Stress-Free Guide to Hosting the Perfect Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to get together, eat, celebrate and give thanks. As it sits somewhere on the fence between the fall and winter, Thanksgiving is your opportunity to celebrate in your own way and add personality to your home.

Whether you are all about the food, gathering, or the season, there are ways you can incorporate this holiday into your home decor. Here are some ideas that will effortlessly transform your home for a stress-free Thanksgiving, ensuring you can focus on what truly matters: family, friends, and the joy of the holiday.

Lean into seasonal colors

Thanksgiving, like any other holiday, is about the festive spirit with the added bonus of cozy vibes. Colors are an integral part of any decor and essential to interior design projects.

As we all know, color psychology is a significant factor in decorating. It's important to use the colors correctly to ensure they play up the holiday vibe.

Strong colors like red work well in kitchens and dining rooms as they can stimulate hunger. It's a color that also ties in with the seasonal color palette, with the bonus of making people hungry, making it the perfect choice for Thanksgiving dinner.

Other colors that work great for the holiday are yellows, oranges, and greens, as they are all naturally occurring throughout the fall and winter seasons. Keep these colors in mind if you want to go all out and overhaul your home's color scheme.

Incorporate soft furnishings

You can easily add Thanksgiving colors through fabrics and soft furnishings if you prefer not to paint or wallpaper your home. Soft, cozy fabrics are a key element of this season, as it's all about comfort and coziness.

Blankets and throws are perfect for both the bedrooms and the living rooms. You can easily find them in any seasonal color and incorporate them into your decor. Look for colors like red, yellow, orange, or brown. These shades are a great way to add a pop of fall vibe to your home.

As Thanksgiving falls between fall and winter, it's important to remember that you have different color schemes and styles to influence your decor. Incorporate plaids, checks, and other patterns that immediately evoke Thanksgiving vibes.

Pillows are a great way to add a fall vibe to your room and tie in with the coziness of the holidays. Like blankets, pillows come in many colors and patterns, making them an easy and effective addition to your home to elevate your Thanksgiving style. Who knows, you might even find a turkey-shaped pillow.

Thanksgiving decor

Your home's decor is a great way to show off your individuality and Thanksgiving should be no different. There are many different ways you can add some style to your home and elevate your decor for the holiday season.

First, let's talk about dinner, the main attraction of Thanksgiving get-togethers. It's a time for family and/or friends to get together around a table to share a meal and celebrate all they are grateful for. Why not make it as memorable as possible?

When it comes to decorating your table, you can pretty much go in any direction. From formal to casual, from traditional to modern and everything in between.

If you don't want to go all out, incorporate a more neutral palette. Keep the tablecloth, dishware, cutlery and serving dishes to shades like soft whites, blacks or greys and reserve the pop of color for your table centerpiece. This allows you to have interesting decor without it being overwhelming or cluttered.

If you're more of a traditionalist, go all out by embracing the fall/Thanksgiving colors and decor. Think red napkins, red tablecloths, flowers, straw turkeys and over-the-top iconic seasonal additions that will no doubt be the talk of the party and the attraction of all eyes. It's a time to celebrate, so why not go crazy?

To add a bit more uniqueness, use a table runner featuring apples and seasonal fruit. Spread apples, pears and oranges down the table and mix in some candles of varying heights. Incorporate some greenery and ferns, and you have an interesting and natural centerpiece, uniquely yours.

Create a pumpkin party

Pumpkins are hallmarks of Halloween, but over the last few decades, they have crossed over into another holiday: Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin pies, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin decor are among the ways this fruit has become increasingly popular this season. There are many ways to utilize them to elevate your style and decor for a successful Thanksgiving get-together.

Go for a twist on this classic and try painting your pumpkins. Instead of carving them, simply paint and decorate them with various colors to match your home or the decorating vision you have in mind. You can add designs, glue on berries and glitter, or let the kids go wild to create a fun atmosphere.

Another way to elevate your party is to use miniature painted pumpkins as name placeholders for a Thanksgiving dinner party. This is a unique way to personalize these holiday staples for your loved ones. Surround these with overflowing ferns, greenery, and candles, and you have a simple yet intimate take on a holiday classic.

Create great first impressions

Whether it's an apartment door, porch, or entryway, the first thing your guests see is important. First impressions set the mood for the rest of the night. There are also ways to make your guests feel welcome the minute they walk to your door, so it's all about adding your own touch.

If you are a traditionalist, you can go for the classic holiday wreath - usually a mix of leaves and other seasonal, natural elements. You can go in this direction as a safe bet for creating a welcoming space. Or, you can add a wreath with a twist.

Incorporate feathers in varying “turkey” colors to give guests a sense of what they are in for, or add lights for an even more unique interpretation. If you prefer to ditch the wreath altogether, keep some elements like the flowers or the feathers, and get crafty by wrapping them around a welcome sign.

Conclusion

Get creative, go traditional, or even just go crazy. This is another great season that can be as amazing as you make it. By following our tips and tricks to elevate your Thanksgiving, we hope you can pull off a successful holiday and enjoy every minute, no matter what you plan to do.