No question about it, Thanksgiving in 2020 is depressingly different. We usually host our whole family and some family friends and this year we can’t do that safely. But just because we aren’t entertaining a crowd doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy one of my favorite parts - setting a beautiful table! I am fortunate to have my children home with me right now, so we will be cooking our traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings for ourselves and then delivering it to our in-state relatives, at least, so they can enjoy a safe and delicious Thanksgiving too.
#showmeyourtable
But back to the table setting…I decided to write this post this week to contribute to the #showmeyourtable social media charity event on instagram. Grey Hunt Interiors and Kendall Wilkinson Design teamed up this year to support Feeding America. The design and blogging community is helping raise awareness for this great organization to provide meals to people in need in time for Thanksgiving. You can click HERE to read about their mission and donate to Feeding America. Check out the hashtag #showmeyourtable on IG and FB to see table settings from all the participating designers!
Using what you’ve got
I set out a challenge to myself to use what I could find around my house to create my table setting. I happen to have a LOT of stuff around my house between my tableware obsession and the occupational hazard of staging and styling inventory :-). Besides, Thanksgiving is over a week away and fresh flowers aren’t going to make it that long looking their best. In a perfect world, my centerpiece would involve dried hydrangeas in the green/pink/cream color family, but alas I do not have any of those on hand, so I used a variety of faux florals and quirky bits and bobs from my larder.
Utensils
My starting point was this magnificent set of stag horn handled silverware. These were gifted to my sister-in-law’s parents many years ago and passed down to her, and she graciously gave them to me. This vintage set was made in Germany by Baron Solingen, I believe. Both the knife blades and the forks are decorated with animal scenes. This prompted a sort of European castle vibe for our table.
Dishes
I paired the flatware with rattan chargers for a texture that holds up to the stag horn handles, and topped them with embossed white stoneware plates topped with my vintage ironstone English transferware from Johnson Bros…also gifted to me by a dear friend (thank you, Nancy!) who understands my tableware obsession :). The ironstone depicts Blarney Castle in 1792. I imagine hunting parties were rampant entertainment at castles in 1972, though I’d prefer not to dwell on the hunting part and concentrate on the party part! The bread plates are decorated with grapes and leaves and feature an embossed border. Did I mention I heart anything with embossed, monogrammed or scalloped detailing?
Table Linens
Sandwiched between the chargers and the dishes are my trusty ivory damask napkins. I love simple ivory table linens to set off pretty dishes and decor. The tabletop is covered with a woven plain tablecloth topped with an embroidered linen square topper set at an angle. I think Nancy also gave me that linen tablecloth! She and I share a love for collecting these sorts of things and I am the beneficiary whenever she needs to edit LOL.
Glassware and Accents
The glasses I acquired a year ago from the barware of a local restaurant that closed, and the votive holders I purchased years ago by the case. I own an embarrassingly large number of them, but they have been loaned to functions I have designed many times over the years! The little pumpkin votive candles were in my stash of candles and I happened to have just enough of the right color to set one at each place setting - I love the idea of personal votive holders - it gives every guest the ambience of a candle and nobody has to play dodge around candlesticks to see across the table! And the pheasant feathers I had several dozen of on hand and they seemed appropriate to the whole British hunting vibe.
Centerpiece
The centerpiece is a collection of odds and ends from my faux florals - magnolias, hydrangeas, and roses…some gold and bronze faux magnolia leaves, some faux grapes, interesting maple leaf shapes fashioned from birch bark and bronze colored metal, some round dried pod-looking things, and the aforementioned pheasant feathers all arranged in a long bronze trough-shaped planter with gold handles and rim. I adore this planter and the size and shape are ideal making it a nearly permanent fixture for our dining table.
Pro tip: Arrange your centerpiece in a container or on a tray. This makes it easy to remove to a sideboard or alternate location if you need to make more space for food dishes to serve your main entree self-serve-family-style.
In spite of the craziness, disruption, and negatives of this year, we are grateful for many things - family and friends, technology to stay in touch, meaningful work to do, and hope for an end in sight to this pandemic.
Happy Thanksgiving from our Family to Yours!
For More on Thanksgiving and favorite Thanksgiving Recipes, you might enjoy these posts:
A Thanksgiving Feast (and a link to our favorite foolproof gravy recipe)
Getting Organized for Thanksgiving (and our famous apricot-pecan cranberry sauce recipe)
