Paper Tablescape {Thanksgiving}

My father-in-law has a saying, “If you want to look good, you have to shop all the time.”  The funny thing is…it’s kinda true.  The problem with shopping all the time can be you spend too much and accumulate too much.  I love china and would be utterly happy to have sets of salad and dessert plates on a constant rotation, but I just don’t have the storage for that.  Thus, the birth of a new series focused on paper tablescape ideas.

I know some of you might be screaming right now, “No Nancy!  You can’t do paper plates for Thanksgiving!  It’s the one time of year you should pull out the good china.”  I’m actually excited about it.  For years I have set the table with china, cloth napkins, and all the accouterments.  We spent hours in the kitchen cooking the meal and then spent what seems like forever washing everything.  Not this year.  This year is going to be less about work and more about fun.  Who’s up for that?

Let’s be honest, not everyone can have layers and layers of china.  I get that.  Plus, if you are hosting a large number of people, pulling out the china may not even be an option.  I wanted to create a paper tablescape to give you inspiration in case you are like me and (1) didn’t shop for cute Thanksgiving plates ahead of time and now they are gone from the stores because other woman bought them, (2) don’t want to spend your day hand washing dishes instead of playing in the annual football game outside, and (3) want to create a fun Thanksgiving table that’s different from last year without spending very much of the green stuff.  The birth of the paper tablescape.

I started by locating the small dessert plates at Tuesday morning.  I love their selection.  There are so many paper plates to choose from and gorgeous napkins.  I wanted to use the traditional colors of Thanksgiving and found the pattern in the dessert plates to be just the hint of Thanksgiving I was looking for.

I coordinated them with a solid brown napkin.  Now, these are not your typical paper napkins.  They are thick and feel almost cloth like.  Two items down at Tuesday Morning but I decided to try for three.  I walked over to the wrapping paper section and immediately gravitated to this plaid wrapping paper.  Yes, it’s true.  The “placemats” are actually cut pieces of wrapping paper.  I simply traced around a placemat I already owned to make the size correct.  Talk about easy clean up.

I pulled out my gold plastic chargers I bought at Target eons ago.  Now you can find chargers for so cheap they have almost become disposable.  The clear plates on top of the chargers are the Target brand of plastic plates .  When serving gravy, opt for plastic over paper.  Just sayin’…especially if it’s kinda runny like mine.  #notthisyear

The only items to wash on this table are the wine glasses, silverware, and chargers.  I also built this long wooden box out of two 1×4 boards and a 1×6 board.  I had some brass decorative pieces I picked up at the thrift store a long time ago and simply nailed them to the painted box after I sprayed them my favorite oil rubbed bronze.  I love the idea of creating different centerpieces using the box.  Why go back and reinvent everything from scratch every time?  I think it’s more fun to re-imagine something over and over.

The older I get the more I realize creating moments with people we love is so much more important than the stuff we think is important.  Don’t stress about having the most perfect Thanksgiving table ever.  People won’t remember the table, but they will remember the people around it.  Pay attention to the conversation and remember the moments.

I took the totally easy route this year and ordered a fried turkey from a restaurant.  We have wanted to do it for years and either always missed the deadline or went a different direction.  Turkey…check.  Easy table setting and clean up…check.  I am going to have so much time, I’m going to try (for the first time) to make a Pecan Pie.  If you have a good recipe or tip for making pecan pie let me know.

This table is not without some sentiment though.  This sweet Thanksgiving lady at the center of my centerpiece was given to me by my mother-in-law, passed down from her mother.  My grandmother-in-law passed a few years back at the age of 95 and I am sure she would be so delighted it is gracing my table.  She loved to decorate for the holidays.

So, this year, if you haven’t planned out your table yet, think about paper.  It seems this year, the stores are way ahead of the game and put Thanksgiving on clearance before Halloween even arrived.

Focus on making memories and less on making a perfect fancy table.

Tell a story no one has heard before.  Share your favorite Thanksgiving memory.

Leave time in the day to play a game, even if it’s just adults.  My favorite?  The game called Sequence.

Look through some old photos or watch some family movies.

Buy a newspaper and go through all the Black Friday deals.  I know you can look at them online already, but there is something about looking at a newspaper flyer I still love.

Create a Black Friday game plan and go to bed early so you can hit the sales running.  I’ll be there with my comfy tennis shoes on and a Salted Caramel Latte in hand.

On that note, let me just say how thankful I am for you.  Thanks for reading this blog.  Thanks for not being upset I’m using a paper tablescape this year. Thanks for sharing your comments and e-mails with me.  They mean the world to me.  Even though I’ve never met most of you in person, I feel like you are my peeps.  Much love.

 

Sharing At:

Monday:

| Between Naps on The Porch | A Stroll Thru Life | Cedar Hill Farmhouse | Sand and Sisal | Redhead Can Decorate |

 | Recreated Designs | Intelligent Domestications |

Tuesday:

| Savvy Southern Style |