Thanksgiving Preview

This year, we are once again hosting Thanksgiving dinner here.  In all, we expect to have about 22 or so of our family members and friends in attendance.  I'm usually a total control freak about these kinds of things and really enjoy making all the food, but considering I am rather large and slow these days, we decided to divvy up the responsibilities.  We sent out an email with all the necessities and remarkably, all of our guests quickly scooped up the food duties.  I kept a couple small things for myself, but now that I have so little to do (and so little money to spend), I figured I could devote more time to my other favorite aspect: the decor!

Before I go any further, I should probably explain a little bit about our Thanksgiving philosophy.  Like most other things, we like our turkey day to be casual, fun, and inviting.  But of course, I also insist that it be stylish (this is usually where I lose Josh who would just assume put out some paper plates and call it a day!). With that being said, we serve our food buffet style, so there is no need to worry about fitting it on the tables.  I also keep things simple by only putting out one plate (no smaller one too...I have offered both in the past and only a couple people even touched them) for the main meal.  I do use paper plates (pretty ones!) for appetizers and desserts...it's just easier clean up wise...who's with me?  And as for drinks, it's kind of another free for all...instead of setting out wine glasses and fancy cups at each setting, we just have everyone take their drink to their seat.

So now that it all that is clear, let's get back to the decor.  I had a ton of ideas bouncing around my head, so this weekend, I set up a little trial run to see what I liked, what I didn't, what we still needed, etc.  Here's that trial run:

It all started when I spotted the runner fabric at Hancock Fabrics, on sale at that!  I liked that it had the traditional orange for Thanksgiving in it, but was modernized a bit with the green and blue.  Once I made the runners (just a bit of Stitch Witchery on all sides), I went out in search of placemats.  Well, placemats are pretty expensive, especially when you need 20+, so I went with scrapbook paper instead!  The store didn't have enough of any one of my colors, so I bought all 3 (about 8 of each) and kind of like the variety it gives the table.  By the way, the table will be widened on Thanksgiving (there's a leaf in there), so everything won't be right on top of each other like it is above.

We're actually going to set up 3 tables...our dining room table shown above and two metal tables.  On our real table, I plan to leave the brown wood shining through...it's pretty and I like how it accents everything.  And then on the  metal tables, I am going to cover them with simple table coverings...probably plastic (no need to spend on something we will never use!) and hopefully brown (if they even sell those at Party City!).

The plates and napkins we already had on hand, but I am in search of something (I'm thinking apples, pears, mini pumpkins, or pinecones...opinions?) to top them, probably each with a little tag of some sort (we're not assigned seat kind of people, so the tags will probably just say "give thanks" or something else appropriate!).  Obviously, we still need to add the silverware to the table, but I think you get the general idea, right?

And finally to deal with the centerpiece.  How many of you spotted those Bud Light bottles and were horrified?  Just making sure you're paying attention, and actually, those are holding the space of a little craft I plan to whip up with them once they are emptied (Josh's big contribution to our Thanksgiving decorating, then, will be drinking the beers for me...luckily, he is up to that challenge!).  As for the pumpkins and gourds, I really wanted to paint them some fun and unexpected color like the green or even copper brown.  Josh, though, insisted that not everything we own needs to be painted...his words, not mine.  I struck a deal with him, then, that if he would commit to a name for our new son, then I would not paint the stuff.  Well, good news is he FINALLY committed to a name...bad news is now I have to keep my promise and not paint.  Oh well, I guess that gives me something to try for next year!
How about you guys?  Were you busy plotting your Thanksgiving table decor this weekend too or is that something that just I do?