Thanksgiving happens to be my favorite holiday. I’m so grateful for all my friends and family and cooking for them is the best way I can show them my appreciation. I love to decorate my home for Thanksgiving as much as I do for Christmas. Living in Florida, we have to fake the Fall and Winter seasons.
While Christmas is all about tinsel and twinkly lights, Thanksgiving is all about the harvest and abundance. For me, the arrangements are whatever nature has to offer around the house or can be purchased alongside my turkey, spinach and pie from the local market. Seasonal arrangements make the holiday more festive.
Setting the table should be a pleasure and fun if you approach it sensibly. I love getting the kids involved. Leftover pumpkins, gourds, and dried ears of corn from Halloween can provide the basis of the decorating scheme and are usually easy to find. Piles of these, artfully composed, can be a simple centerpiece or front door focal point.
I like to grab one bunch of fresh, savory herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme for my feast and another to fill my table. Remove the labels from the emptied cans of cranberry sauce or gravy and arrange the plentiful herbs. They’re lovely to look at and they fill the room with a pleasant aroma setting the stage for the decadent meal.
If your garden, field or forest is bountiful, collect ornamental grasses, seed pods, holly, barley or rye. A simple bowl filled to the rim with fresh apples and brightly colored leaves tucked in for texture will work too. My house will obviously be filled with monochromatic peonies, roses and hydrangea in vintage canning jars passed down from my mother in law.
Now is the time to break out the good china and heirlooms passed down. Everything from vintage glass bottles, porcelain tea pots to silver champagne coolers can be used as containers for fresh or dried flowers. What’s more fun about using collections is that they’re not expected. That element of surprise is another to consider when you decide on a container for flowers or fruit.
Today the trimmings for your table are as important as the trimmings for the turkey. After all, it’s that extra touch that magically transforms a simple meal into a special occasion. Wishing you and your family a Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving!
-Ali
Check out our Pinterest page for our Thanksgiving Table inspiration board.