Dogs Don't Eat Pizza

I love the colors of fall – the reds, oranges, and yellows of the leaves, the deep greens and earth tones of pumpkins and gourds. Today’s post is about bringing those natural elements to your Thanksgiving table.

Bringing natural elements to your table is as easy as a trip to your yard or to the grocery store! Here are some of my favorite ideas:

1. Natural Place Cards

Use natural elements to make place cards for your table. For example, my daughter and I collected pinecones when we were raking leaves the other day. I thought they’d make great place card holders.

Before you put the pinecones on your table, you want to make sure there aren’t any, well, critters living in them.

To do that, line a baking sheet with heavy duty foil, put them on the sheet in a single layer, and then bake them in your oven at 200 degrees for about half an hour.

I used shipping tags (you can get these at any office-supply store) and a black paint pen to make the place cards. Once the pinecones have cooled, just wrap the wire of the shipping tag around it (be careful not to break pieces off the pinecone).

I love the little pumpkins you find at stores and markets this time of year. It’s so easy to turn these into place cards for your table:

To make these, I just took a black paint pen and put my guests’ first initial on the pumpkin. Easy breezy. This would be a great project to do with kids – they could add the initials to the pumpkins.

Or you could give your guests a flower to remember the holiday, setting their place with a bright, cheerful sunflower:

Again, I just wrapped a shipping tag around a small bud vase with the sunflower in it. You could also use small jars or glasses for this project.

2. Festive Fruits

I remember, when I was in Brownie Scouts a few years ago (ahem), we made pomanders – oranges with cloves stuck in them.

Oranges add a pop of bright color to the table and the pomanders smell so warm and fall-ish. This is also a great project for kids.

Apples – the perfect fall fruit – also make festive table decorations.

3. Pumpkins and Gourds and Leaves…Oh my!

This is the time of year for pumpkins and gourds. Use them to make a beautiful centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

Or place different sized pumpkins on a cake plate:

4. Natural, Fragrant Decor

Candles are often the focus of a tablescape. Use natural elements like coffee beans to hold the candles in a glass vase. They add a yummy fragrance when the candles are lit, too!

You could also use fresh cranberries (not cooked!), corn kernels, or walnuts in the shell.

How do you decorate your Thanksgiving table? Share in the comments!