Thanksgiving Decorationing with Things Around Your House

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is slightly more relaxed and less flashy than Christmas, and many people find that it's simpler decorations make them feel much more warm and homey. There's something very welcoming and comforting about the soft, muted fall colors and harvest symbols. In addition to being a lovely way to decorate, it is easy to pull together Thanksgiving-themed decorations with items found around your home.

A good way to begin decorating for fall and Thanksgiving is to look around your house and pull out all the appropriately colored linens and glassware. Colors to watch out for are mustard and pumpkin (any muted oranges and yellows, really), olive greens, brown, and perhaps burgundy depending on your preference. Caramels, golds, tans, and browns will be beautiful and sophisticated additions to your decorations. Bear in mind that a color doesn't really have to be blatantly fall colored to work for you. Maybe you have an off white or tan table cloth. This will go really well with any of the brighter colors and make a very good base for the other colors as well.

After you've gathered your linens, glassware, and any other objects such as platters or candlesticks, it's time to raid your arts and crafts and scrap booking supplies. It's fun and easy for kids to make beautiful garland from felt and twine. Cut leaf shapes from different colors of felt, construction paper, or scrapbook paper, and string them on the twine. Make no-sew napkin rings from the same felt or paper by cutting a strip with fancy scissors, putting a few grommets on the ends and lacing the ends together with ribbon. These can be decorated with leaf shapes or by stringing bead on the dangling ribbon ends. Create matching place cards and menu cards for a great themed look.

Things that may be useful for a centerpiece include baskets lined with colored fabric or a tea towel, filled with small pumpkins, seasonal fruit, or mixed nuts. The fruit and nuts are edible and even you have to make a special purchase to decorate with them, you'll have them as a treat after the feast. Consider keeping out any Halloween decorations that are pumpkin shaped, and turn the jack o'lantern face to the inside (not real carved pumpkins, of course... they'll rot), or decorate with plain pumpkins for Halloween so they can do double duty throughout the fall.

When it comes to decorating your home for Thanksgiving, color can make a great impact, and lend a wonderfully warm harvest feeling just as easily as a shelf full of Tom Turkey dishes or a bunch of pilgrim figurines can. Mixing and matching glassware and colors is perfectly acceptable and with add variety and fun to the table. Lots of candles will complete your look, and you'll have a lovely setting for your family and your guests.