Thanksgiving Table Ideas

Poor Thanksgiving, it gets pushed aside for the ever earlier need to decorate for Christmas. This year I saw   Christmas decorations up before Halloween!  Will it never end?!  Our local Nordstrom store waits to put up their Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving.  I love shopping there in early November knowing I'm not going to hear Christmas songs or see decorated trees.

So let's decorate for Thanksgiving!  Hosting the big eating fest can be a lot of work, whether it is for a small gathering or a large group.  To help you set a festive table, I've searched for photos showcasing easy ways to decorate for your Thanksgivings dinner. 

 Pick a Pumpkin - 

Or a gourd!  Pumpkins and gourds are easy to incorporate into your table setting.  Try painting them gold, bronze or silver; hallow them out and fill with flowers or candles; or use them as stands for platters on a buffet table. 

I love this idea.  You could also do it on a much smaller scale with miniature pumpkins. 

The dark russet table cloths make the white pumpkins pop.

I wish I could give credit to whoever came up with this fantastic idea!

Let There Be Light - 

Candles add so much to a table and are simple to decorate.   

Double stick tape is the trick to decorating the outside of a glass vase with fall leaves.

Grouping similar candles of various sizes always makes an interesting centerpiece.  

 Wrap a candle with decorative paper or ribbon to match your table cloth or place settings.  

 Fill 'er Up -

If you have an assortment of class vases, consider filling them up with fruits or nuts for a creative do-ahead arrangement. 

Idea from designer Julie Mulligan

Decorate with Place Cards -

There are unlimited ideas for cute, simple Thanksgiving place cards.  This is a great way to add a personal touch to your table but still have room for all the food!

Above ideas from Martha Stewart - who else! 

Line Them Up - 

  Since most Thanksgiving tables need to accommodate a crowd, your decorations should not take up too much space.  By using multiples of one item in a line down the length of the table, you create a simple yet interesting centerpiece.  This idea is repeated throughout the photos above.  Here are a few more examples:

Simple vases filled with leaves make for a very modern Thanksgiving

A cute, family-friendly idea from funfamilycrafts.com 

 Small flower arrangements in a retro food can.

  (Idea by Courtney Russell)                                                                        This is over decorated--it would be best with just the apples.

Flower Truck

I'm sure you have seen or visited a food truck--they have been all the rage for sometime now.  Recently I came across an article about a flower truck.  Yes, a mobile flower shop.  What a fantastic idea--so simple and so fun!  The Flower Truck is the brainstorm of Jennifer Kaplan.  Check out her website at www.flowertruck.com 

Lauren Lachance

Lauren Lachance is both a botanist and artist who uses pressed flowers in a very big, bold, and modern way.  I love her work and hope to one day own one of her beautiful pressings. 

Here's more information from her website:

"The Lauren Lachance Collection brings you the world’s most extraordinary botanical art. It’s the largest known collection of its kind. Our rare and beautiful specimens were collected over 20 years of expeditions to the far reaches of the globe. Each piece is a true reflection of natural beauty." 

 

 www.laurenlachance.com

Backyard Bouquets

Not everyone has a cutting garden in their backyard, but that doesn't mean you can't make lovely arrangements that will bring you joy every day.  I'm not much of a gardener, so everything in my yard needs to be low or no maintenance.  Easy perenials, shrubs and grasses with very few flowers fill my backyard. 

Here's a few quick arrangements pulled together from my garden. 

Asparagus and Sword Fern compliment the color and texture of the Kangaroo Paw

 

Kangaroo Paw in a chartreuse vase

Smoke Bush leaves, Manzanita Ground Cover, Seeded Pieris and Lily Turf  

Early Sedum, Oregano 'Kent Beauty' and Hellebore leaves

Succulent flowers in a blue bud vase -- so easy!

Not sure if you have the right plants?  Take your clippers and cut a sample of everything in your yard and then mix and match to see what might work in an arrangement.  You'll be surprised at what you can create!

Tools of the Trade

There are a lot of opinions out there about which tool to use when cutting and arranging flowers.  Floral shears, knives, Bonsai scissors, clippers, everyone has their favorite.   Regardless of what tool you choose, it must be sharp.  When working with flowers, it is very important that you are making a clean cut and thus not damaging the stems. 

I received a pair of Bonsai scissors from a floral class I attended.  Although very pretty, I wasn't a fan.  The metal handles are hard on your hand, and because there is no spring action, your hand has to both open and close the scissors.  I know, isn't that how scissors are supposed to work?  But it became tiresome after working on a large arrangement.  Just my opinion.  :-)

Floral clippers are what most of my workshop participants choose to use.  They are easy to manage, and I would suggest them for beginner arrangers.   

These are Skakagen Florist Scissors, which are the preferred tool of famous florist Jeff Leatham of the Four Season's George V Paris Hotel.  I don't own a pair so can't comment, but I would love to try them sometime.

So which tool do I use?  A Swiss Army knife.  Two reasons: first, I find it quicker to make arrangements since you don't have to put the knife down and, second, it is easier on your hand and arm.  If you are a professional florist using a clipper all day, the constant squeezing can cause problems with wrists and elbows.

 

Lily Pollen

Lilies are a "diva" flower, very showy and they want all the attention in an arrangement! They also require extra care so they continue looking beautiful as their blooms open. Make sure you remove the anther, which contains the pollen. Pollen can get on your furniture, clothing or table cloths and can be difficult to clean. Anthers are easily removed by gently pulling them away from the filament. If pollen is already being released use a tissue to keep your fingers clean. Don't use scissors or clippers to cut the anther since this will leave a short, stubby filament!

When pollen is released it can be a mess if not removed correctly.  Oils from your skin will just make it worse so don't brush it away with your fingers.  You can blow the pollen away but who knows where it will end up!  The easiest and best way to remove pollen from a flower petal (or clothing item) is to use a pipe cleaner.  Fold the pipe cleaner in half and gently brush the pollen with the cleaner.  The soft bristles of the pipe cleaner grabs all the pollen.  So simple!

Spring Floral Arrangement

I had a wonderful group of women attend a floral workshop last weekend and we made lovely spring- time bouquets. They went home with gorgeous arrangements filled with tulips, scabiosa, veronica, roses, sweet peas and dogwood branches.   As always, I had extra flowers (I find it very difficult to not over buy when I'm at the SF Flower Mart--like a kid in a candy shop!) so here's my spring, dutch inspired arrangement. 

Started with coated chicken wire inside a sage green urn.

Added the dogwood branches first which provides an "outline" for the arrangement

Next came camellia leaf--so pretty with buds!

...then dusty miller and ceanothus...

and finally tulips, scabiosa, roses and purple sweet peas.