Decorating that Turkey Table on a Budget!

Decorating that Turkey Table on a Budget!

Julia @ Kids Matter

          I am literally salivating over Thanksgiving as we speak. I love Turkey Day for not just for the excuse to pig out on as many side dishes and as much turkey, gravy, and pies as I can. I love it for the décor! I am a huge fan of decorating for the holidays, and I always have champagne tastes on a beer budget! So, I try my hardest to have a new theme every year, but with things I can find around the house and yard. Check your yard for fallen branches. You can simply hang a branch over the table and from it hang pictures of past Thanksgivings (unless you have a chandelier there, then perhaps hang it somewhere else where it will be a focal point). This is such a warm, welcoming, and chic decoration that displays pictures of your loved ones.

          The table is my favorite to decorate! My favorite table linen to use this time of year is a rich golden color accented with bone white plates. Rust colored napkins with a leaf pattern sewn in them lay snuggly under my great grandmothers silver flatware that has been painstakingly polished to a gleam by yours truly! (A job I inherited at a VERY young age, to earn the right of inheritance of the said silver later in life.)

          Up next are simple accents of décor on the main table and buffet, or bar. I cut small round holes in the tops of squat round apples. Seal the holes with candle wax letting some wax drip over the bulb of the apples. I placed a tea light in each apple and line them up on the table.

          My center piece is a trio of gold, cream, and brown pillar candles that are on a trio stand with acorns tied in between each candle. I then sprinkle the fall leaves I had collected and cleaned earlier in the week on the table around the apples.

          I am a HUGE fan of smelly goods! I know the house will smell of turkey and pie, but give it a little boost! Make sure to put money in the Turkey Day budget for some good smelling candles or scented oils with aromas of fall. I personally love candles for ambiance and scented oil for fragrance.    With that being said, get yourself some decorative candles and holders from the Dollar Store to save money and spend that saved dough on scented oil and burners. My personal favorite place to get scented oil is The Body Shop. I have bought it at many places, but none of them can hold a candle to The Body Shop. I have just two burners for my 3500 square foot house; one for upstairs and one for downstairs and they cover the WHOLE house! The oil lasts a very long time and the Satsuma scent is a winner every time! It works for holidays and for summer.

          So take a look around your house for items to use as décor for Turkey Day. I am sure with a little imagination you can have a very festive day! Also, Pinterest is a resource that is a mecca for craft nerds like me. Start pinning and you don’t stop- it’s more addictive than raw cookie dough.

           Think of what you are thankful for and when you are about to pull your hair out this year with menu options, décor issues, Aunt Elsie and her horrid annual Jell-O salad (which you dread like the plague) remember, there are little ones out there who have no food. Take them something. Make it something good not just that can of old beans in your cabinet. Add a few extra boxes of instant mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese, and chicken & stars soup to your shopping cart and know that a child is thanking you on Turkey Day.         

Have fun this year! Happy Thanksgiving and remember to thank someone every day. Thank your boss, your babysitter, your family, your waste management team, your mail carrier, and everyone!

Peace, Love, and Wishbones…