How to set a place setting for Thanksgiving?

To set a table, start with the dinner plate at the center. If you want to add a salad plate or small dish for sides, put it right on top. Along the left side, add the dinner fork and salad fork. On the right, place a knife and a spoon, if needed.

What is the best table setting for Thanksgiving?

Pink pumpkins and orange fall leaves intermingle as table decor and gold details create an ambiance that celebrates autumn's warmth.

What are the best questions for Thanksgiving table?

What are you most thankful for this year? (You knew it was coming.) If you could redo yesterday, what would you do? If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be? If you could be famous for something, what would it be?

What do people put on the table for Thanksgiving?

A traditional Thanksgiving table setting might start with a tablecloth, a table runner, and cloth napkins finished with napkin rings . It may include a centerpiece of flowers, pumpkins, autumn leaves and/or fruit, votive or taper candles, and formal china, silverware, place cards, and wine and water glasses.

How to do a Thanksgiving table?

Table Centerpiece. A classic Thanksgiving table centerpiece could be a cornucopia overflowing with fall produce or a cluster of small pumpkins and gourds. Place it in the center of the table and surround it with candles or greenery .

How to make a Thanksgiving table?

A mixture of gourds and mini pumpkins running down the length of your table makes for a charming, autumnal table display. Flank your pumpkins with navy blue plates, linen napkins, and natural wood-accented silverware for a different take on Thanksgiving tablescapes.

How to make a Thanksgiving table centerpiece?

Keep your Thanksgiving centerpiece simple so you're free to focus on the food! Fill a low concrete bowl with mini white pumpkins, pinecones, stones, and white berry sprigs. Add in cranberries or small clementines for an additional layer of color .

What is a good table setting?

The fork is placed to the left of the plate. Place the knife to the right of the dinner plate and then set the spoon to the right of the knife. Set the water glass in the top right corner, above the knife. The napkin can be placed on top of the dinner plate or beneath the fork.

What is a centerpiece for Thanksgiving?

Layer Pinecones, Leaves, Fruit and Gourds This centerpiece lets fall's bounty take centerstage, with a mix of fresh and dried fruit, pinecones, and autumn leaves.

How do you decorate a Thanksgiving table cheaply?

To keep things budget-friendly, gather decor from your home, like vintage brass candlesticks, and use items from nature, like pinecones, acorns, pumpkins, or dried fall florals to make a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

How do you make a room for Thanksgiving?

Make your small space look bigger by adding a second table and placing your dining room on a diagonal to create more room at the ends and sides . And creating a diagonal layout will allow more room to maneuver around the Thanksgiving table for second helpings!

How do you maximize space for Thanksgiving?

Stick with the traditional. If you've got the space, keeping everybody at one table is an ideal situation. ... Think outside the room. This open space actually offers multiple options for expanding the dining area. ... Set a fun kids' table. ... Bench it. ... Head outside. ... Play up the linens. ... Willfully mismatch. ... Use every corner. More items...

11 Thanksgiving Place Setting Ideas for Your Holiday Table (2024)

Do you like to plan way ahead for Thanksgiving entertaining? If you love to host turkey day, but want to avoid the stress and frazzle, you’ll love this post. We are all about sharing Thanksgiving place-setting ideas for your holiday table.

I’m guessing that you have traditions and dishes for your Thanksgiving place setting ideas, but it’s always fun to change it up a bit.

Many of us have inherited or collected tabletop “ingredients” that we use year after year. Whether because of sentimental reasons (grandma’s hand-embroidered tablecloth or mom’s sterling silver) or because we found the perfect Thanksgiving dishes at an estate sale, we love using things that evoke memories of previous Thanksgiving meals.

this Idea.

Let’s be honest, we can use grandma’s hand-embroidered tablecloth and Aunt Sally’s silverware and the estate sale dishes, and still find ways to spiff up our Thanksgiving tablescape. So with the focus just on the individual place setting, let me demonstrate some Thanksgiving place setting ideas for your holiday table.

It’s the beginning of the month which means it’s time to Celebrate the Holiday. Some very creative ladies are joining me as we celebrate Thanksgiving. It may be 48 days away, but as our biggest feast and gathering day of the year, it takes a lot of time and planning.

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I know that you will enjoy all the wonderful offerings from our group. If you are joining me from sweet Kim of Perfecting Places, then welcome to my ideas for a variety of Thanksgiving place settings. You’ll love Kim’s idea for a beautiful Thanksgiving wreath.

If this is your first time visiting Bluesky at Home and would like to know more about me and the ideas and projects shared on the blog, please visit My Story.

Thanksgiving Place Setting Ideas for Your Table

This post contains affiliate links to products used in the creation of this project. If you should order any item from this site, I may receive compensation, but you do not pay a penny more. Your purchase is greatly appreciated as it helps support the continued publication of this site.

