Thanksgiving is one of the year’s key formal dining occasions, so you wouldn’t want to fall short in the Thanksgiving table decorations department.
DIY Thanksgiving table decorations are one of those easy-to-do projects— after all, it’s mostly assembly! So don’t be afraid to jump in if you’re a newbie.
From thrifty to priceless, minimalist to lavish, traditional to quirky, we’ve got something along this long list for you.
Thanksgiving Table Decoration And Tablescaping Ideas
1. Warm and Lavish
These beautifully monogrammed linens make any Thanksgiving table look stunningly fanciful.
Get them in orange, and pair them with matching wineglasses and placemats, as a shoutout to the warm and bright tones of fall.
2. Dark Elegant Fantasy
A table full of rich colours with subtle contrasts can look extremely luxurious, and pairs great with the warm tones of turkey.
Combine purple-tinged cabbage rosettes with white Astilbe, French lavender and Tallow berries, to create a textured centerpiece with vibes of gothic elegance.
You can’t go wrong either with some dark green bottles— those are great for adding to the dark and vaguely European atmosphere.
3. Modern Touch of Simplicity
Thanksgiving shouldn’t be stuffy, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
DIY some pretty paper flowers, and match those with gilded geometric vases for a little metallic bling.
“Hello My Name Is” namecards add a nice modern touch– get them in mint green to add a pastel pop of color to the simple tablescape. Complement the greens, golds and whites, with the orange tone of cute little honey butter gifts.
4. Calm and Botanical
These tall spires of emerald stand out against stark white walls, and are great for pairing with a green glass chandelier.
Add some pale yellow florals to soften up the look, and maybe some object d’arts to make it artsy. It’s the perfect look if your room has got the height for it.
5. Chic Settings
Achieve a comfortable and carefree look with this tablescape from Apartment 34
Keep the decor long and low, to make it more conducive to dinner conversation— centrepieces are great, but thankgiving is all about the chatter.
A pale wood table is great for modern tablescapes– just add a splash of lavish color with deep fuchsia cloth napkins, and deep crimson flowers.
Go wild with chair finishes of two different but complementing colors (copper and black), and string up some fairy lights instead of dusting off the candles or chandelier. It’s sure to make your tablescape extraordinary.
6. Fresh as the Sunshine
Can’t decide on the color scheme for your Thanksgiving table? This eclectic, bright tablescape has got it all.
Use a patterned blue-and-white tablecloth for a traditional and ethnic look. It pairs surprisingly well with forest-green elements and warm-toned flowers in the colors of fall.
This tablescape can be a little eye-catching, so pair it with snow-white surroundings so as not to overwhelm.
7. Coastal Nod
Live in a beachhouse? Just want to get out-of-the-box? Then a seaside look for your Thanksgiving tablescape is perfect.
Give it those coastal vibes, by incorporating both white and baby blue candles for your centrepiece, and pairing those up with some matching plates. Really make those colors stand out, by setting them against the backdrop of a tan table runner and pale table.
Add a White Pumpkin Centerpiece , with a few starfish, clam and scallop shells for a nod to the beach.
8. Romantic and Glam
Get a gilded look for your Thanksgiving tablescape, by gold-plating leaves as ornaments, and matching that with an amber flower vase as the centrepiece. Complement that with some light green lamps that go well with the greenery.
It’s a bit of an old-school look, but if you’re nostalgic about the 70s, this is the tablescape for you.
9. Flower Blast
Made a simple tablescape for an outdoor table by gathering some wildflowers into an impressive floral centrepiece. Soften up the look by surrounding it with pale peach candles.
It’s bright, it’s lively, and your guests are sure to have a blast.
10. Kids’ Fantasy
Let’s face it— if you live in a house like that, you’ve made it. But that’s exactly why you might want to keep your guests’ attention on the trappings of your home, and less on the tablescape.
