Setting the Thanksgiving Table

Food seems to taste much better when served in a beautiful setting.  Even though I didn’t have an extravagant childhood, my mother always set a lovely table for the holidays, using her Franciscan Ware apple pattern. Are you setting a Thanksgiving table? If so, here are some of my tips and tricks to creating a lovely place to share your Thanksgiving meal.

Selecting your Pattern and Colors and Centerpiece

This year, I took one of my English china plates, Windsor Ware by Johnson Bros. with me to select the plants from Whitfill Nursery and flowers from Safeway for the centerpiece.

I wanted to purchase items I could use again~~plants and herbs.  Of course, I needed a few flowers for additional color.

Sizing the Table

We are having 10 for Thanksgiving dinner so we extended the table.  I wonder why they are called leaves?

It was a worthwhile investment purchasing a table pad to protect the surface of the dining room table.  One side of the pad is felt and the other is a protective plastic.  This one was custom made by Guardian and it has 3 parts. However, I cannot get a safe link to the Guardian website, so here are cut to fit table protector options.

Next, I layered my table cloths, starting with a Battenburg lace one, and adding 3 smaller muslin sheets on top.  I purchased the vintage muslin sheets from one of my favorite bloggers, Miss Mustard Seed. The lighter ivory tone and texture of the muslin matches the background of the dinner plate.

The Centerpiece

For the centerpiece,  I lined a rectangular wooden tray with both plastic and foil, and then filled it with the plants, herbs, and pomegranates, pears and flowers.  The brass pumpkins were on sale at Safeway ~~and add a bit of sparkle.

To give the centerpiece some length, I put ivy on either end of the tray and extend it around candlesticks. This way, the bulk of the arrangement is in the middle of the table, but the ivy tendrils make it feel bigger.

The Place Setting

Since, at the time of writing this post, I had not finalized my menu, I was experimenting with adding different plates/bowls in case we have a first course salad or soup. The wooden charger is from Pier 1 Imports, providing a great back drop for my china pattern. Since Pier 1 no longer has their retail stores, here is a similar charger.

The glass, gold trim salad plate is from Lesley Roy. I like that the design in the center of the plate is visible. Here is a similar salad plate.

I love these pumpkin soup tureens from Williams-Sonoma, but I rarely use them.

The napkins were a recent purchase (on sale!) from Ballard Designs.  They are the perfect creamy color and the plaid trim complements the brown tones.

A fresh sprig of rosemary from the garden is tucked in the brass napkin ring.

Looking forward to spending the next few days baking and cooking. Funny how Thanksgiving dinner takes hours to prepare and such a short time to eat!