Give Thanks: Thanksgiving Tablescape & Menu

Thanksgiving dinner is quite possibly my most anticipated dinner of the entire year. You get to take time to reconnect with friends and family amidst our hectic schedules, you get to enjoy the beautiful crisp fall weather, and you get to eat lots of delicious foods! I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving as a holiday in general since it’s a holiday centered around food. No gifts. No balloons. Just hanging out together and eating—what could be more perfect and relaxing than that?

Thanksgiving Tablescape

To really set the cozy mood for Thanksgiving dinner, I like to dress up the table, even if there are just a few people coming over. I think that this is super important to do for Thanksgiving since it transforms any regular dinner into something very special. Plus, you’ve spent time making a bunch of delicious foods, why not enjoy them in a stunning setting?

Beautiful and Edible

This year, I really opted to go for a really inexpensive, and largely edible tablescape so that there was no waste. I picked up a bunch of beautiful and unique fall squashes and gourds from my local grocery store for a really cheap price and arranged them down the centre of the table. I chose a bunch of different squash varieties because of all the different colours: kabocha squash (dark green and dark orange), white acorn squash, fanciful gourd (yellow and green), butternut squash (pale orange), and a warty gourd (vibrant orange). While the gourds are not edible, they last well into November if they are kept dry and can be re-used for Halloween. The rest of the squash on the table can be used for many fall dishes—some of which will be up on the blog soon! I’ve also added in some vibrant green/yellow quince fruit to the table as well. I love the shape of these delicious fruits and I love that I could find these with leaves still on them! The green adds a nice finishing touch to the table setting. Best of all, I incorporated quince fruit into my Thanksgiving dessert!

Centerpiece & Table Runner

To anchor the table, I used a little metal planter that I found in our apartment’s recycling area—so that was free! I have seen these mini metal planters at craft stores like Michaels before, and even some dollar stores, so you are likely to find something similar. I added a single clipping of a gorgeous pink and green hydrangea from the garden just to give the centrepiece a bit of height, but to not block people’s views. I love how the vibrant pink colour of the hydrangea really pops but also blends in with my natural-coloured table runner. I picked up this table runner from HomeSense last fall and I love it! It has little gold thread running throughout the runner and it has two large embroidered pumpkins on each end. It gives a little nod to Halloween, but isn’t over the top. This will be a favourite for years to come!

Little Details

I also decided to add my gold candlesticks with some long white candles because we needed a bit of romantic mood lighting! I found these at a thrift store for $7 each. They are very heavy and are great quality so for $14, they were a total steal!

Casual Place Setting

As for the table setting, I always opt for white plates and in this case, I just used out everyday dinner plates. I also added our everyday forks, but jazzed it up by adding our fancy steak knives. I also busted out the fabric napkins…because Thanksgiving is the perfect time to use them. I got these gorgeous napkins from a local vendor, Kat who owns Kaiko Design. The neutral colour ties into basically any décor and the pattern brings in a bit of interest to the whole tablescape. You can order these exact ‘Miko’ napkins on her website and they are only $60 CAD for a set of four. That’s a great deal for organic linen napkins printed in Canada! I’m also eying her navy napkins as well…hehe!

I kept is casual with our wine glasses on this tablescape since it’s just a cozy meal for two. I used my stemless, gold-rimmed wine glasses (that you’ve probably seen many times before) just to be super chill. I also decided to anchor the whole place setting with these fun gold mats that I got from Parliament Interiors in Vancouver. I love how the gold mat ties in with the candlesticks and wine glasses and how it makes you feel nice and cozy. These mats were around $12 each and can definitely be used for more than one occasion!

So that is my Thanksgiving tablescape for 2018! I hope that you liked it and I hope that this inspires your Thanksgiving table this year! If you are also looking for some Thanksgiving recipes to serve this year, I have you covered! Check out my last few blog posts or the links below to complete your full Thanksgiving menu!

Give Thanks: Thanksgiving Tablescape & Menu