In which case, this simple tablescape is great for complementing, and even accentuating, your home decor. Stark white candles on gilded candlesticks go great with a chandelier, and sea blue napkins pair perfectly with the golds and whites.
Add some toy cars too if this is the Thanksgiving kids’ table, or if you really just want a fun and quirky look.
Related: 14 Sturdy DIY Table Top Plans & Ideas
11. Monochrome and Gilded
Dress your Thanksgiving table up in black, white, and gold, for a modern but glam vibe.
Be sure to complement the gold-painted pumpkins with gilded chargers and flower jars. But too much gold can strain the eye, so balance it out with black-and-white napkin ribbon rings and table runner, for a contemporary-looking contrast.
Get creative by covering some small pumpkins with typed print– they would suit the color scheme and add a quirky touch to your tablescape.
12. Thrifty and Fun
Realizing the idea of a buffet-style Thanksgiving was quite a revelation for me– not only does it make hosting so much easier, it gives the occasion a more relaxed, party vibe.
DIY your arrow centrepieces for this playful tablescape, by using wooden dowel rods, glue, paint, and string, and keep them upright by placing them in clear vases with white sand at the bottom.
Paint your coasters into targets to really tie together the theme, and contrast the warm colors with pale blue napkins and navigation signs.
13. Coastal Look With Copper Accents
This cool and casual Thanksgiving tablescape is great for those with both budget and space constraints.
Surround copper candlesticks with mini faux pumpkins spray painted in the complementing colors of cream, pale blue, and copper, to get an easy coastal-themed centrepiece.
Stick to that color trio for the rest of the simple decor, to get a solid tablescape that won’t leave a hole in your wallet.
14. Quirky and Nerdy
Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be an uptight affair– don’t be afraid to show your fun and geeky side.
This tablescape includes wooden owls, wishbones, leather-bound books, and various quirky paper crafts made from typed print and newsprint, such as paper roses and flower vase wraps.
Just brown wood and monochrome print may seem dull, so add warm-colored flowers, but also contrasting touches of coastal colors, to really bring vibrance to the table.
Eclectic tablescapes run the risk of seeming jumbled, indecisive and cluttered, but pulling it off as this tablescape has, makes for a unique and memorable look.
15. Simple and Modern, With A Metallic Finish
Not every Thanksgiving tablescape must be grand and elaborate– tablescapes like these keep the focus on the food.
And yes, silver and gold can be the colors of your Thanksgiving table, without it seeming tacky and all too shiny— this project uses a silver table runner and metallic pumpkins. Just balance it out with black touches, and a white candle centrepiece. Add writing to your plates in a cutesy font with food-safe paint or ink, to give it that hipster vibe.
16. Bright and Peppy
Can’t decide on which colors for your thanksgiving table? Love colors all across the rainbow? This cheery tablescape has your back— it has pumpkins in vivid purple, pale pink, peach, orange, and bright yellow.
Surround those pumpkins with some greenery, and get some gold-rimmed and green-rimmed plates to brighten up the foliage.
Complete the quirky and fun look with cutesy pumpkin napkin rings, polka-dotted napkins, decorative bottle stoppers, and a table runner with an adorable autumn leaf print.
17. Rose-colored, With A Coppery Finish
Don’t like bold and stark colors? This lavish, rose-gold Thanksgiving tablescape is just the right amount of warm and feminine to pretty up your dining room.
The gold-edged plates and gold-rimmed glasses, add a classy but minimal touch that doesn’t lay the gold on too thick onto your decor. Suit that color scheme with some small snow-white pumpkins striped with gold paint– these also suit the larger white pumpkins that are your centrepiece.
Be sure to add some peachy gold roses and pink highball glasses to give your decor a nice blush.
18. Whimsy and Pretty Decor for Shoebox Spaces
Houses these days can be a pretty tight squeeze. For some, long gone are the days of spacious suburbia.
But you too can set a beautiful table for the festive season, in even the smallest of spaces, just by getting creative.
