Thanksgiving Tablescape

Our Thanksgiving was amazing!  It was a day filled with love, laughter and LOTS of food!  I couldn't have asked for a better holiday with my family and friends.  This year we hosted it because we really wanted Miss A to have her first Thanksgiving in her own home.  I originally wasn't going to decorate the table.  Our holidays are generally casual and everyone sits wherever they can find a spot, so a decorated table doesn't make much sense.  But at the last minute, I decided I would try to decorate it, spending as little as possible and using mostly what I have.  I ended up spending $15. Here's how I did it:

The tablecloth is lining fabric I got from a friend in a huge roll.  She bought it at a going-out-of-business sale, but never used it so she gave me the roll.  It's 60" wide and the perfect width to cover my table.  I just rolled it out and cut it to length.  Since there is so much of it, I just threw it away after the meal.  I bought 2 yards of bleached burlap at Wal-Mart for $5 and cut it in half lengthwise.  I didn't sew it or anything, just laid it on the table, overlapping the ends for a runner.  I'll reuse it for crafts later.  I also picked up 2 bouquets of white mum daisies for $10 while I was there.  Those were divided into 4 juice glasses and put down the center of the table.  The bluish pumpkin I had bought in early October before Halloween so I added that, too.  I didn't put candles on the table because after dinner we always clear the table and play games.  Candles always just get in the way and with the little one, I didn't want to risk her yanking on the tablecloth and pulling one off on herself. 

The centerpiece is our Thankful Tree.  Every year we try to do something that gets everyone to share what they're thankful for.  In years past, we've gone around the table and had everyone light a votive candle on the table while they share.  This year I wanted something different, so I gathered branches from the yard and put them in a mason jar filled with rice.  I used my Silhouette to cut out leaf shapes and placed around the table.   Everyone wrote on the leaf something they are thankful for then tied it to the tree with ribbon I already had.  It was so simple and beautiful when it was covered with leaves.

It was such a simple way to decorate the table, but it got lots of compliments from our family.  Of course, even if I had done nothing to the table, it still would've been a wonderful day, but having a lovely table to start with, was just icing on the cake.