The Best & Easiest Decorations for Thanksgiving
How to Decorate Inside & Out for the Harvest Season
Nov 7, 2009
Decorating for Thanksgiving is something most people don't do but it can bring a transition from the season of Halloween to the Christmas Season and make your house look festive from October to January. Decorating for Thanksgiving isn't hard. You can even use some of the decorations you had out for Halloween.
Some of the things you can use to decorate for Thanksgiving are:
- Pumpkins
- Gourds
- Baskets
- Apples
- Turkey Feathers
- Dried Flowers
- Straw and Hay
- Autumn Leaves
Although real pumpkins, gourds, and apples won't usually stay fresh long enough to go from Halloween to Thanksgiving, you can get artificial ones that will last the whole season and can be used next year as well. Some artificial pumpkins, gourds, and apples are hard to tell from the real ones.
The first thing guests see when they come to your place is your front door. A good place to start decorating is there. A wreath or swag will do the trick. Does your door get the full effect of the weather or is it protected from rain, snow and ice? This is a question you must ask before purchasing a wreath or swag or the materials to make one.
Thanksgiving Wreaths
If your door is not protected you are better off getting a grapevine wreath that has been decorated with silk flowers or plastic fruit. You can get grapevine wreaths in just about any size.
To make a grapevine wreath you will need:
- 1 - 8 to 12 inch plain grapevine wreath
- floral picks containing apples, fall flowers, apples, grapes and/or gourds
- hot glue gun and glue or floral wire
- bow
Instructions:
- Place floral pics around the wreath in a pleasing manner.
- Either wire the picks onto the grapevine wreath or you can hot glue them on. Wiring will hold them better when the wreath is exposed to the elements.
- Top off your wreath by wiring it with a pretty fall bow.
If your door is protected you can us a straw wreath or you can still use the grapevine wreaths.
To make a straw wreath you will need the following:
- 1 - 8 to 12 inch straw wreath
- fall leaf garland (about 3 to 8 - 9 foot garlands depending on size of wreath)
- Wire prongs (found in floral dept - prongs that have a "U" shape)
- Floral picks containing apples, fall flowers, apples, and gourds
- glue gun and glue
- floral wire
- bowDirections:
- Secure the end of a 9 foot garland with a wire prong on the back of the wreath. Start wrapping the garland around the wreath securing with prongs every so often. You can have some of the straw showing through for some texture.
- Place floral picks in clusters around the wreath. To make them stick well put a little glue from a glue gun on the end before inserting them. Always have an odd number of clusters. Your 8 inch wreath will probably support 3 to 5 clusters depending on the size of the pick and the 12 inch wreath may support 5 to 7 clusters.
- Top it by wiring on a bow and hang it on the door.
Now come into the house. There are several things you can do to decorate for Thanksgiving inside the house. Cornucopias are a traditional symbol of Thanksgiving and they can be found at your craft store in tabletop sized to giant sizes. They can be made from grapevines or basket material. These cornucopias must be filled with grapes, apples, pears, squash, gourds, and a variety of other artificial fruits and vegetables.
To make a cornucopia you will need:
- Tissue Paper or styrofoam cut to fit in the opening
- Artificial grapes and other artificial fruit and /or vegetables
- Floral picks with fruit or fall leaves
- Florist puddy
- Flat artificial fall colored leaves
Directions:
- Fill your cornucopia fill the small end with tissue paper because no one is going to see that far back anyway. You can also use styrofoam by cutting it and fitting it into the skinny end of the cornucopia.
- Place artificial grapes at the bottom edge of the large end so they are cascading out of the opening.
- Start stacking the artificial fruit and vegetables inside until it is full. You can use florist puddy to keep them in place if you need to.
- Place a mat of flat fall leaves (artificial ones) around the cornucopia and across from the opening.
- Place more artificial fruit and vegetables on the table next to the cornucopia as if they fell out and are just laying there on top of the leaves.
- You can purchase some picks of fruit and stick them into the open of the cornucopia This makes it look a little fuller.
Other Decorations for Thanksgiving
Fall leaf garland draped on the mantle or down railings of staircases give a beautiful touch to the decor as well. Indian corn is prevalent now and you can place them on hooks on doors inside the house. If you put them outside be careful because squirrels and racoons love them. In fact after you are done with them be sure to put them outside where the wild life can benefit from them as well. Just make sure no one has sprayed them with preservative spray first. If you have kids make turkeys from hand prints and put them up on the refrigerator.
There are many things you can do to celebrate the harvest and Thanksgiving. It is fun and easy to decorate for this holiday.
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