Take inspiration from teatime by placing your food onto a dessert rack, which surely space-saves. Surround that with pale botanicals, and complement that with pale pink napkins, plus some gold accents to complete the girlish and romantic look. And don’t forget the “thankful” napkin rings to tie it to the occasion.
19. Dusky and Chic
Not everyone likes the ‘standard’ warm and flashy colors of Thanksgiving, and this modern tablescape breaks many ‘rules’ of Thanksgiving decor beautifully.
The matte black touches of this tablescape– of the plates, berries and plastic branch, adds a striking contrast to the pale wood trays and table. Brighten up the look with gold accents, and copper mugs, and get creative with cursive calligraphy.
The centrepiece is unconventionally simple, just eucalyptus and lilies, but it works for an unconventional table.
20. Mystical and Woodsy
This copper-accented tablescape is green in both ways– most of the decor is made from inexpensive and reused materials.
Easily revamp dollar store chargers and candleholders by giving them coats of copper spray paint. Reuse old shutters as your table runner, and old scarves as your tablecloth. To give it that woodlands vibe, add green pumpkins, greenery, and emerald glasses to lend vibrancy.
Add brown kraft stock, and recycled wood pencils, and you’ve got the perfect tablescape for the eco-conscious.
21. Cool and Classy
Candles make for a fuss-free centrepiece– no need to worry about the freshness of flowers, or the durability of centrepiece crafts.
This tablescape uses stark-looking white candles as the centrepiece, placed on gilded candlesticks for height and emphasis. Accentuate that classy and clean look with white pumpkins and plates, and with clear glasses.
Add blue napkins and table runner for a cool complementing touch of color, plus glittery pumpkins and silvered glass luminaries to light up the darkish greenery.
22. Vogue and Floral
A ‘safe’ tablescape rule to play by is a clear focus on the centrepiece, which must easily draw the eye in.
This bouquet of white hydrangeas sets the stage for a floral tablescape– perfect for any wood table. Branch off with cool-toned greenery (such as eucalyptus) and pink roses, to complement the snow-white of the hydrangea centrepiece.
A common fear is of floral tablescapes seeming frumpy, so add some black and gold details for a vogue and elegant finish.
23. Simply Botanical
Afraid of a muted tablescape looking dull? Then try out a pure snow look striped with copper.
Easily DIY some quirky, adorable copper-striped pumpkins, by painting miniature pumpkins white and applying copper tape to the areas in between each groove. Add matching copper stripes to your candle holder too, and you’ve got an affordable but striking centrepiece.
Add some affordable floral arrangements from Trader Joe’s, and a tan table runner too, to add woodsy vibes to your neutral tablescape.
24. Cheerfully Neon
Bring cheer to Thanksgiving by giving your table a pop of neon colors.
Get your pumpkins painted in these bright but feminine colors, for an ombre centrepiece that runs down your table and runs across the spectrum.
Use miniature pumpkins of various sizes, and stack some on each other, for a fun look that catches the eye.
Accentuate the centrepiece with matching pink napkins and cutlery, and put it all against a stark white backdrop to give these items focus.
It’s the perfect party twist on Thanksgiving.
25. Vibrant and Metallic
Here’s a thrifty tablescape that’s been made amazingly unique just with the addition of aluminum sheets and a little DIY know-how.
These peculiar pumpkins are shaped from aluminum sheet strips and vintage door knobs, and they have a slightly steampunk look that’s sure to steal the show. Be sure to get or make matching napkin rings too, and continue the coppery look with your flower vases and silverware.
Tie it together with autumnal flowers contrasted with teal napkins, to add to the liveliness of this decor.
26. Cobalt Chic
There’s nothing cuter than little painted pumpkins for your Thanksgiving tablescape. Try putting a stack of them in a lantern holder for a quirky centerpiece, and pair that with a centrepiece of more painted pumpkins.
Cobalt blue and vivid orange make for a striking contrast, so add to that with some rich blue placemats. Soften up the look by painting the rest of your mini pumpkins pale blue and white.
