Give thanks in style with gorgeous, guest worthy place settings! Thanksgiving is a time for family, entertaining, thanking, and gorgeous meals. To impress your guests with your decor and still have plenty of time to cook that turkey (plus extra money in your wallet), try one of these place setting ideas!
Flight of Fancy
On the left from Good Housekeeping: A sophisticated way to signal the season: with rich russet-toned pheasant plumes. Continue the theme with feather-stamped name cards, and tie it all together with a 2 1/2-inch-wide gold satin ribbon running from plate to plate. On the right from Country Living: The table is personalized with a mix of handcrafted ironstone, antique silver, and delightfully unexpected touches of blue hobnail glass and pheasant feathers.
Worth Noting
Guests will love this monogrammed place card that doubles as a take-home gift. The notebook’s parchment-like cover complements the Pilgrim-era initial (find free Gothic fonts on fontsquirrel.com; print out letters using your home computer). Cut out each initial as shown and, with a glue stick, secure it to a 1/4-inch-wide satin ribbon; press firmly onto the book.
Leaf Peeping
On the left from Babble: A pretty idea using a maple leaf shaped cookie and a leaf (with a beautiful burgundy napkin). On the right from Good Housekeeping: To set this festive table, scatter reusable parchment leaves — or free foliage from the yard — around your best china. Cloth napkins look extra charming cinched in mini grapevine wreaths.
Foreign Accents
Spice up your holiday buffet with these globally inspired ideas. Tuck flatware sets into embellished water glasses — mix and match from your stash or, if you can afford a splurge, buy Moroccan tea glasses. Then, for Bollywood flair, slip child-size Indian bangles around pleated persimmon-hued paper napkins.
Drawing Board
On the left from Good Housekeeping: Prevent little ones from playing with their food by creating a distraction that’s way more fun: chalkboard place mats. Pick up 9″ by 12″ canvas panels and cover with chalkboard paint. Add a side serving of chalk, wrapped with string, to inspire during-the-meal doodling. On the right from Merry Brides: These little guys are an amazing addition to any place setting. So adorable. Perfect for any wedding or parties leading up to the big day.
Good on Paper
Want a bold-patterned tablescape, but don’t have the right linens? Try this chic trick: Lay lengths of graphic black-and-white gift wrap across the table and place plates on top. Write each guest’s name onto a black-card-stock rectangle with a white gel pen; slip into fork tines.
