Creative Décor Ideas for Thanksgiving
Like all holidays, Thanksgiving has its traditions. When it comes to décor, cornucopia baskets, dried flowers, and pumpkins are aplenty. While there's nothing wrong with sticking to the norm, it can be fun to do things differently every now and then. If you’re tired of using the same decorations year after year, it may be time to shake things up. Don’t let your budget hold you back. There are plenty of affordable ways to spruce up your home. Read on to discover unique and creative ways to decorate this Thanksgiving.
Faux Leaf Curtain
Curtains are a simple and versatile way to enhance any space. You can use them to create a photo backdrop, for example, or to highlight the entrance of a room. It’s easy to create your own for Thanksgiving using faux leaf garlands and an old shower curtain. Tie the leaf garlands by their ends to the rings so they hang straight down. Keep adding leaf garlands until the original curtain is covered. To create a photo backdrop in your living room, replace one of your lounge curtains with your leaf-covered shower curtain. You can also hang it up outdoors by resting the curtain rod between the branches of a tree. For a more sophisticated take on this décor idea, use a sheer room curtain instead and embroider it with leaf motifs.
Festive Door Mat
Add a special touch to your entryway with a personalized door mat. This is a simple but unique way to decorate your house for Thanksgiving. You can have it monogrammed with your family’s name, crest, or an inspiring holiday quote. It’s also possible to add a Thanksgiving-specific design. Get creative with the many different options available. A custom doormat is a sweet way to greet guests as they arrive. It also gives them a place to wipe their feet before they enter, keeping your house clean.
Candy Cornucopia Baskets
Cornucopia baskets are often used in Thanksgiving decorations. These traditional, horn-shaped wicker baskets represent the abundance of the harvest. Put a new twist on an old classic by filling them with sweets or snacks instead of the usual vegetables and gourds. For your Thanksgiving, create a dessert station by lining them up on a table or counter and filling each with a different candy or treat. Any candy that’s individually-wrapped works well. Think fun-size chocolate bars and mini bags of sweets. If you prefer a snack bar, line the baskets with cloth or paper napkins. Then fill them with things like potato chips, trail mix, and pretzels. If you don’t have cornucopia baskets, you can use seagrass baskets to similar effect.
Pumpkin Vase Centerpiece
Instead of a traditional glass vase for your table centerpiece, use a pumpkin vase instead. You can easily make your own with a faux or fresh pumpkin. If you use a fresh pumpkin, clean and hollow it out just like you would make a jack-o-lantern. Then, add some water and fill it with seasonal flowers, like lilies, sunflowers, daisies, and carnations. You can also use ornamental grasses; these will add texture to your design. If you can’t find a pumpkin large enough, simply create two or three smaller vases and arrange them together on the table. You can also use pumpkin vase centerpieces to decorate other areas of your entertainment space. Place one on your serving table, for example, or in your entry hallway.
Pumpkin Patch Playroom
If your Thanksgiving guest list includes a lot of kids, it may be a good idea to assign them a room in the house to hang out. That way, they have a place to play games or watch movies if they get bored without disturbing the adults. Make it extra fun by turning it into a pumpkin patch! All you need is a few orange and yellow bean bag chairs and some pumpkins and other gourds. For added effect, lay down a sheet of plastic or some newspaper and cover it with fake grass. You can also add cushions that resemble leaves to the bean bags.
Coloring Place Mats
During Thanksgiving dinner, coloring placemats are a great way to keep kids entertained. They’re simple to make, too. You can print out free coloring pages from educational websites. You can also just pop a blank sheet of construction paper under each table setting. If you have a separate kid's table set up, you can cover it with parchment paper. Use mason jars or old food tins as pencil cups and fill them with crayons or colored pencils. Place them all across the table, and let the kids color away if they get bored. For older kids, activity sheets can work just as well. These are also available for free online. They usually include things like word searches, color by numbers, and spot the difference.
From faux leaf curtains to coloring placemats, there are plenty of creative ways to decorate your space for Thanksgiving. You can even get your friends and family to join in on the creative process. If you’re making the centerpieces, for example, invite people over for an afternoon of pumpkin carving. You can go all out with a set budget, or keep it simple and upcycle things around the house. What’s most important is that you get creative and have fun.