If you are hosting Thanksgiving at your place this year, keep in mind that the holiday is about more than just food. Remember how good the smell of Grandma's warm apple pie made you feel, or how every year your family brings up that time that your uncle got so drunk that he fell in the snow? The holidays are all about making and sharing special moments with the people we love.
Make it feel like home this holiday season by decorating your place in festive ways to celebrate family and friends, memories old and new, and of course, the big meal.
Are you doing this Thanksgiving on a budget? No worries. These crafty Thanksgiving decoration ideas are both easy to make and light on the wallet. Embrace your inner Martha Stewart and impress your guests with these DIY holiday decorations.
Chalkboard Menus
You are bringing out the big guns this Thanksgiving, serving several courses leading up to the main event. Display your menu items by creating chalkboard menus. Using an 8-inch circle template (think plastic dinner plate) and chalkboard paint, apply three coats in the center of the template and wait until dry. Then go crazy with chalk, writing down your menu and signature cocktails for the evening. The supplies will cost you a few dollars at the craft store, saving you that extra dough for desserts or other goodies.
3D Printed Table Toppers
Home to the main event, the dining room should be the focal point of decorations. Try not to go crazy with tacky mini turkeys and paper leaves. Instead, impress your techie friends with 3D printed Thanksgiving table toppers. Choose from adorable 3D printed animals like owls, squirrels and turkeys to place on top of plates or along the table. You can also print out 3D printed leaves to add charm to wine glasses.
Crafty Centerpieces
Of course your table will be full with trays of food, but before you bring out the main course, invite your guests to sit around the table for drinks and appetizers. To add the festive feel of the holidays to your dining room table, make an epic centerpiece. Use a long pallet box to create an elegant look that is both easy to make and clean. All of your decorations will be in one box, so that when it's time for turkey, the decor can easily be moved. Reuse small pumpkins left over from Halloween, just give them a coat of paint if need be, and fill the box with leaves, candles and berries. You might be able to get most items from the backyard!
Lighten the Mood
Now that everyone is stuffed from the holiday meal, it's time to relax, take a load off and lighten the mood in the living room. Set up the holiday ambiance in advance by crafting easy-to-make Thanksgiving lights made out of mason jars. Use Mod Podge to stick leaves inside a clean mason jar. Add fall ribbons and put a holiday scented candle inside and set a few around the room. Dim the lights and put on some holiday songs while you sip on spirits.
Lifted Lights
You don't need to go overboard with decorations, but focus on the dining room and living room where most of the time will be spent. Add glitter to leaves and scatter them on table tops surrounded with floating candles in DYI holders. Lighting candles will make the evening feel toasty and inviting. Cut the tops of apples and insert tea light candles inside the apple. Fill a decorative bucket with water and have the apples float on top. Light the candles and set them in the living room or on the table where you plan to display desserts.
Thankful Tree
Finally, what would Thanksgiving be without giving thanks? Adding a Thankful Tree is a great decor option that can be used to share memories with family and friends. Clean out a large mason jar and wrap fall-colored ribbon around the top. Collect different sized sticks and twigs to create a mini tree, or pick one up from a craft store. Hang little festive ornaments the same way you would for a Christmas tree, but focus on orange and yellow colors. Ask your family and friends to write what they are thankful for on decorative paper and have them hang it. Use this as a centerpiece in the living room. When the night is winding down, share what guests wrote over dessert.
Decorating for holiday can be easy, inexpensive and most could create new memories with loves ones. Happy crafting!
Image Credit: ProFlowers/Flickr
