Category: entertaining

The time of year for gathering around the simple yet elegant Thanksgiving table with family and friends who are family is upon us.

The plan is to place the emphasis on the gathering, the feasting, and generating a feels like home ambiance.

Cozy welcomes family, friends, tradition, and style home, and is the requisite for our home for the holidays celebrations.

In keeping with the spirit of the home for the holidays feel, I’m suggesting these distressed metal houses as a super cute decor addition for the holiday table, sideboard, or bar cart.

Holiday Time Distressed Metal House Table-Top Christmas Decoration

Battery operated candles (I source faux candles and battery operated lights with safety in mind) or a strand of LED fairy string lights placed inside illuminates holiday style and brings the look home.

Decor items that easily make the transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas decoration have a longer shelf life, decoratively speaking.

Around our house, Thanksgiving day officially signals the holidays have arrived, and I believe in taking full decorating advantage of the relatively short decorating season.

For that express reason I ordered the Holiday Time Winter Frost flocked un-lit wreath from Walmart to “spruce” up the foyer for Thanksgiving into Christmas.

Holiday Time Winter Frost Flocked Un-Lit Wreath, 24″

Loosely wrap decorative ribbon in earthy fall tones around the wreath in an over and under pattern for a simple yet elegant effect.

Dear Santa,

I’m still in the making up my mind phase of deciding which one of these upholstered benches to place on my Christmas list.

Cozy throw pillows optional.

Simple yet elegant Thanksgiving table ideas that are affordable, polished, and visually commanding set a lovely holiday tone and table.

Dried Protea Flowers – Birch Roll with Jute Tie

Take a glass vase from the dollar store, wrap it in birch bark, and fill it with a bouquet of dried Protea flowers.

Place groupings of small gourds or pumpkins to the left and right of the vase.

Simple.

Elegant.

Gorgeous!

Take a glass cylinder vase, jar, or trifle bowl and fill with moss, pecans, walnuts, or sweet gum balls.

Drop in a battery operated pillar candle.

Fall leaves add fall color(s).

Easy peasy.

Serving Suggestions:

International Adventure 20-pc. Silverware Set

A Target run and 19.99 + tax gets you this International Adventure 20-pc. silverware set.

Hobster Pressed Glass Coolers, 16 oz.

Swing by Dollar Tree if your Thanksgiving table is in need of new, replacement, or extra glasses.

Tradition dictates these beverage glasses making an appearance in most every holiday table post.

Why?

1. I own them.
2. I love them.
3. At $1 each, you simply can’t beat the price.

Thanksgiving feast your eyes upon the newest addition to the holiday sideboard.

Dave and I made a quick fall getaway trip up to Bossier City a couple of weeks ago for fun and a visit to Antique Shoppes At 1100 Barksdale.

Among treasures found was this vintage soup tureen.  For less than the cost of two tall specialty coffees,  I secured a lovely serving piece to adorn the sideboard.

“What recipe will fill the tureen on Thanksgiving day?” you may ask.

Autumn Squash Soup (in the taste style of Panera Bread)

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

2 pounds (l large) butternut squash, peeled,  seeded, and chopped into cubes

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic (easier to use and flavor packed)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon fine black pepper (or to taste)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup apple juice

½ cup pumpkin puree

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

2  Tablespoons cream cheese, softened

½ cup heavy cream (Greek yogurt or half-n-half may be substituted)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Peel squash removing seeds.  Cut peeled butternut squash into chunks and place on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over squash chunks and season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 450°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Using a potato masher, mash the roasted squash cubes.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or soup pot heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add chopped onions to heated oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion becomes soft and translucent.  Stir in minced garlic.

Add roasted butternut squash, pumpkin puree, broth, apple juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to pot and stir to incorporate.  Bring to a slight boil.  Cover and lower the heat to simmer.  Allow to simmer for 15 minutes to incorporate flavors.

Remove pot from the heat.  Add the maple syrup and softened cream cheese, stirring until cream cheese is melted.

Use a hand blender to blend mixture until smooth.  If you do not have a hand mixer, carefully transfer mixture to traditional stand blender in two batches. Puree each batch until smooth.  Transfer mixture back to the pot and adjust flavors to taste.

If you feel the soup is too thick, add more broth to reach desired consistency.

Garnish soup with a swirl of heavy cream, half-n-half, or dollop of Greek yogurt and roasted pepitas.

Rounding out the decorative details includes a selection of simple yet elegant Thanksgiving table items easy to find in retail stores, produce sections, and online retailers.

So many if not all of these items will transition beautifully from Thanksgiving to Christmas decor.

Yesterday I dropped by our local Joann store to pick up two small faux cedar wreaths for a holiday project.

More on that to come.

As soon as I walked through the front doors the aroma of cinnamon filled the air.  To say the scent instantly put me in the holiday mood is an understatement.

I spied a huge display cinnamon scented pine cones, and knew those babies were coming home with me.

Pine cones identify with fall, Thanksgiving, winter, and Christmas.

Further tie the season and holidays of cozy together by using pine cone ornaments tied with velvet ribbon as napkin rings.

Loop ribbon in your choice of design, texture, and color through the top of an ornament ring.

Tie each ornament around individual dinner napkins, securing in a loose knot.

Custom napkin rings made their way to the table several holidays ago by way of small oval framed pictures secured with wire ribbon and a tucked in ginkgo leaf.

Here’s the fun part.

Announce to your guests the custom made napkin ring is theirs to take home as a from me to you favor gift.

I hope these simple yet elegant Thanksgiving table decor choices lend ideas and inspiration.

“Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home.”

—Wilbur D. Nesbit