How to Decorate Your Table for Thanksgiving

By Susan M. Keenan

Holidays have special meanings for many people for diverse reasons. Our ethnic or national holidays are a time filled with joy, love, camaraderie, activities, baking, and more. Part of the fun of any holiday season is the opportunity to become creative with our flair for decorating our homes. Fortunately, even though the basic methods remain the same, there are always opportunities to express a little something special in a completely new look.

Thanksgiving Napkins
Thanksgiving napkins can add a decorative touch to an already elegant table. Shaped napkins can be used as a dinner or dessert plate decoration. Additionally, they can be carefully placed as part of your centerpiece decoration. Once they are moved to each dinner guest's setting, plenty of room opens up for the dinner itself. Several factors should be considered prior to your purchase of your holiday napkins.

Consider the following important facets:

Color selection. Will you want to reuse the napkins for another holiday season? If you are planning on using the same napkins for other holiday or family dinners, then you may want to purchase neutral colors that can easily blend with several holiday decorative schemes.
Pattern selection. If your tablecloth is busy, select napkins that are simple in design or one color. If your tablecloth is simple and one color, then select a livelier pattern for your napkin to spruce up your table presentation.
Fabric selection. Do you want something that you can reuse? Do you want something that is easy to clean? Do you want something that is less costly? Do you want something that you can reuse? If you want something that is easy to clean and relatively inexpensive, then you may want to select cotton napkins or napkins made from cotton blends. If you want something a bit more elegant and you aren’t concerned with either price or the ease of cleaning, select linen napkins.
Presentation. Will you be crafting the napkins into turkeys, cornucopias, or pilgrim hats? If you are creating a three dimensional shape that looks almost lifelike, select napkins that appear somewhat stiff rather than delicate and lacey.

If you expect your guests to use their napkins, make sure that brand new ones are properly washed before placing them on the table. If you are using a starch on your napkins prior to creating your masterpieces, use it sparingly. Additionally, add on items create nice effects for your napkins as well. Consider crafting faces for your turkeys from colored paper.

Don't forget about the napkin rings if you are going to have a simple napkin presentation. Whether you elect to purchase something expensive or inexpensive, the sheer variety of available napkin rings is staggering.

Thanksgiving Placemats
Decorating the Thanksgiving table with colorful placemats can be creative and fun. Whether you select personalized placemats for family members, holiday themed placemats that speak turkey, or neutral colored placemats that can be used for multiple holidays, the choice is yours.

Consider a few facets about holiday placemats prior to your purchase:

Purpose. When selecting your Thanksgiving placemats, it is essential to consider whether you are looking for versatility in use, sentimentality in style, or functionality.
Versatility. Reusable placemats are neutral enough to reuse for several different seasons. Basic colors such as white, off white, brown, and beige offer excellent blending capabilities for many holiday themes.
Sentimentality. Personalized placemats present a nice tough of family life into the table setting. Whether you design your own in any number of ways including hand sewn, machine sewn, or some type of wax paper craft, a personalized placemat says something special to the person using it.
Functionality. Placemats that can be used year after year are often sturdy in construction using a cotton or cotton blend fabric, making them easy to clean.

Thanksgiving Tablecloths
The tablecloth is one of the most apparent pieces of your entire table setting. Keep it simple and basic if you intend to do a lot of decorating with smaller items throughout the rest of the table. Be sure to coordinate the colors of your tablecloth to that of your placemats and napkins.

If you are looking for versatility in your tablecloth, select a pattern or colors that will go well with other holiday or family dinners. If this isn't a major factor for you, then look around and select a Thanksgiving themed tablecloth that you will enjoy using from year to year.

If your tablecloth is a solid color, you can easily add some panache by placing a themed and colorful table runner down the center of your table. Table runners can easily be whipped up by anyone who is handy with a needle and thread. Moreover, a diverse supply of table runners can be located at most department, linen, or discount stores.

Thanksgiving Place Cards
Thanksgiving dinner often involves large numbers of family members, friends, and neighbors. If you like to prearrange the seating accommodations, place cards are the easiest way to accomplish this without any fuss.

Store-bought table place cards come in a variety of designs, styles, colors, and prices. Select the ones that go with your table setting theme. Better yet design and craft your own using colored paper, stamps, markers, or whatever you like.

Thanksgiving Centerpieces
Thanksgiving centerpieces can be simple or complex. It's simply a question of personal preference and desire. The items that you use can be something that you already have, something store bought, or a combination of the two.

Perhaps one of the easiest and most often used centerpieces is the candle arrangement. If you typically use this centerpiece, try something new and different. Implement a new pattern with your candles. Perhaps a row of candles down the center of the table from smallest to largest as you approach the center of the table from one end and then from largest to smallest as you go from the center to the other end of the table. Try alternating the row of candles in a variety of fall colors.

Several pairs of candlesticks in the center of the table in varying sizes can make an attractive arrangement. Again, vary the colors of the candles to coordinate with your tablecloth, placemats, or napkins. For a little added holiday theme, place several foil wrapped chocolate turkeys, ceramic pilgrim salt and pepper shakers, or small cornucopias among the candlesticks.

Bright colorful plants in decorative flowerpots also make attractive centerpieces. If your plant already has enough color to it, then it will make an excellent centerpiece alone. If the plant is almost entirely green, consider a few small gourds carefully placed near the bottom of the plant for an added touch of fall and holiday spirit.

A firm pumpkin, or even a ceramic one, can be coordinated with greenery and fresh fruit for an attractive display as a centerpiece. A pedestal cake plate decked out with any number of items can be a real eye catcher. Consider piling up an attractive display of fresh fruit, a small pumpkin and greenery, or even small decorative dessert items.

Another very colorful idea that allows you to reuse some of the items from season to season is a medley of beaded fruit pieces. Simply purchase a colorful set of beaded fruits that will blend with your tablecloth. The fruits add a sparkly touch that adds a bit of colorful zest. For a touch of fall flavor, consider adding some mini white or green pumpkins to the display.