To prepare for the dinner I did a lot of work to make everything look nice for our guests but as usual I did it with out breaking the bank! Since many of you are preparing for your own Thanksgiving meals this week I thought I'd share with you some of the highlights!
We got the basement painted just in time! The warm colors on the walls worked perfectly for a Thanksgiving feast. For my decorations I went with orange, yellow, purple , and green. Here is a view of the table from one end
And here is a view of the table from the other end. Since the chairs didn't all match I just tried to make it look more put together by putting similar chairs across from each other and the same kind of chairs at each end.
I set the table for 16. I used these purple chargers that I borrowed from my mom. She has 12 of them that she got somewhere a couple of years ago for like a dollar a piece- not bad! Since I only had 12 I only used them in the middle of the table and skipped the ends. I also borrowed 12 wine glasses from my mom and I have a set of 6 so I had just enough. I purposely bought the same wine glasses that my mom has several years back so that if we ever had a large party we could use them all. Then for the silverware I only had a set of 12 so I used the small forks and spoons for a few of the place settings so they at least matched. I don't think anyone noticed the size of their silverware! For table decor I kept it simple because space was definitely limited. I used three long beaded garlands to run the length of the table. They had all of the colors in my color scheme so they really tied everything together nicely. Then I just added two decorative pumpkins at either end.
I cleared off this low bookshelf and turned it into a beverage area. This is a great idea if you are limited on space. I had mugs on a decorative tray on the bottom, tea bags and sugar on the middle shelf and coffee, wine, cold water and hot water on the top shelf.
I used scrapbook paper to make these printouts of Psalm 100. I put one at every place setting.
My friend Esther read the Psalm of thanks to everyone before we ate.
Here is a shot of the plate on the chargers. We used our actual dining room table for all of the food so we kept the plates upstairs and let everyone load up then come downstairs. This really helped with the traffic flow.
Everyone fit at the table, got more than enough to eat, and seemed to have a great time- SUCCESS!
So the only thing we actually boought this year was 2 white table cloths. They are restaurant quality linens from Old Time Pottery. We got them for only $14.99 each. If I had more time I'm sure I could have found them cheeper but thats not too bad for something I'll use over and over again.
We have been hosting these Thanksgiving Gatherings for our friends for about 5 years now. the first year I definitely could not afford to buy all of the stuff I needed to host a large group so what I've did was focus on one or two elements each year. The first year we bought them white dishes. They were only a dollar each at Old Time Pottery. Then the next year we bought the wine glasses which as I said before my mom was willing to go in on with me so we could get enough. Eventually I'll have everything I need and I won't have to buy anything! The decorations I bought after Thanksgiving one year from JoAnn Fabrics for next to nothing!
I wasn't a thrift shopper when we started having these dinners but I am sure you could get everything you need from a thrift store. You might have to go with mis-matched glasses or plates but that could be really cute if you stick to a certain shape or color scheme.
Hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration as you prepare for your own Thanksgiving meal!
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