Thanksgiving Dinner: Easy, Inexpensive Decoration Ideas

One tough thing about planning your Thanksgiving dinner party is keeping dinner decorations original and fun. Sure, cornucopia-style Thanksgiving decorations are a safe bet, but sometimes you just want to do something different for a change. For those of you Thanksgiving party planners who are feeling frustrated by the same old Thanksgiving decoration motifs, "leaf" it all behind!

Use leaves or leaf-shaped decorations to incorporate the autumnal outdoors into your dinner and you'll be sure to please guests of all ages. Gather a batch of dry, brightly colored leaves and store them in a dry place until you begin to prepare your dining room table for Thanksgiving dinner. At your local arts and crafts store, buy several handfuls of red, orange, and yellow glass beads and some red and orange tissue paper. At a homegoods store, buy between 6 and 8 small glass votives and a package or two of white tea lights. The last thing you'll need is a leaf-shaped piece of maple sugar candy (available at most candy stores especially in the fall) for each guest attending your Thanksgiving dinner celebration.

When  the time has come to decorate the table for dinner, cover the table with a simple white tablecloth (you might also use a red toile cloth if you're feeling fancy). Fill each glass votive with a handful of red, yellow, or orange beads and put a tea light in each, digging it in a little bit so it sits just above the line of the beads. Group them in the center of the table, with small overlapping circles of your red and orange tissue paper beneath each one. Next, arrange your leaves in small groups around each light so that the collective effect is warm and inviting to each of your Thanksgiving dinner guests. Right before you seat your dinner party, place a maple sugar leaf on the center of each plate to really carry the leaf theme through the whole decoration scheme. It'll be a delicious treat at the beginning of the meal and a perfect way to get your Thanksgiving dinner started in the right direction.