Thanksgiving Decorations and Party Ideas

By Gail Leino

When guests are invited to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at your house, you may want to create festive and beautiful Thanksgiving decorations to transform your home into a wonderful autumn landscape.

Thanksgiving dinner is usually set around a formal dinner setting but if you are having a lot of guests and don't have enough seating, you can set up a buffet table. Start off by using natural items you would find in the fall months. Go outside and collect changing leaves, pinecones, twigs with berries still attached and any other element from nature that you might think you can use in your decorations.

Press the leaves in books ahead of time so they have time to dry out before Thanksgiving Day. Create a thrilling cornucopia by spray painting all of the vegetables the same color; burgundy, silver, or gold. Your cornucopia can be used as your table's centerpiece or for a decoration on another flat surface.

Use your leftover Halloween pumpkins in your Thanksgiving decorations. Bring a Thanksgiving scene to life on the front of your pumpkin by using paint with stamps or stencils. Cut a hole out of the top of the pumpkin and use it as a vase to hold gold or orange mums or carnations or daisies.

Instead of using pieces of paper for place cards, create variety by using mini pumpkins or gourds. Write the names of your dinner guests on the mini pumpkins or gourds to mark each table setting. Create an interesting and beautiful autumn garland by using autumn leaves, small pinecones, nuts and berries.

Drape the garland around the room for a festive Thanksgiving atmosphere. Plan a few fun games and activities if you are going to have kids at your dinner. Surf the internet for ideas. Make sure to use plenty of Thanksgiving Day colors throughout your entire home. Oranges, gold, browns and burgundies are the perfect Thanksgiving Day pallet.