And don’t forget a dash of pinecones too, for a nod to the fall season.
27. Farmhouse Vibes With Warm Tones
This tablescape is easy-to-assemble, great for smaller spaces, and gives off a lively and rustic vibe.
Cover your table with a burlap tablecloth and layer with a plaid table runner, to set the stage for a cottage chic table.
To give your centrepiece height and emphasis, place tall stalks of wheat into a mason jar, and accentuate with a surrounding wreath of pumpkins and pine cones.
Voila, the harvest season is here.
28. Ultra-Thrifty and Easy
Saving money on your Thanksgiving decor doesn’t have to result in a tacky tablescape.
Put your calligraphy to work by decorating a poster board in metallic gold marker, to use as a placemat.
Paint some dollar store pumpkins to revamp them, and flank that pumpkin centrepiece with two columns of cheap candles. Scavenge some pine cones and maple leaves too– they’re an easy find in fall.
Using just dollar store finds, thrift store goods, and a little DIY, is a perfectly possible task when you want a pretty tablescape.
29. Simple Outdoor Decor
Having your Thanksgiving outdoors might put you at the mercy of the weather, but it’s great for getting the surrounding tablescape to complement a rustic Thanksgiving table.
Give it that natural vibe by DIY-ing your own festive apple candle holders (when the wax candles melt, those faux apples look deliciously frosted!) and by using wood slice chargers. Add some shine to the table too with copper cups.
In place of a flaming fire pit centrepiece, you could use botanicals or candles. But if you can, get a fire pit or even install it into your table. Because let’s face it– it looks awesome.
30. Minimalist and Metropolitan
I myself can’t stand clutter around the house, and you don’t have to either.
If you use high-quality items and establish strong color harmony, you can put together a simple but striking Thanksgiving tablescape with just a few components.
Get some fall foliage and store them in a round ball flower vase– the clear glass modernizes the tablescape, and the unusual shape gives it an artistic vibe.
Place small, intensely red fall leaves onto snow-white napkins, and the striking contrast would be all you need for plate decor.
31. Snow-white and Simple
Muted tablescapes are great for being easy on the eye and lending the room a relaxed atmosphere.
Get some faux pumpkins that double as dishes—they both spruce up the table and hold food. Add to the woodlands vibe, by using a tan table runner, brownish miniature faux pumpkins, and a wooden candle holder. Creatively accentuate the stark white candles centrepiece by surrounding it with cotton.
Be sure to add a splash of blue too to bring some muted, cool color to the neutral tablescape.
32. Moody Elegance
I’m the last person anyone might expect to be a goth, but I’ve never quite gotten over my love of black. Thanksgiving tablescapes may be a time of flowers and fruits, but you can give that a mystical gothic twist.
For a still-life fantasy vibe, use pears, ashen lavender roses, and dried mushrooms for your botanical centrepiece.
Get some vintage monogrammed napkins too to class it up, and use glass candlesticks to add to the elegant, slightly eerie mood.
33. Take Aim With A Turkey-Themed Tablescape
This project requires some DIY crafting, but your Thanksgiving tablescape is sure to be one-of-a-kind.
You’ll need a Cricut to cleanly cut out wood shapes of turkeys for your name cards, but you could always use cardstock and scissors instead.
The menu and name cards for this tablescape are written in chalk paint marker on chalkboard-painted wood, making the items reusable and the words wipeable– a great idea for being eco-friendly.
34. Prettily Patterned
A good tip for thanksgiving decor is to experiment with combining different materials for a thrifty but quirky tablescape.
A butcher paper tablecloth is super cheap and gives your table a great base color. Add some color and fun with a reused plaid table runner, and add some rustic texture with wicker chargers.
No fun tablescape is complete without a little sparkle, so surprise your guests with sequined napkins, paired with a glittery metallic centrepiece.
