This Thanksgiving, after you’ve worked so hard to cook the perfect turkey, made all the show-stopping sides, and baked decadent pies, make sure that you show them off with a stylish flare at your Thanksgiving table. Here are some great tips for creating a festive and sophisticated table setting that will complement your meal and leave all of your guests in awe.
1. Choose a Fall Color Scheme
Whatever decor you decide to go with, make sure that the color scheme fits the mood of the harvest season. Great fall color schemes usually include dark maroon, or cranberry, paired with various shades of orange, tan, or yellow. You can also throw in a bit of deep indigo, or dark blue, for an eye-catching pop.
2. Make the Turkey the Star of the Show
While it may be so tempting to carve the turkey before you bring it to the table, you really should showcase it as the centerpiece of the meal. Place the bird on a large, stylish platter and adorn it with garnishes that fit with your decorating scheme. Some popular turkey garnishes include springs of rosemary, bay leaves, or various seasonal fruit such as; oranges, lemons, and cranberries.
Related: How to Cook a Juicy Turkey for Thanksgiving Day
3. Create Festive Fall Centerpieces
Once you’ve decided on a color scheme, select decorative centerpieces that embody an autumn mood of hearth and harvest. Some great Thanksgiving decors that you can use as centerpieces include:
- Arrangements of small pumpkins and gourds of various shapes and colors, intertwined with fall foliage
- Several floral arrangements of mums and other fall flowers, with tall-stemmed candles in between each arrangement.
- Alternating medium-sized pumpkins with elegant candelabras
4. Take the Time to Properly Makeup Place Settings
Whether your hosting a large thanksgiving, or serving just a few of your closest friends and family, the dinner is a special occasion and should be treated as such. Take the time to set a proper table. Set out salad forks, butter knives, and all of the dinning ware that usually gets cast aside on evenings that call for quick meals. If you take the time to set a table that looks put together and elegant it will change the mood of the dinner from casual to something more special.
5. Use Nice Silverware
Since you’ll be going through all of the trouble to set a proper table, you might as well use your nice silverware. Yes, real silverware needs to be polished and washed by hand, but for one special night of the year it’s worth it. Perhaps recruit a helper to polish the silverware while you are doing the cooking.
Related: 8 Easy-to-Make Thanksgiving Side Dishes Recipes
6. Use Cloth Napkins and Napkin Rings
You don’t want to spoil a beautifully set Thanksgiving table with cheap, paper napkins. Instead, use cloth napkins that match your color scheme. You can place them atop of each plate using a napkin ring. Napkin rings are great because they come in so many stylish designs. Select napkin rings that will add to the overall look of the table.
7. Make Personalized Place Cards
Add a personalized touch to your table by making place cards for each of your guests. Just like the napkin rings, if you get creative, these can serve as part of your decor and can be incorporated into each place setting. Your guests will love the fact that you took the time to make a place at the table just for them. Even if you don’t care too much about where each individual sits, you can still make the place cards and then let guests move them around as they wish.
8. Serve Sides in Different Shaped Serving Dishes
From the cranberries to the green bean casserole, all of your sides will need to be served in a dish of some sort. Choose your dishes purposefully. A great strategy is to use dishes that are all of the same color, but are different shapes and sizes. This will add a dimension to the table that will draw the eye, yet it can still fit into whatever color scheme you’ve decided on. This is also very practical, since all of your sides will not be the same size.
Related: Top 8 Thanksgiving Day Parades in the USA
9. Place Plates on Nice Chargers
You may be unfamiliar with what a charger is. A charger is a decorative base on which plates and dinnerware are placed. Usually they’re saved for formal dinners, so including them in your place setting will add elegance and dimension. Chargers come in a wide varieties of colors and styles and can be found at home goods or houseware stores everywhere.
10. Create an Eye-catching Pie Table
Let’s not forget the Thanksgiving pies. These delicious desserts deserve an entire display of their own. Set up a small table that is close to the main table where you plan on eating your main course at. Adorn the table with a nice table cloth and maybe a centerpiece, and as your pies are cooked throughout the day, add them to the pie table. This will get your guests mouths’ watering with anticipation as they walk by the table. A pie table also serves a very functional purpose. You don’t want the pies taking up room on the main table during dinner. Having them off to the side gives you plenty of room for the main course dishes. Also, if people aren’t quite ready for pie immediately after dinner, you can place pie plates on the table and guests can help themselves as they please throughout the evening, and even the next day.
Every Thanksgiving dinner is special and unique in its own way. Take these tips, and apply them to your own personal style and what you have planned for your friends and family. Whatever decor you decide upon, your guests will notice the beautiful table that you’ve set and all of the effort that you’ve put into making the meal special and memorable. This in itself will speak volumes!
