Simple Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas

1. Create a Kraft Paper Table Runner

For a fun and easy table runner, simply use a roll of kraft paper! You can snag a roll online {here} or find it locally at craft or home improvement stores. When I did this for Thanksgiving several years ago, I put each person’s name at their place at the table along with a spot for them to write a few things they’re thankful for:

If you have kids, it’s a great way to let them get creative and decorate your table runner for your guests! This is also a fun idea for a kids table at Thanksgiving, allowing them to draw and doodle once they’re done eating (definitely go with colored pencils or crayons instead of markers though 😉).

2. Get Creative With Fruit

Picking up some extra fruit at the grocery store may be all you need to add some style to your Thanksgiving table – fruit in a pretty bowl can make a simple but beautiful centerpiece! I used peaches and a few sprigs of greenery in a wood bowl for this fall table:

The idea would work just as well for Thanksgiving with a bowl of red apples, a mix of mini pumpkins, pears, & grapes, or a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables for a harvest look. Bonus points if you have a cornucopia to put everything in instead of a bowl!

You can also use fruit as a place card like I did with pomegranates for this holiday table a few years back:

I simply wrote each person’s name on a pomegranate with one of {these white chalk markers}. You could do it with apples, oranges, mini pumpkins, etc. too!

3. Add a Simple, Colorful Garnish to Your Drinks

Adding garnishes to drinks instantly elevates the feel of a special event dinner and adds a nice dash of color too. A simple garnish I created for Thanksgiving in years past is a sprig of rosemary poked through three cranberries:

You could place them in everyone’s water glass and/or create a fun cocktail to use them in.

4. Mix and Match Your Plates

Sometimes at Thanksgiving you’ll find that you don’t have enough matching plates to make it around your expanded table. That makes it the perfect time to do some mixing and matching of plates! If you have two sets of dinnerware that work well together, give some guests the dinner plate from set 1 with the salad plate from set 2 layered on top while doing the opposite for the rests of your guests.

You can also add a few inexpensive new salad or dinner plates into your mix! Here I layered a salad plate from my wedding china set on one of {these inexpensive dotted dinner plates} and one of {these woven chargers} for an eclectic look:

5. Have Fun With Your Napkins

Instead of folding your napkins into the typical rectangle and laying them under your silverware, have a little fun with them! One of my favorite things to do with napkins is to tie them in a simple loose knot and place them on the plate:

Or for something a little more formal, you can triple fold your napkin to create a pocket for your silverware:

I’ll leave you with one last Thanksgiving idea for making things simple, this time with food instead of decor. A few years ago I picked up two rotisserie chickens instead of baking a turkey (my kids aren’t turkey fans) but still made it feel special by arranging it on a platter with rosemary, blood oranges, pomegranates, and cranberries:

I was actually so pleasantly surprised by how pretty it was! My kids liked it better than if I had cooked a turkey and I certainly wasn’t complaining about the fact that I spent WAY less time in the kitchen! Cooking a turkey is a must-do for many people so you might not want to replace that with a rotisserie chicken but it’s an idea to keep in your back pocket as an easy add-on if you have any last minute guests and are worried about having enough turkey for everyone.

I hope you all have a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving – I’ll see you back on the blog next week,