Beautiful and affordable Thanksgiving decorating ideas
With the weather getting cooler and the leaves falling faster, all signs point to Thanksgiving! If your cupboards are full, but your ideas are running short, The Budget Decorator has some great ideas to make your Thanksgiving décor something everyone can be thankful for!
Lay Out the Welcome Mat
Many of us will have friends or family visiting during the Thanksgiving holiday, so we’ll want to extend the very warmest welcome. Thankfully, it's easy and inexpensive to create a front entry that invites visitors into your home!
- Once Halloween is over, home improvement stores, feed shops and craft stores have hay bales and corn stalks on sale for as little as one dollar. Assemble three pumpkins of different sizes for a punch of color. Tuck a pot of mums in between the pumpkins so the pot itself is hidden, but the flowers show. In no time you’ll have an inexpensive and eye-catching display!
- Use craft paint to stamp or stencil fall leaves onto a plain front door mat picked up at the discount store. You can find inexpensive stencils at any craft store or print them out for free online.
- Cut a rectangle shape out of strong corrugated cardboard for a wreath base. (Tip: You can also use an old picture frame without the glass.) Using a glue gun, attach natural items found in your yard, along a nature walk, or from a craft store. Cover the base completely and hang the wreath on your front door. Remember to bring the wreath inside on stormy days.
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A Feast for All
Since no other holiday is more centered around food than Thanksgiving, allow food to inspire your decorating ideas! The key is to layer - think bounty!
- Nestle candles into juice glasses or candle holders filled with cracked corn, seeds, beans or nuts.
- Winter vegetables can be used as centerpieces when hollowed out for candles, used as serving dishes, or piled in corners to celebrate the harvest season. Pumpkins, winter squash, apples and pears, and even turnips can add flair to your feast!
- Add greens, fresh herbs or edible flowers to your Thanksgiving dishes to allow your food presentations to become part of the décor. One bunch of fresh sage or mint from the supermarket can add a special touch to your table.
Be Thankful
A tradition becoming more and more popular is the Thanksgiving Tree. Here's how to create an easy and elegant Thanksgiving Tree that not only invites guests to participate, but creates an amazing focal point no matter where you place it in a room!
- Search for long, interesting branches in your back yard or roadside orchard of your local park. Fill a large vase with small stones or seeds to keep the arrangement from tipping over and hide the base of the branches.
- Add and arrange branches to create a “tree” that towers over your place settings as a natural and organic centerpiece for your table.
- Using pretty fall hued scrapbooking paper from your local craft store, trace and cut out leaf shapes. Be sure to choose a subtle color or pattern, to reflect the natural feeling of the tree. Add a ribbon tie, and attach leaves randomly all over the tree.
- Finally, tie a metallic paint pen to the tree and invite your guests to write things they are thankful for on the leaves. Guests can take turns reading the leaves as part of a family blessing.
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Make it Scent-sational
Scent has a great deal to do with our Thanksgiving memories, so include the scents of the season in your home with these easy ideas:
- Simmer cider on the stove top instead of in the microwave. Make sure to add a few fresh cinnamon sticks as well.
- Use fresh herbs in your floral arrangements. It adds that wonderful scent that is so indicative of the holiday season and such an easy detail to include!
- If you have a fire planned for the hearth, pick up some cinnamon pine cones to add some “spice” to that fireside chat!
Follow the Three C's
When in doubt, plan your Thanksgiving decorating with the three C’s in mind:
1. Color - Use the colors of the season all around the room. Think nature instead of the bright orange and brown we learned in school.
2. Comfort - It's all about wanting your loved ones to feel wrapped in a cocoon of warm moments and memories.
3. Caring - It doesn’t matter if your wallet is a little slim, what counts most at Thanksgiving is caring for the ones you invite into your home. Show you care by decorating for the holiday with love!
No matter how tight your budget is this holiday season, Thanksgiving decorating is a cinch with these simple, inexpensive and festive ideas!
More from GalTime.com:
- Getting Crafty At Home for the Holidays
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- Got Thanksgiving Leftovers? Make A Beauty Mask!
- Tips To Keep a Tidy Kitchen
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Want to love your home, and keep your cash? Get budget home decorating ideas from Kathy at www.TheBudgetDecorator.com.
