our Thanksgiving table

It almost feels like Christmas here! This year for Thanksgiving we’re going to my parents beach house on Cape Cod and the kids are over the moon! This is my parent’s summer house and we usually only go down in the summertime, so a Thanksgiving trip is something new. Even though we won’t be doing the normal summer stuff like swimming, crabbing, boating, tubing, we will still have tons of fun. There will be eight kids, eight adults and three dogs – and lots of laughs!

The house is a great size for all of us but setting up a Thanksgiving dinner there is new and a little more formal affair than the usual after-beach dinners and cookouts we’re used to. But not too formal. I’m helping my mother do the centerpiece and we came up with the idea of using kraft paper and wrapping paper as the tablecloth. So not fancy. I know the paper tablecloth idea is done in family-friendly restaurants so the kids can draw all over them and we thought this would be a great idea for Thanksgiving. We’re giving everyone a sharpie {placed in a cute, homemade place card} so they can write what they’re thankful for right on the tablecloth. I’m also adding some colored pencils to the centerpiece if anyone’s feeling extra creative! I’m sure the guys will just loooove this idea. So in addition to this table cloth having a purpose, it is also very cheap, perfect for clean-up and gravy spills won’t be a big deal!

Our first job is to find the right “tablecloth” combination. We knew we wanted the wide kraft paper but we have to fancy it up a bit for Thanksgiving. So I envisioned adding narrower white paper with gold polka dots to go over the kraft paper. Fancy, right! But no matter how much we tried, we couldn’t find said white & gold paper. And then it dawned on me, we’re meant to use what we got. This table was going to be created from whatever we have around the house. I like a challenge and I wanted to see what I could come up with without just going out and buying everything. And since we’re having Thanksgiving at the Cape in a very relaxed, beachy atmosphere it just seemed right to make it that much more personal and special.

So, I did buy the kraft paper – but in my defense, I’m also using it to wrap my Christmas gifts. I had a roll of smaller white art paper from Michael’s that my kids love to draw on. So I laid these out on the table and tried to figure the best way to get gold dots on that &%^$ paper. My best option was a gold sharpie and I just started coloring circles. They fancied it up just enough and also kept that homemade look. Plus, look at how the dots mimic the dots on the vase I got at Target last month!

 

Then I shopped my house for the centerpiece stuff. I figured we’re not going to be putting all the food on the table since there is always. so. much. food. So creating a busier centerpiece would be ok. I gathered everything that was gold, white, cream and I also added a little orange because it’s fall and well, I love orange. I grabbed my China and silverware which is very simple but it has silver – not gold. oh no! Then I remembered my post about mixing metals. And I was ok again. And I just had to add some sea shells – we will be at the Cape. I didn’t include any flowers or foliage but between the shells, the sticks and the gourds, I think we have the natural, organic elements covered. Maybe on Thanksgiving we can pick a few greens but then again, we might be a little busy mashing potatoes.

After making my circles, which only took me about 20 minutes, I just started placing all the elements together until it looked ok. A few tips on arranging centerpieces:

– keep some consistency to the pieces you select such as color palette, theme or shape
– vary the heights of the pieces, stack things up using cake stands or even books make good pedestals
– vary the textures: feathers, sequins, seashells, sticks, material, netting, pinecones… can all work together if they have a common theme.
– keep the pieces close to each other so they work as a unit. Adding an actual connecting element helps. For this it was the gold netting. You can also use ribbon, sticks, branches, etc.
– add a bit of the unexpected – I added the seafoam color in the gourd and place card, which gives the white, gold, orange and beige color palette a bit of a kick. Or use unexpected items like a jewelry box, a candy jar, or a mini chalkboard to achieve the same goal.
– trial & error – just keep moving things around until you like it.

A couple of other details I added were two paper napkins per person. I don’t like cloth napkins – and even if I did, I didn’t have any that would go. Plus two napkins at Thanksgiving is always a good idea. Cute straws, and fun place cards, and oh yeah – gold turkeys. Everyone needs a gold turkey. We will have to buy these but aren’t they so sweet. Gold spray paint can make anything look good.

I can’t wait to see how this all looks come turkey day. I’m sure we’ll have some modifications. Like where will the gravy boats go? And what if, say, two 14 year old boys get silly and write that they’re thankful for 14 year old girls. Not what I pictured when I set this all up. But then I wouldn’t want it any other way. Fun, quirky, homemade, and just a little bit of fancy. Just like our family. Can’t wait! Stay tuned for the Thanksgiving chore chart – you can’t have 16 people and three dogs in a house for four days without giving everyone jobs. Should be fun!

Just in: I just saw this article in the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens. If they say it’s ok to use wrapping paper as a Thanksgiving tablecloth well then it must be ok!