A few years ago, my Thanksgiving table and my place settings were inspired by this photo from Lindsey Brunk. She described it as simple and elegant and that is a perfect description.

Although this place setting was posted in 2014 (I didn’t even know what a blog was in 2014!), it has a modern and timeless look.

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I was not familiar with Lindsey, but she is a wedding and event planner. I always read new (to me) bloggers’ ABOUT pages and discovered that Lindsey lives in Dallas! So we are practically neighbors!

Elements in my Place Setting Inspiration

Lindsey’s place setting is very simple, I would even call it minimalist. There are just a few ingredients.

silverware
napkin
greenery in muted shades of green
long stem
paper with one word in script

You’ll also notice that Lindsey’s color scheme has a dark background and is very neutral in tone.

Fortunately, I had everything I needed to be inspired.

Inspired Place Settings

It looks like Lindsey used a dark tablecloth, but I decided to use a neutral placemat in a woven texture. We use these placemats often because they are so easy to clean up for everyday dining.

I came up with 9 variations of a basic Thanksgiving place setting. The purpose of this post isn’t to have you copy the Thanksgiving place settings unless you want to.

First, my intent is to give you an idea for your own place-setting.
Second, I hope you can see how many variations you can make from one idea.

Place Setting #1

So let’s start with a close version. A cream linen napkin, a “gather leaf tag” (from our DIY Challenge earlier in October) and a few pieces of faux wheat. I bet there are a thousand pieces in the sheave that I took apart a few years ago. The gather leaf tag is actually a place card. If you like to use place cards as much as I do, here are more place card ideas.

I used our sterling silver – and accidentally mixed up two patterns: my mom’s Francis I and my mother-in-law’s Buttercup.

Place Setting #2

Then I switched to the wood napkin ring that I also made for last month’s DIY Challenge and rearranged the placement of the wheat, silverware and napkin.

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Place Setting #3

Last week as I was shopping for Halloween cards at Target, I walked by the Dollar Spot (always) and picked up this pack of raffia for $3.00. It should last for quite a while, don’t you think? I also bought one in black.

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So next, I used the raffia and the “gather” leaf to make a different napkin ring and moved the wheat to the top of the placemat.

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Place Setting #4

Some sage and lavender from our backyard provided some greenery of soft tones like Lindsey used. I added a wood slice (freebie from Haven) and one of our mini-pumpkins. No napkin ring this time.

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Place Setting #5

Years ago on a whim, I bought a set of green dishes for Thanksgiving. I use them every year. I wanted to try this soft green color in the place setting. A nice place for the wood slice and pumpkin. The “grateful” is a stencil called Grace Gather Grateful from A Makers’ Studio that I made in September for another project, but it was too big so I’ve been saving it. I used Gel Art Ink in Can’t Never Could (black).

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I also made a “gather” sign. This is like hand-lettering already done for you.

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Place Setting #6

Mix it up: a trio of sage leaves and the napkin and silverware on the salad plate.

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Place Setting #7

Next, I tied the lavender and sage with some of the raffia and brought back the “gather” place card that I hand lettered.

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Place Setting #8

I got this idea from a restaurant in Boston: we actually had a wine glass on its side. These are Dollar Tree glasses. I made the “GRATEFUL” banner using the Wreath Trio Grateful stencil and cream-colored burlap ribbon to go on a fall wreath last year. I used Metallic Gold ChalkArt which I thought turned out beautifully.

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Let’s set that glass upside down.

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Plate Setting #9

The last of the 3 signs I made last month is “grace” lying on a green napkin. Changing out the color of napkins can change the whole look of a place setting. As you can see, I bent the watercolor paper a bit.

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This plaid fall napkin is also a seasonal favorite.

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Place Setting #10

For another variation, I switched out the neutral woven placemat for our other everyday placemats this time of year. This plaid can be used with several different colored napkins – I have cream, green, rust, burnt orange, and cranberry. Back came the wood leaf napkin ring.

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Place Setting #11

For my last fall place setting, I added both the dinner and salad plates of our Thanksgiving dishes.

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Now I have several ideas all ready to go for tables this fall. You can see how I used these ideas in a complete Thanksgiving tablescape.

Which one is your favorite? Do you ever just play around with different styles? This was like rearranging furniture or accessories to see which works best – on a small scale. Be sure to PIN these ideas.

You’re one click away from visiting Renae of Peaco*ck Ridge Farm and getting inspired by her beautiful Thanksgiving tablescape. I know all my blogger friends would appreciate it if you PIN their Thanksgiving ideas.

Want more Thanksgiving table-setting ideas? Check out my Pinterest Board Thanksgiving Tablescape.