep, dark maroon.
Pumpkins for Name Cards
When people come to your table ready to eat, seeing their names printed on a tag makes them feel at home. It’s even better if these little cards aren’t cards at all; consider printing small, but thoughtful gift items with your guests’ names instead. For example, you could find some small porcelain pumpkin-shaped gift boxes and use a stencil and paint to add your guests’ names, or you could even get a set of beautiful Christmas ornaments that fit your color scheme and personalize these with embossing powder and glitter.
The Centerpiece
The centerpiece is one of the most controversial additions to your Thanksgiving table decorations. Some believe a table simply isn’t complete without a centerpiece, but others feel the turkey should be the star of the show. Why not have the best of both worlds with an edible turkey-shaped centerpiece? You can use just about anything you’d like, but we’ll start you off with two fun and delicious ideas.
First, you could use rows of different fruit to create the shape of a turkey on a plate. Use an apple as the turkey’s chest, and insert a piece of brown cardstock shaped like a turkey’s head into a slice in the apple. Then, just line up the fruit behind the “body” in rows to mimic the turkey’s feathers. Now you have a centerpiece, hors d’oeuvres, and a turkey in the middle of your table all at once. Of course, if you’d rather skip the fruit, you could also serve gourmet crackers with prosciutto and cheese in much the same way, using a cheese dip ball as the turkey’s body instead of an apple.
Let the Kids Make Thanksgiving Table Decorations
If you’re feeling brave this year, let the kids in your family choose the Thanksgiving table decorations. It’s one of the best ways to keep the little ones busy while you’re finishing your side dishes, and your guests will simply adore the effort. Give kids some construction paper, markers, crayons, glue, and even Thanksgiving themed stamps or stencils. Then, tell them how many people will be at the table, and let them be in charge of decorating. (For very small children, be sure to supervise and set the china out yourself.)
The perfect Thanksgiving table decorations are the ones that make you and your guests truly cherish each moment of enjoying a meal and conversation together. Whether you spend hours shopping for the perfect chargers and napkins or you leave your kids in charge, there are many ideas from which to choose.