35. Peachey and Pale Blue
The matte, muted colors of this tablescape lends it a soft and simple vibe that’s great for a casual Thanksgiving meal.
Use opaque white cups and jugs, and get baby-blue-rimmed napkins to add a dash of color. Elevate a peachey pumpkin on a cake stand to give it emphasis, and accentuate that with yellow miniature pumpkins.
Use burlap sunflower napkin rings (you can even DIY those) for a touch of rusticity to an otherwise modern-looking tablescape.
36. Magnolia Decor With Cursive Calligraphy
Afraid of a simple tablescape looking plain and dull? Go big on cursive calligraphy.
Write in artsy script on placemats, decorative pumpkins, an overflowing tablecloth– the possibilities are endless, and what’s more, it’s all fully customizable.
This tablescape shows how stunning white paint calligraphy can look on a brown kraft tablecloth.
Complete the neutral look with calligraphed cream-colored decorative pumpkins, white plates, and beautiful magnolias as a centrepiece. Add a splash of fall color with vivid orange napkins, and a little glam with gilded cutlery.
37. Buoyant and Bright
White candles may be a staple of Thanksgiving centrepieces, but why not add a splash of color for a lively-looking centrepiece?
Candles in mint-green, or really any pastel color, are great for minimalist white spaces.
Pine cones may be an iconic fall item, but they may not match such a bright and lively theme, so lighten them by soaking them in bleach, and by pairing them with vibrant fruits like pomegranates and fresh pears.
Place those around your centrepiece for the perfect blend of modern and vintage.
38. Quaint And Casual
Lamenting the small size of your dining table? Fear not, you can always decorate ‘beyond’ the table.
String up a golden “Give Thanks” banner on a blackboard and prop it up on a cabinet near your dining table. It’s the perfect way to commemorate the occasion, and complement a light-toned tablescape without cluttering up said space.
As for your table, gather matte white containers with ‘handwritten’ labels for a touch of whimsy. To add a splash of color, paint some ramekins in vivid orange and contrasting cobalt blue.
39. Personalized Decor In Monochrome Colors
Show you care with highly personalized dining sets for each and every one of your Thanksgiving guests.
Make customized plates with your guests’ names, and decorate around the name with cutesy white polka dots. Include little polaroids/photo shots of each guest, by attaching the pictures to the respective napkin ribbon rings. Make those photos black-and-white too if you have a neutral color scheme.
Complete that vintage look with a lace placemat, layered onto a larger black placement for visibility.
40. A Modernist Tablescape With Cocktail Party Vibes
If you’re not afraid to go all-out with a cosmopolitan party vibe for your Thanksgiving, I recommend this easy DIY tablescape.
DIY your own centrepiece by making it out of balloons of various sizes. This centrepiece uses bright and pinkish colors that complement each other, for a girlish and peppy look.
Accentuate the centrepiece with stark white, minimalist furniture, contrasted with pools of vivid red from the columns of cocktails.
Thanksgiving Table Decorations And Tablescapes Checklist
Tablescaping involves many elements. Planning your Thanksgiving table decor can therefore seem daunting.
Use this handy checklist to make sure you’ve got everything you need:
- Centrepiece
- Florals/Botanicals (optional)
- Pumpkins
- Votives (optional)
- Table runner (optional, doesn’t apply to small round tables)
- Tablecloth (optional)
- Placemats (optional)
- Chargers (optional)
- Plates
- Cutlery
- Napkins
- Napkin rings (optional)
- Wine glasses
- Glasses
- Name cards (optional)
- Card holders (optional)
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a time for us to reflect on ourselves, and give thanks to the people in our lives who have helped us, in one way or another, along our journey.
We at the ProToolGuides would like to thank you, dear reader, for visiting our site and taking a look at all we have to share. We hope that somewhere in this huge sea of ideas, you’ve found just the right thing to set the stage for this season of gratitude.
Read more: 16 Easy DIY Console Table Plans & Ideas
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