Thanksgiving decorations for a small gathering in 2020
I am so happy H-E-B’s Thanksgiving decorations matched mine this year. The coffee holder is from ETSY.
Are you hosting just your family for Thanksgiving because we are still in the middle of a pandemic? Are you a last minute decoration buyer? This blog is for you. I wanted to give my readers some ideas of how I decorate for a small Thanksgiving and stick to a budget all while supporting small business. This year I was able to stick to my $100 budget and still give the people in my house a wonderful experience.
I know many people are putting up their Christmas decorations now, but I wanted to give some of my last minute shoppers some ideas. My family is one of the few families I know who don’t put up Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. We are super into Thanksgiving because it is close to my birthday and we really like to be with each other. I have been hosting Thanksgiving for the last eight years. I never have more than twelve people over so having a small Thanksgiving is typical for me. I know the Thanksgiving table is often a place of family drama, but I’m blessed that it is not in my home. I’m hoping as more people are choosing to have smaller gathering this year they can experience joy.
If you are going to shop for décor, make sure you know what you like. I’m a firm believe a home should look lived in and look specific to the owner. I absolutely hate home décor that looks like it is a hotel. I have a family, dogs, and a niece and nephews under three. If a decoration can’t take being knocked down a couple of times, it most likely won’t be purchased. I also don’t like spending a lot of money on things. Memories are more important than objects. I had a great Thanksgiving each year without having a heavily decorated house. I am really not into Fall colors ,and I skipped buying decorations most years. I concentrated on buying kitchen gadgets so I would be prepared. If you are hosting for the first time this year, please concentrate on the food. There is nothing worse than gross food on a holiday. If you are ready to start buying decorations, begin with a color scheme.
I know my color scheme, what should you do next? If you are like me, start small and stick to a budget. I’m ok if my house won’t win any decorating contest. It will only improve with time, and I have something to look forward to each year. I enjoy having a mixture of colors for holidays. My first purchase was my tablecloth eight years ago. It came with napkins so it was perfect for Fall and Thanksgiving. I try to buy things I will reuse each year, and I can coordinate with later. Then I purchased the white pumpkin salt and pepper shaker from World Market. Those were my only purchases for six years.
My mother bought this pumpkin from H-E-B in 2018, and it is the perfect holder for Thanksgiving and Fall cookies.
Navy became super popular for Fall decorations in 2019, and I caved and bought a chalkboard thankful sign at Target. The orange letters made it fit nicely with my tablecloth. I still hadn’t hit the major decoration bug. Then I bought a house in 2020 and could no longer travel. Instead of saving for a major vacation, it was time to make my new home look more like my style. I have an open concept living room so I wanted to tie in all my colors. I decided to focus on my fireplace. I knew I wanted more navy , but wanted it to coordinate with my tablecloth. It is very important to me to support small business, and I don’t want to google for people’s websites so ETSY is my number one place for buying small. I purchased a garland (clear command strips for hanging) that went with my table cloth and an Autumn sign because I needed some positive words to look at. If you are trying to buy Thanksgiving decorations on ETSY now, I don’t recommend it. Shipping takes two weeks to a month on many hand made items. However, start making your a list of your favorite items so you can be ready for next year’s fall decorations. It is an easy way to make sure your home is unique and you support small business.
My unique framed 1950s tablecloth came from the Chappel Hill Bluebonnet Festival a couple of years ago.
My ETSY purchases made me feel confident I could achieve a Fall look in my home. Then I saw a beautiful $50 Fall wreath on Facebook. My husband said it was too expensive, and I took the opportunity to learn how to make one myself. I have been scrapbooking for five years and taking on a new craft seemed reasonable. I went to a JoAnne Fabric and Craft Store (they great coupons and even has classroom decorations.)in the middle of October, and they had their Fall decorations off by 60%. Unfortunately, I realized that I didn’t have enough flowers to get the look I wanted. I went back the next weekend and bought more flowers when they were buy one get two free. The extra flower that didn’t go with my new design went on the fireplace because it incorporated the burgundy color on the table. My husband knew I was dying to put it up, but I didn’t have any twine. He hung my wreath up with some dental floss. Is my wreath as pretty as the $50 one? Nope, but it cost me $17 which included a $5 wire cutter. You still have time to make a wreath. Use that glue gun and invest in a $5 wire cutter and get started. I’m planning on buying more wreath materials online for next year the day after Thanksgiving. If you are crafty, making your decorations is always an option.
When buying last minute decorations there will always be the item you truly want but are unable to get. I wanted fabric pumpkins to match my garland, but that was too hard and too expensive. I will be on the lookout for some next year or might tackle on making my own next year. Target, TJ Maxx, and HomeGoods never had pumpkins that matched my garland. I headed back to JoAnn because the one by my house is less busy than Michaels so its a great place to explore on the weekend. I saw a set of white fabric pumpkins, and I knew I had to have them. They were not the same size so I put two on the mantle and two on the rolling bar cart I have. If you are trying to decorate now, don’t worry about that elusive item.
I love the addition of acorns in my theme this year.
Last but not least, what about the dining table? I use real plates every Thanksgiving. Yes, I know paper plates are easier. However, I always have a small Thanksgiving and my family deserves nice things. Dishwashers exist for a reason. Do you have good China that you never use? This is the Thanksgiving to use it. I’m using the gold plates my grandmother gave me this year. I will be honest and tell you I never used them before. They aren’t microwaveable and the set is missing the saucer. It’s 2020 and missing pieces from a 22 year old set are probably a standard of the year. I want all my family to be at Thanksgiving in some way, and this is an easy way to do it. The weather in Texas is weird and Thanksgiving usually entails shorts, but I wanted to be able to serve hot chocolate or tea just in case. I purchased my napkin holders from ETSY. I decided to go with our names instead of a turkey or pumpkin because they could be used at Christmas. Recycling décor makes me feel less guilty about a purchase. My sister mentioned to me real flowers would be a nice addition to them so I went to my local H-E-B to see if I could get a budget friendly flower. For less than $4, I was able to get Fall flowers that paired well with my theme. Whatever you choose for your dining accessories make sure it feels like your style!
These custom napkin holders are my favorite purchase this year. A flower and twine will work just fine if you are now just buying for Thanksgiving.
This H-E-B dish drying mat was a perfect addition for Fall and will be necessary for nice dishes.
Do I have everything I need when it comes to Thanksgiving decorations? Of course not. Saying yes to a budget means saying no to items I would like to have. I still haven’t decided if I want to go over my $100 budget and buy gold plated silverware (It’s only $33 on amazon) to match. I have no idea what glasses I want to use because my family drinks a non alcoholic punch every year. Do I want to use the punch glasses or the mason jar glasses that are a staple our table from our DIY wedding we had? Do I want to buy more Flowers and have a centerpiece the day of Thanksgiving? Do I have enough counterspace to incorporate all the sides that come with Thanksgiving? Those decisions will be made after this blog is posted. Feel free to see what choices I make on Instagram. Until then, happy hunting my last minute Thanksgiving shoppers.
* I am not affiliated with any of the companies I mentioned with this blog. I make purchases based on their usefulness and color coordination.
