For some people, decoration is the key element to any family gathering or holiday. For others though, decorations could just mean a simple table setting.
Thanksgiving falls between two major decorative holidays, Halloween and Christmas. The time of year makes it a little hard to choose decorations for the annual feast. Some people reuse pumpkins from Halloween – the fake ones, not real ones. Others take some pine from their Christmas decorations. The fact of the matter is, people don”t have “Thanksgiving” decorations.
That being said, for those interested in stepping it up a little at the family dinner Thursday, here are a few things to use from around the house, or from craft stores like Michaels.
Claire Whitley | Argonaut
People tend to forget about the key element of decorating a family table.
Step one: decorations
It”s easy to find bits and pieces of decorations from either Christmas or Halloween or even Thanksgiving last year. This step is the easiest one because the less that has to be bought and paid or, the better.
Some things to look for would be fake orange leaves, some brown wood, baskets, a cornucopia if that is in a decoration closet somewhere and some gingham cloth or burlap. Focus on red, brown, orange or gold colors because those are easiest to match around and are the usual “fall” color schemes.
Step two: tablecloths
People tend to forget about the key element of decorating a family table. Unless the table set up for dinner is a very nice wooden table that is only used for such occasions so it doesn”t have any dings or marks in it whatsoever, it is best to use a tablecloth.
Now tablecloths don”t have to actually be tablecloths. I have used sheets in the past that have looked fabulous or scrap materials from my mother”s quilting box. The thing that matters the most is deciding whether the table is nice enough to warrant a table runner, or if it would be better to cover the whole thing. Both are certainly an option and both can be used at the same time.
The next consideration should be color. Depending on the colors of the bits and pieces found in the decorations closet or in a box in a storage room, the tablecloth should be either darker or lighter. I personally tend to go with darker colors. White generally feels to Christmas-y and red, unless a beautiful deep burgundy, feels the same. Sometimes gold can work, but never use green and don”t even think about using obnoxiously bright colors either. The tablecloth should be simple to showcase whatever the centerpiece turns out to be.
Play with whatever is available and if nothing seems to work, look through the flat sheets.
Claire Whitley
Step three: tableware
If the family dinner will consist of more than eight people, I strongly recommend substituting any substantial tableware, anything that has to be washed, for the cheap paper stuff found at Walmart. Unless of course there will be payment for doing dishes, then by all means.
Step four: assembly
The final step is to simply assemble everything. Every year, the centerpiece I make is different, even if I use the same bits and pieces. I don”t like gluing things together for that purpose, it should be different every year.
Every year is different and we are different people each time we sit down to eat with our family, so why should we feel and look the same as we did last year or even two years ago? Hint: we shouldn”t.
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cewhitley24