Thanksgiving and a Crazy Hostess

Thanksgiving conjures up some beautiful memories for me.  I adore Thanksgiving.  I come from humble roots.  Raised in Texas, many a Thanksgiving was spent at aunts' and uncles' or grandparents' houses.  We sometimes ate off paper plates and hooted and hollered to a lively game of football (both in the backyard and on the television).  We had a large family and the most important thing was that.  Family.

With that said, I have a favorite quote from an old t.v. show called Designing Women.  It goes like this, " “This is the South and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic, we bring them right down to the living room to show them off. No one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family, they just ask what side they’re on.”  Ha ha ha.. don't ask me why, but this quote always reminds me of family and giving thanks.  Thanks for the sane, thanks for the crazy, but most definitely thanks for family. 

I am a romantic at heart and believe that holidays should be pretty near perfect.  It’s hard to find the time to really show those we love how special they are to us. However, I find that Thanksgiving, is also a day to show those we love just how thankful we are for them.  One of the ways I show it is by taking the extra time to set a table that is grand and lovely.

So I thought I'd share a few stress free ideas for a beautiful Thanksgiving table casual enough for a low key family occasion, but beautiful enough to entertain the princess in each of us. 

One week before Thanksgiving, I always set out the tables I will be using. I know this might seem crazy, but I break up the tasks of preparing for Thanksgiving day by day in order to make each detail an easy chore.  On my large table, I insert the lengthening pieces.  For the children, I bring up a large card table and chairs. This way I can give them a good cleaning and take my time setting the table.

The next day, I choose table cloths and cloth napkins.This time of year, I adore velvet or damask.  They just whisper the words "holiday" in my ear.  I measure to make sure they fit properly, wash, then iron if needed.  I know this sounds nutty as well, especially if they've been cleaned after your last holiday, but nothing says beautiful to me like freshly cleaned and ironed linens.  To pass the time quickly, I just turn on my favorite music and boogie my way through the chore.

For place settings, there is no end to what you can do with a napkin.  Traditionally, a napkin goes to the left of the plate.  However, festive settings can be designed any way you like!  I adore making a pocket in my napkin fold so that I can tuck in an adorable party favor.  Real Simple has a great tutorial.  How cute would a fall flower or chocolate turkey be tucked inside?  This Thanksgiving though, I have crafted mine into triangles, then folding twice more in order to pull them through ceramic Fall leaf shaped napkin rings in yellow and orange.  For the children, I've taken felt turkey stickers that I acquired at AC Moore and have attached them to a simple round acrylic napkin ring.

On day three, I decorate a festive table.
I adore a beautifully decorated table, but honestly they aren't very practical for passing dishes or conversation.  I've found that the best way around this is to a make an arrangement for the center of the table that extends down to greet most everyone, but is low enough to see over for conversation and small enough to set dishes around.  

I use a very basic formal table setting.  I've found that Emily Post has terrific directions in case one's mind gets foggy as to which side the fork should be placed.  Not that I ever have that problem.. thank you, Emily Post!  I like to set the table 2-3 days ahead of time.  This way I can polish any wayward silver or crystal that might need my attention and make sure I have everything I need. 

The finishing touch to my idea of a perfect Thanksgiving table for my guests, is to add a little token each person can take home.  I try to create a little surprise, something whimsical or unique to prolong the memory of our holiday together. Since I adore chocolate, it's usually something along those lines.  Although I do realize that means the memory may be short lived!  The token I'll be making this year is a chocolate turkey box filled with m & m's. Since, I've made these adorable little boxes before, I've decided to make it a tradition.  *I'll post directions tomorrow!  If your inclined to use place cards, this is always a great place to attach them as well.  There are some terrific free templates on Martha Stewart's website.

While the dining table is the undeniable star of Thanksgiving, I never forget to add some decorative touches to the rest of my dining area for ambiance, beauty and hopefully, memories.. Memories of the crazy aunt, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother and wife who tried very hard to make Thanksgiving perfect or as darn close to it as possible. 

In this month of thanks, I am thankful for all my fond memories around the Thanksgiving table and I am thankful for you.  I wish you and yours a memorable Thanksgiving.  xo

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart