Sure, Thanksgiving is mostly about the food (it is the greatest meal of the year, after all), but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun creating the perfect tablescape. A minimal amount of effort (by yourself or, you know, the kids) will help people get excited about the feast to come before they even sit down. Here, 11 festive ways to help your Thanksgiving guests find their seat. 

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Mini Pumpkins

Simple yet sophisticated.

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Cinnamon Sticks and Rosemary

Extra bonus? Your table will smell amazing.

Draw-on Placemat

All you need is a roll of brown paper table cover and a white pen. OK, decent handwriting would also help, but if yours is more chicken scratch than chic, then just have the kids write names instead. Adorable.

Colorful Leaves

Autumnal leaves make excellent place cards—especially if you write your guests’ names with a gold marker. (Just make sure the leaves are properly dried out.)

Wheat Stalk

It is harvest season, after all. Don’t have a wheat field outside your house? Grab a bundle of stalks from Pier 1 Imports instead.

Flowers In the Wine Glass

The weather outside may be frightful, but your table will be bright and cheery. (Top tip: use fake flowers.)

Golden Pinecones

Again, nice penmanship is useful but it’s not necessary. A spray-painted pinecone with your kids’ writing is both playful and swanky.

Mini Apples

Almost as pretty as your apple pie. (Hey, we said almost.)

Bread Rolls

Carb cards are our favorite.

Gorgeous Gourds

Grab ’em from your local farmers’ market the weekend before.

Rosemary Twig

Hey, you’ll probably have some leftover from making the stuffing, anyway.

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