Thanksgiving Decorating Ideas

Decorating ideas for a beautiful Thanksgiving - from the door to the table

• Decorate for a warm and inviting feel. Try and incorporate both the dinner and surrounding areas with your decorating theme: match food colours with accent colours in arrangements, centerpieces, and place settings. This way, you will create an ambiance which mimics the heartfelt, home cooked meal.
  
• Decorate the Thanksgiving buffet or dining table with arrangements of fruits, berries and nuts in decorative baskets or bowls.
  
• Create a decorative journal that can be used for guests to enter stories of gratitude.
  
• Garlands add a festive touch to a Thanksgiving dinner. They are easy to make if you buy a simple leaf garland from a craft store or floral shop and add artificial fall-coloured fruits nuts and brown and gold leaves. Place them where you would normally put Christmas garlands: on the railing, mantle, or along sofa tables.
  
• To add a personal or unique touch to your holiday place settings, try using small gourds with personalized nametags attached to them with ribbon or glue. In addition to the nametag, attach any fall-inspired items that pick out the colour in the gourds like cuttings of wheat, coloured leaves and small flowers. Set each gourd on the individual place settings at your table.
  
• You can also make place cards out of decorative paper, adorned with pressed flowers and a Thanksgiving-inspired stamp or design . Place a thankful message in each card to show appreciation to your guests.
  
• Cranberry crystal vases: These pieces are incredibly easy to make and are great for scattering throughout your buffet table or as candles for a more intimate evening. To make these you will need an assortment of clear glass pillar vases, they can be the same height or varying heights. You will also need clear cellophane paper, cranberries and tea lights. Take a piece of cellophane paper, crumple it and fill the vase. You don't need a lot of cellophane, just enough to have it loosely crumpled inside the vase. Fill the vase with water about two inches from the top of the vase. Next, place a handful of cranberries in the vase and make sure they are spread throughout its depth. Finally, set a tea light in each vase and arrange them throughout your buffet, along your dining table or across a mantle. When the tea lights are lit, the light reflects through the water and cellophane, giving a crystallized look.