Thanksgiving Decorations – Staying true to your Homesteading Roots with These HomeMade Decoration Ideas

Nov 15, 2010 by

Keeping in mind what thanksgiving is about, expensive and elaborate decorations seem all wrong, Thanksgiving is about a lot of different things but no less is it about remembering our roots and the ancestors that braved adversity to found our country.

To me decorating for thanksgiving should be about getting back to those roots and creating a rustic and homey atmosphere that personifies all the things that we celebrate this holiday for. I have included a few ideas of how you can start your own Thanksgiving decorations, where to look for inspiration and finally several links to get your creative juices going. Happy Thanksgiving and have fun crafting.

The first place you should start is by taking a walk around your homestead both inside and outside, look for inspiration in the little things, the leaves on the ground, the branches of the trees, wood in the wood pile and bales of straw. Search for corn stalks, pine cones, acorns and any other bits and pieces of nature that you think might make great decorations.

Take a child with you if you can, sometimes their imaginations are much more vivid and free than our own and they can often see a masterpiece where we see only a pile of junk.

Simple Ideas for Quick and Easy Thanksgiving Decorations

Create places mats from fall colored fabric scraps by piecing them together and making quilted place mats. This is an easy project that can be finished in an afternoon and will create beautiful place mats you can use year after year.

Fill a cornucopia with leaves, fall flowers, gourds, mini pumpkins and more. Hint: I have included a link on how to make a homemade cornucopia below.

Use leaves, ribbons, and crepe paper to make streamers that you can hang from the ceiling. Better yet give this project to your child and watch their imagine take hold and go wild.

Finally check out all the links below for great ideas to make wonderful homemade thanksgiving decorations.

Scavenging Things Around your Yard and Home

This site has a number of different ideas that you can use to make decorations from things you find in nature or dig up around your house. Acorn napkin rings will bring a rustic feel to your table, while the Thanksgiving table centerpiece will  bring a sense of simple warmth to any table. http://www.howtodothings.com/family-and-relationships/a3897-how-to-make-thanksgiving-decorations.html

Make your own cornucopia with this simple recipe then fill it full of things you find around your homestead or things you grew yourself. Easy to make and fun for anyone from child to adult. http://blog.jugglingfrogs.com/2007/11/bread-cornucopia.html

A bit of simple elegance is never out of place at the Thanksgiving table, this site offers a few different down to home ideas but my favorite is pressing leaves and using them as a place card for guests by using a paint pen to write their names on the leaves.
http://www.brighthub.com/money/personal-finance/articles/51145.aspx

This link has a lovely idea for making a Thanksgiving centerpiece, the great thing about this idea is that you can use it as a base and create your own centerpiece by adding your own things from around the home and homestead. Have fun with this one! http://www.essortment.com/home/homedecorideas_sjcc.htm

This Video shows out to create colorful Turkeys from pine cones.

Making things using Scraps around your Home

The best Thanksgiving decorations are those that are made from using items around your home that are not being used for anything else. So get ready to sift through the junk drawers and boxes to find bits and pieces for making your best decorations ever.

Use old table linens to make new Thanksgiving table clothes for your festivities. Use items around the house to make a beautiful table cloth in no time.
http://www.favecrafts.com/Thanksgiving/Top-10-Thanksgiving-Decorations-to-Make-Part-2

This Pilgrim Hat Flower Centerpiece is a great example of what you can do with the old odds and ends around your homestead, take a flower pot you are not using, add some scrap material and cardboard box add a few odds and ends and you have a lovely centerpiece you can be proud of.

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/389870_how-to-make-homemade-thanksgiving-decorations

This website will get your Creative juices flowing and help you find uses for old household items in your quest for decorating for Thanksgiving. From what to do with old kitchen items and clothing to where to find inspiration this site offers a new look at what Thanksgiving decorations should embody.
http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_decorations_using_household_items-41975.php

Making things using your homesteading skills

If you live an old fashioned life chances are good that you have a few skills, whether you sew, quilt, crochet, or knit there are plenty of fun things that you can do to add warm and wonderful Thanksgiving decorations to your festivities.

This adorable turkey Wreath is one of my personal favorites and starts with a crocheted turkey, you can it as it is or you can use branches to make your own wreath to make it even more rustic and homemade.
http://www.favecrafts.com/Thanksgiving/Thanksgiving-Turkey-Wreath-Crochet-Pattern

This directory of crochet patterns has a wonderful and fun selection of thanksgiving crochet patterns. You could use some of the little acorn accents and pumpkins in your cornucopia, or you can make your own cornucopia with fruits and vegetables.
http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/thanksgiving.php

This incredible wreath is a great way to show off your knitting skills as well as have a colorful lovely decoration for your thanksgiving décor.
http://blog.knitting-warehouse.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-wreath-free-pattern.html

This lovely page helps you create lovely center pieces out of the bounty of your garden or flower beds. Use it to create stunning pieces or as a guide to create your own masterpiece.
http://www.floralcraftresource.com/thanksgiving-decorations.html

Letting the Kids Help

Kids love to be a part of the holidays and Thanksgiving is no exception so no list of Thanksgiving decorations to make would be complete without a few things for the little ones to do. This selection allows your child to proudly display his masterpieces for everyone to see on thanksgiving day and lets them be an integral part of decorating for the big day.

