My Mama relinquished Thanksgiving to me about 2 years before she passed away. I was thrilled! After years of traveling on Thanksgiving day Big Daddy and I were soooooo excited to be home with our family . That first year I was loosing my mind in every store I went in because I saw all kinds of Thanksgiving decor and serving pieces! But true to my thrifty self I did not dive headlong in to Nutville and load up a truck full of turkey dinnerware. I did however purchase a BIG white beautiful turkey platter ………. in a clearance cart in my local grocery, for $7.
Fact.
So as per my M.O. I have told ya’ll that to tell ya’ll this:
Ever since that first Thanksgiving I allow myself to find and bring home a piece of tableware or decor for this holiday. This year? My new thing was those brown transferware salad plates 🙂
Today I wanted to share with ya’ll a very simple, inexpensive (all of this can be thrifted/collected from Goodwill!) neutral table setting for Thanksgiving. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Here is your supply list:
6 white or cream dinner plates that do not have to match
flatware for 6 that also doesn’t have to match
And old paperback , the more yellow the better
dark colored cloth napkins (mine came from TJ MAXX for $7 for 4)
6 glasses, I went casual
a single white pumpkin ( I used my tureen)
some type of pedestal (I used a silver cake stand from Goodwill but a stack of books would look great!)
Here we go……..
First, I tore out pages from an old paperback and made sort of a runner by laying them this way and that down the middle of the table and I love the effect! Plus it sort of protects my tabletop. Next I layed out our everyday cream plates, not one fancy thing about them.
I used a dark gray cotton napkin with a casual stitching around the edges for contrast . Anything light would just be lost on the plates.
Remember those Dollar General chargers from this past Summer? They are also lighter in color but do add nice texture.
Any pumpkin will do. I just wanted to keep it super simple and neutral with the white.
And for an evening meal?
Gimme candlelight please 🙂
The tea lights are in little French yogurt pots that my friend and coworker Carol Ann eats everyday and lets me have the pots. they are so used to my crazy at work they don’t even raise an eyebrow anymore ya’ll…..
Maybe another table next week …….
Paige
Love your table! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – the autumn colors, the focus on the harvest season’s bounty; and gatherings centered on the holiday’s traditional comfort foods – so I confess to an obsession with Thanksgiving decor: turkey and other fowl in plates, table decor, etc. I, too, have gone the neutral route with cream colored, oversize (12″) dinner plates as the base for my table, and decorative transferware with turkeys or pheasants (which I adore) layered on top. My latest obsession is the Fair Winds brown transferware with historic scenes with sailing ships, which I think is such a great alternative to the usual birds. Best of all, though, is finding large turkey platters at thrift stores in good shape for a mere $5 – always a steal! I’ve become something of a turkey platter collector as a result, because I cannot resist them if they’re plain white or attractive mutli-colored ones. I don’t need more, but I’ve found they make terrific host/hostess gifts for a seasonal dinner party or a housewarming, and great for buffet gatherings, so I always grab them when I see them.
Thank you so much Leslie 😊 I am another Turkey Platter Nut just like you!
I love your table. I say give me candlelight any time of day. I also love the shape of the yogurt pots but the glue they use on them could hold the space shuttle together. Any tips on removing the labels?
Thank you Kimberly! Windex, let it sit a bit then wash in HOT water
Thank you!