Belated Thanksgiving 2012 Update

Now that we’re safely into the new year (ohhh, by almost two months!), I think it’s time I posted my thanksgiving decor. It was super low budget, but I accomplished the feel I was going for. Without further ado, our alfresco Thanksgiving dining experience:

First, I painted the stems of small pumpkins gold.

Then I cut the pumpkins on the bottom in order to hollow them out and create luminaries. This was my first time carving/decorating a pumpkin, and I was surprised at how tricky it is! You have to really put some muscle into it. Those seeds are a beast to get out.

I found a rather Tim Burton-esque looking face while I was working.

Our sweet white rabbit {who is no longer with us 😦 } loved getting some of the scraps, while Diesel our dog supervised.

For the table runner, I use a long sheet of craft paper and stamped two different sized circles all over it at random with gold acrylic paint.

The gold circles tied in with the gold stems of the pumpkins.

I continued the “polka dot” theme by drilling circles in the pumpkins that would  allow the luminaries to glow.

For place cards, I made a few batches of carmel corn {recipe here, though I added a ton of cinnamon, SO good!!} and filled individual, name-stamped paper bags with the crunchy goodness. Guests could munch throughout dinner, or during dessert if pumpkin pie didn’t float their boats {holla!}.

You’ll notice nothing on my plate but carbs and veggies. 🙂 None of that turkey nonsense for me.

Our table full of lovely neighborhood friends . . .

The pumpkins came alive as the sun went down.

The food was placed around this buffet table my mom set up. I love the placement of the crates and pumpkins!

That wraps up our thanksgiving festivities. We all gathered around the fire-pit for dessert when it started to get chilly.  I say it very often, but I love where I live! So grateful we were able to enjoy our thanksgiving meal outdoors this year. 

Thanksgiving Decor

Hey friends!

This year is the first Thanksgiving in 15 or so years in which my family hasn’t been camping. We had a treasured tradition of spending Thanksgiving week camping with nearly all of our close family friends. We’d come together on linked picnic tables for a shared meal (starting at 2pm! quite a food fest) Thursday and again for “leftovers day” Friday.

I have sooo many wonderful memories from our annual campouts, but this year it was time for a change! We had a good, old fashioned, indoor Thanksgiving. No down coats or plastic tablecloths to be seen. I was in charge of table decor and had a blast rummaging through my mom’s collection of dishes and tableware. I lucked out finding various Waterford goblets and small crystal vases. I knew I wanted to play with cranberries, so I made mini topiaries with toothpicks and grapefruit. I also found super fun (and very affordable) whole sugar cane that I knew had to be incorporated somehow!

The final look combined the cranberries, sugar cane, and really interesting flowers (protea) that added amazing shape and texture into the mix.

We had a lovely meal with a few friends and family, and tons of delicious food, of course. It was an excellent holiday! Already looking forward to next year.

Thanks for reading!