It’s November and that means we are in full swing holiday planning mode! One of my favorite things about the holidays are all the beautiful ways you can make your home feel more festive. The holiday decorations you use set the tone for your festivities every year. We are sharing with you today our ideas on how to set your table for Thanksgiving!

Set Your Table

This year we have focused on 2 key design elements when setting our table. Layering, whether it’s linens or dishes, adds dimension and an unexpected touch. We also wanted to mix formal and casual styles by using our more casual dishware while layering in beautiful greens and brass candlesticks. Last year, we went with a more casual look by using our white pumpkins as the centerpiece. {click here to see what we did!} Different centerpieces can really change the look of a table depending on what you choose.

Table Linens

Get creative when it comes to your linens. Think outside the box. When you think about how to set your table for Thanksgiving, think about color scheme, texture, and functionality. Using extra leaves in your table? Make sure your linens fit your table! You can always layer, like we did here. We layered 2 runners on either side of the table. I love that you can still get a peek of the wood tones from the table, but the runner almost covers the table in its entirety.

We also layered the napkins. It may seem excessive, but it added so much texture to the place setting. The layered linens are what make this place setting feel special! It added just enough contrast to the setting.

Place Settings

Speaking of layering… you can layer more than just the linens. We layered the plates with a dinner plate, salad plate and appetizer plate. We mixed my set of dishes to give the setting a more collected look. Pattern on pattern was fun here. Plaid, stripes, of course blue and white! Adding the brass silverware warmed up the setting and made the setting feel more formal.

Assigning seats and giving everyone a place card is always a nice touch to add to a dinner party. You can control who sits by crazy Uncle Bill, and it gives your guests a sense of thoughtfulness when they come to the table. We love to be creative when making place cards. We used a small wood log cutting, wrote on a wood place card, and tied with a chocolate brown velvet ribbon. The combination of textures made for the perfect juxtaposition laying on the preppy plaid plates.

The Food

Obviously the food is one of the most important parts of Thanksgiving Dinner. I love having our go to recipes that we use every year. We typically set our food up on the buffet in our dining room. It’s out of the way and doesn’t clutter the table, but close enough by for easy 2nd’s 😉

We also made beautiful cheese boards {how to make a the perfect cheese board is coming soon!) for the table. I love having something people can snack on between courses, or when they want to take a break from the heavy meal. A cheese board is beautiful enough to act as another centerpiece on the table!

With these simple tips on how to set your table for Thanksgiving you are sure to host the best dinner yet for one of our favorite holidays of the year! Here is to a wonderful Thanksgiving for you all! I hope your day is beautiful, and your time with family is plentiful.