The Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving Decorations

thanksgiving decorations table

Try these ideas for Thanksgiving decorations to get into the spirit of cooler days, falling autumn leaves, delicious turkey, and giving thanks!

Many Thanksgiving decorations can make your house festive throughout the entire autumn season. All you need is a little inspiration! Be sure to share your own decoration ideas with family and friends on FamilyApp before Turkey Day! 

What Are the Best Thanksgiving Decorations for Outside?

There are lots of gorgeous ways to decorate the outside for Thanksgiving. Here are a few of our favorites.

  • Perk Up the Porch– Decorate your porch swing, rocking chair, or favorite spot you like to sit. Just start with a throw or some seasonal pillows, and pumpkins for some fall color! If you have a tight budget, skip the expensive home goods store and try your hand at a DIY project! A chalkboard sign can also be a nice touch to make visitors feel welcome.
  • Fall Flowers –  Whether you opt for a rustic harvest look, or something more on-trend and modern, you can have a great Thanksgiving look. Mums are a perfect flower for Thanksgiving. They’re responsive to shorter days and can tolerate colder temperatures. To dress them up, choose a few colors and display them in a large vase, a wagon, or even a rustic wheelbarrow by the front door!
  • Make a Wreath – Wreaths are a wonderful way to easily transition your outdoor décor with the changing seasons. You can buy one or make your own with dried herbs, leaves, pinecones, or miniature pumpkins. You could even decorate with a little turkey for Thanksgiving. Share your fall decorating ideas on your favorite family app with other decorators!
  • Line the Walkway – Line your front walkway with layers of assorted pumpkins and gourds. Try interlacing mixing with ivy and other greens to give a natural pumpkin-patch ambiance. Lanterns can also provide a fun, rustic look to your walkway.
  • Find Your Fall Colors and Textures – Incorporate some DIY rustic decor in unique fabric and textures on your front porch. Wrap your wreath with burlap. Use buffalo plaid or gingham for some autumn plaid accents that make you think of a farmhouse in the fall. Or use any fall fabric into your outdoor autumn display. Also, keep in mind: you don’t have to stick to muted or neutral tones. Pops of color in your color palette, especially jewel tones, can be eye-catching and bring some personality to your decor.
My family’s Thanksgiving table

Decorating Ideas for Your Thanksgiving Table

  • Place Settings – For quick and easy homemade place settings, start with brown craft paper and use some fancy calligraphy to create a space for each guest to write a list of things they’re thankful for. The lists will spark some great dinner conversations at your thanksgiving celebration, too!
  • Creative Candleholders – Who said candleholders have to just hold candles? If they have a flat-topped surface, try topping them with fun-sized gourds or pumpkins (plastic, felt, or real). You can look for these at thrift stores and spray paint them a uniform color to make them cohesive.
  • Table Garland – Whether it’s fresh greens or other natural fall materials, a garland that runs down the center of the table is a chic way to spruce up your Thanksgiving table.
  • What’s in a Name? – Placecards are a fun way to make everyone feel like they’re welcome and that there’s a seat at the table just for them at the Thanksgiving feast. Homemade paper drink charms shaped like colorful leaves can also be helpful when keeping track of whose drink is whose.
  • Votives – Votives are great for filling up small spaces on your table, mantle, or coffee table. Try filling them with unshelled nuts (which you can spruce up with some glitter spay) and layering them in a glass cup around a small candle. You could also scatter a few more nuts around your display to make it cohesive.
  • Cornucopia – Cornucopias are a fun alternative to vases and can add some visual interest to your centerpiece. While you can opt for a store-bought piece, you can get an empty cornucopia at craft stores and party stores and for the budget-friendly DIY route. Fill it with nature-inspired materials like mini pumpkins, fall leaves, gourds, vines, and faux flowers in seasonal colors.
  • Fabrics and Textures – Napkins, tablecloths, linens, and table runners are essential for creating a cohesive Thanksgiving look for your table. Choose different materials, textures, and colors that highlight and tie into the other Thanksgiving table decor. A little pop of gold is always a great choice.

Indoor Ideas for Thanksgiving Decorating

  • Mainstage Mantle – Don’t forget about the mantle! This is the perfect place to add some decor to your living room, mainly because it’s high up and out of the way. Whether it’s a festive acorn garland, glass bottles with a few sprigs of berries, pinecone turkeys made by your preschooler, or some pillar candles, take advantage of this valuable space.
  • That Was Cloche! – Place acorns or pumpkins in a glass cloche or bell jar, put a decorative plate on top, then flip it! It’ll add a lot of visual interest to your fall tablescape.
  • Thankful Tree – Invite family or guests to write what they’re grateful for on paper ornaments. Tie ornaments to tree branches that are anchored in a pitcher. You could read them together over dinner or dessert! You can also use painted acorns or maple leaves as extra ornaments. This can work for a centerpiece or anywhere that needs a little extra sprucing up! You could even put it in the entryway for a festive first impression. Check out this tutorial from “Do It on a Dime.”
  • A Layered Look – Make a pretty centerpiece or mantel decoration by layering seasonal materials in clear glass cylinder vases. For example, start with corn kernels, then added dried burgundy flowers, pale green dried hops, and oak leaves. Top with a pillar candle, and be very careful if you light it next to the natural materials. You could also use a battery-powered candle.

Pumpkin Basket – Who needs a vase when you have a pumpkin? A pumpkin can make a creative centerpiece for a fall table. Place wet floral foam inside a hollowed-out pumpkin, then position a pillar candle in the foam and surround it with fall flowers and greenery. Create a one-of-a-kind arrangement that matches your style. Some of our fall favorites include wheat, green Hypericum berries, feathers, nut pods, twigs, leaves, corn husks, dahlias, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, and dianthus.

Fall in Love with Your New Thanksgiving Decorations

Gorgeous fall and Thanksgiving decorations make it easy to get into the spirit of the season. So whether you decorate with pilgrims and turkeys or sleek flowers, there are lots of ways you can spice up your house with seasonal decor. Do you have a favorite way to decorate for Thanksgiving? Share them with the ones you love on FamilyApp! No matter how you choose to spruce up your home, let it reflect your style, and feel free to get creative! Happy decorating!

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