These unique little felt Turkey Napkin Rings are great for using on the table thanksgiving day. Colorful and fun your guests will love their feathered friends. Cut these out yourself and then let your child glue them together with supervision of course.
http://www.favecrafts.com/Thanksgiving/Easy-Turkey-Napkin-Rings-from-the-New-Image-Group

Luminaries are always a fun project but the great thing about thise thanksgiving luminaries is that they are made with LED tea lights so you do not need to worry about burning the house down with this little turkeys.
http://familyfun.go.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-craft-decorations/thanksgiving-table-decorations/turkey-luminarias-783823/

Why not let your child create your thanksgiving center piece with the fun, adorable and no fail tissue paper turkey. This little guy will love to hang out with you for your turkey dinner and is simple enough that anyone can make it in one quick sitting.
http://familyfun.go.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-craft-decorations/thanksgiving-table-decorations/tissue-paper-turkey-673489/

With so many different ways to celebrate your Thanksgiving without having to spend a dime and getting the warm homey feel that Thanksgiving is supposed to have you and your family can spend a day over the weekend making wonderful handmade decorations for your table. Don’t let the expense, glitz, and commercialism of the holidays get you down, have fun with this fun ideas from all over the web or come up with a few of your own.

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How To Set A Thanksgiving Table For Less

Nov 4, 2010 by

By Marlene Alexander

If you’re like me, you love to add special touches to your holiday tables and you want to do something different every year. That could get expensive if not for dollar store shopping and a touch of imagination.

Here’s a Thanksgiving table that recycles items already on hand to create a one-of-a-kind dining experience for your guests.

You can create a pair of hurricane lamps by combining hurricane vases and candlesticks. I used a pair of faux oak leaves from a stem of decorative leaves between the vase and the candlestick as accents and add orange pillar candles from a dollar store.

Use a strong glue to make these permanent or, as I prefer, simply sit the vases on top of the candlesticks so that each piece can be reused in a different way next time.

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Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Nov 3, 2010 by

Thanksgiving is a popular celebration that brings together family and friends in America. It reminds all involved of the struggles that Americans went through in the past. As the adults engage in various activities that obviously cut out the children, they may get bored and feel sidelined. To avoid such an occurrence, here are some thanksgiving activities for kids that keep them entertained throughout the celebrations. One such activity is creating and decorating a thanksgiving tree. This will keep them busy and make them part of the partying as well as they will feel useful.

Getting them to practice and present thanksgiving songs and poems is a great thanksgiving activity for kids. They will have fun doing popular rhymes like the five little turkeys, the pumpkin poem 1, thanksgiving traditional poem, the funny turkey, and the pumpkin poem 2. They will also enjoy the acrostic poem for turkey as well as the turkey dinner song. Other favorite thanksgiving songs include the first thanksgiving, Mr. Turkey, over the river and through the wood, as well as turkey in the straw. They can also practice various pumpkin songs using common tunes known to them.

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Planning Thanksgiving Dinner – Tips To Make Your Holiday Easy

Nov 1, 2010 by

Pic By Paul lew

Planning Thanksgiving dinner and preparing it can be very stressful, especially if you have a large family or are expecting a number of guests. In order to make Thanksgiving more enjoyable for yourself as well as your guests, some advance planning and preparation will work wonders. Use these tips to make your holiday a stress-free, memorable occasion:

10 Days before Thanksgiving:

A week to 10 days before Thanksgiving, make your guest list. If there are any friends or family members you have not yet contacted, do so now to give them and yourself plenty of time to prepare. If any of your guests will be bringing a special dish, add it to your menu.

If you will be cooking turkey, decide upon fresh, frozen, or smoked. Make sure you have room in your refrigerator and oven. You should plan on one to one 1/2 pounds per person and even a bit larger if you want plenty of leftovers.

Deciding upon your final menu should be completed at least a week before the big day. Consider the number of people you will be entertaining and if you have children on your guest list, try to plan a couple of special dishes or treats especially for them.

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Turkey the Old-Fashioned Way

Oct 18, 2010 by

There are many delicious ways to prepare and serve turkey. It might be deep-fried, brined, poached, grilled…to mention just a few methods of preparation. This article, however, will focus strictly on tips and techniques for preparing perfect turkey the old-fashioned way – oven roasted.

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