8 Thanksgiving Tablescapes

I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving Table-setting as I consider our upcoming gathering. I know for some people Thanksgiving is all about the food. Others just want to watch football and for some it’s just about being with family. For me, one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the opportunity to set a beautiful table!

I started a little debate on Facebook about whether to use paper/plastic/or china when setting the Thanksgiving table for large groups. You will see in the examples below that I have used them all! But I prefer to use the nice stuff whenever possible, and when I use the disposable stuff, I do my best to dress it up or only use it on the kids’ table. While not all of my more practical family and friends see eye to eye with me on this one, to me, setting a beautiful table is as important as what you eat on Thanksgiving. And here is why…

Holiday’s are all about making memories and creating a feeling. Why do we love the smell of those Christmas cookies baking or wax nostalgic when we see Mom’s old decorations? They take us back to the feelings we had on that occasion. The decoration set the tone of the occasion, and it is the thing that lingers afterwards. The way an event looked can be re-lived over and over in pictures long after the food is a distant memory. And it’s just fun to be fancy every once in a while! It sends the message that this is a special event.

So today, you get the opportunity of re-living my Thanksgiving tablescapes past with me! Excuse the quality of some of the older photographs. I hope this gives you some ideas of easy ways to set the mood you want to achieve at your Thanksgiving gathering this year.

Teal and Orange: These first two images are from last year. Turquoise, teal, aqua, have been such popular colors in recent years and I LOVE the way they look with their complimentary color wheel partner: orange. I thought it would be nice to cool down the rusty Autumn colors and create a fresh atmosphere for our Thanksgiving meal. I loved the way it came out!  Read this post to see how I put this table together on the cheap.

The Fruits of the Harvest: This was the first time I ever hosted Thanksgiving at my home. My colorful stoneware and the fact that we would be eating outside helped determine the fruitful theme of this meal.

Earthy and Green: Again I enjoyed changing up the color-scheme on this one. It was all about incorporating nature into the design. Click through for lots of DIY projects that made this large gathering special.

I didn’t blog about this one, but this was a year when the adults and kids were at the same table, so I blended the whimsy with the sophistication and it made for a fun table.

Pilgrim Hat Display: We did the same thing here using the pilgrim hats as placecards. It was the perfect way to tie in the black plates that were available to us that year.

The Kids Table: But I love decorating tables just for kids. Like this fun one.

Or this Pumpkin setting made with basic paper plates and scrapbook paper placemats.

Treat boxes and stamped paper plates made this kids table fun for everyone!

I would love to see your Thanksgiving Tablescape creations. Leave a link in the comments and we can all re-live your Thanksgivings with you, too!