Posted by swistle on 10th November 2010
Categories: Holiday, House & Home
3 comments
This year my parents are hosting a day-after-Thanksgiving lunch for my brother’s in-laws. My mother is happily fretting about things such as tablecloths and centerpieces, and every week when we go shopping together we consider more possibilities.
Today I thought to look online, and I found a lot of stuff like this:
Harvest Blessings Autumn Centerpiece by FTD (photo from FTD.com). It’s pretty, and I like the way it’s nice and low (a lot of floral centerpieces are tall enough to block people from seeing each other), but it’s FIFTY clams, and that’s not including the shipping or the handling or whatever other fees there might be (the last time I ordered flowers from another flower place, there was a $6.95 “florist fee,” in addition to the delivery fee of $9.95, which brings the price up to $17 before I’ve ordered a single flower). And the storage would be a pain.
And looking at it, it occurs to me that this is a wreath on its side with a jar candle in the middle. And I’m pretty sure my mom has autumnal wreaths and jar candles. If YOU have an autumnal wreath and a jar candle, this is a centerpiece you can make easily (and FREE), and then you can put the pieces back wherever they were afterward.
Or, go back in time and collect a bunch of autumn leaves when they’re at their peak color, and press them in the dictionary (or other heavy book). Then when setting the table, scatter the leaves carelessly (i.e., fuss over them for an hour to make them look careless) and put some acorns on top. Maybe some pine cones if you’ve got them. Maybe a small branch with leaves still on it. This would look even more on-purpose if you had a table runner, something like this one:
Cotton Jacquard Table Runner in Greens (photo from Amazon.com). I’d choose green or gold so I could use it for Christmas, too. And then a couple of candles and DONE.
Or, skip the leaf-pressing and fretful-leaf-arranging and get a leaf runner.
Crate & Barrel Foley Table Runner (photo from CrateAndBarrel.com).
Pier 1 Imports Beaded Leaf Table Runner (photo from Pier1.com).
Or this would be pretty, wouldn’t it?:
Pier 1 Jeweled Flower 5-Votive/Tealight Holder (photo from Pier1.com). Maybe scatter a few acorns around THAT.
What kinds of centerpieces do you like? I’ve never Done a Dinner so this is new territory for me.
My favorite centerpieces are pumpkin vases, which I think I got from Martha Stewart. Ah, yes, like this:
http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/pumpkin-vase
I usually hollow out the pumpkins well before the cooking starts and keep them in the fridge and then just stuff some flowers in there. They are nice because they don’t take up a lot of room that I need for food.
Otherwise I skip centerpieces (see: need room for food) and do a fancy place card type thing for each person (like a pear with a nametag) so the table looks decorated, but there’s not something in the middle taking up space.
Elizabeth | November 10th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
This might not be precisely what you’re looking for, but…Do you know what we do for a Thanksgiving centerpiece? We make turkeys out of apples, toothpicks, raisins and a green olive. You make a tripod out of toothpicks stuck into the bottom of the apple so it stands up. Press raisins on two of these for legs. Leave the other one unadorned and pretend you don’t see it. Put five toothpicks at the back of the apple for the tail. Press raisins onto them. Make the head out of the olive, pulling the pimento out about halfway for that hanging down thing turkeys have. Pierce the olive crossways with a toothpick fragment and stick about a quarter a raisin on each side for eyes. I’ve done this almost every Thanksgiving since childhood, even though I’ve been a vegetarian for over 20 years and don’t eat turkey. It’s a fun craft for kids.
StephLove | November 10th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I have strong feelings about FTD. Because my mom very thoughtfully sent us a Thanksgiving centerpiece. And it arrived… And it was very small… And lots of things were broken… And it was all stuck into one of those weird green spongey stuff inside a green plastic basket. I had to wrap it in wrapping paper and “arrange” the leaves and stuff myself. Which seemed to me kind of ridiculous.
But I know that’s just ONE person’s SINGLE bad experience with them. And that centerpiece you linked to looks lovely. So… Waffling here.
Life of a Doctor\'s Wife | November 10th, 2010 at 7:53 pm