Do you platter the bird whole and ceremoniously place it in the center of the table, reminiscent of the famous Norman Rockwell painting? Is your preferred centerpiece an heirloom ceramic turkey or a freshly picked pumpkin? Some hostesses don’t consider the table completely dressed without fresh flowers. Do you use all the formal dinnerware?
Here are some additional table décor ideas to consider: candles in various sizes and heights, pinecones, and nuts, books and mini picture frames, artificial moss as a table runner, battery-operated string lights tucked in glassware that offer a soft glow, and wicker baskets full of fresh fruit feels very cornucopia like.
Creative decorations can bring much joy to this essential and festive table. We should bedazzle the special day that inspires us to say “thank you” and embrace gratefulness!
If you have family traditions around the holidays, BRAVO, lean into those hard. However, if your family didn’t crush rituals, practice, or emphasize family customs, consider some NEW family traditions you can establish this year.
1. Get the kiddos involved! This is so important for several reasons. It shows the children that everyone at the table contributes to the festivities. For the younger artists or creatives, ask days or weeks ahead of time to create place-setting name tags for everyone. Imagine their pride to see their work on display on Turkey Day. The adults will appreciate their name written in typical grade school penmanship across a construction paper ear-of-corn or felt pilgrim hat.
2. Ask the teenagers to oversee and champion the centerpiece – you may be surprised at what they come up with. Extending this kind of invitation allows them to be seen, their imagination applauded, and sharing their expression can be a valuable form of validation. If you usually order a flower arrangement – consider giving the funds to some thrifty, expressive young adult(s) tasked with creating something grand for this critical table detail.
3. Two tablecloths are best: placing a smaller tablecloth in the center, over the main cloth, round or square, possibly laying on the diagonal. One fabric marker at each setting immediately invites creativity to dinner. Once the family and guests are seated, ask everyone to write one thing they are most grateful for this year on the smaller tablecloth using their fabric marker. Then, ask them to sign and date their entry. This topper tablecloth is retrieved annually, old entries are read, and new entries are made. It would be fun to witness the handwriting changes and reflect on the entries for years.
If you are a hostess who reveres elegant dining table settings with a sophisticated flair, these simple ideas may not pass the fancy table test. Consider the opportunity to take your décor, the scheme, or the style to new heights. Still, if you want to help make enduring core memories, instill family traditions that everyone will treasure for years, and provide sturdy family hooks that children lob onto as they grow, these might be worth a try. Just pick one and commit.
Being included in creating a family tradition gives a child a stronger sense of self and grounds them as torch bearers for life.
4. Photo on Repeat: a picture is worth a hundred thousand words or something like that. Beginning this year, consider rounding up the whole family before dinner (in case gravy stains happen), select a particular way to stand or sit as a group, and be sure to have someone “neutral” available to take the shot. The plan is to replicate the same photo next year, then next year, and the next with all parties in their respective spot. You should consider one serious shot and one funny shot because, let’s face it when kids and seniors are asked to make a funny face…it needs to be captured.
5. This last idea does require a degree of vulnerability. This Thanksgiving table idea might change your life or the life of someone you love. It begins and ends with two words: Letter Writing. You will write a private letter to every guest around your Thanksgiving Day table. The letter describes how much and why you are so grateful for them. Invite them to open theirs and read it to themselves before or after dinner. Just be sure to have tissues handy. You could lean the sealed envelopes holding these gifted letters against each water glass at dinner. This approach allows it to hold two jobs: table setting, name tag, and the best Thanksgiving gift the reader has ever received.
If writing isn’t your thing, please know the recipient will not care if words are missing, the handwriting isn’t great, or punctuation is nonexistent. They will treasure the intention. They will recognize that you took the time to consider them and their presence in your life; bonus, they can revisit that moment anytime they wish.
Take full advantage of the opportunity to celebrate everyone around your Thanksgiving table. The fall decor and elaborate tablescapes are beautiful; allowing them to accent a new family tradition is spectacular. A year from now, no one will probably remember the dishes or the candles you selected anyway, but everyone will remember what genuine gratitude and family felt like.
Thanksgiving Day Blessings From the Omega Home Studio Team
Tag: tablescape, centerpiece, Thanksgiving Day table, family, traditions, fall décor, pumpkins, candles, centerpiece, turkey, decorations, dishes, tablecloth, place cards, create, gratefulness