Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. To me, Thanksgiving is a day for celebrating with friends. My best friend and I have hosted Friendsgiving for the past 5 years. This will be my first year away from my bestie and I will be cooking all alone. Since my boyfriend and I just moved to Grass Valley we don't have a huge friend group. I am a little sad because I wont have a reason to decorate a big farm table and cook for 10 people. However, the best part of being floral designer is I can create as many fake tables as I want.

Today's journal is about DIY Thanksgiving tablescapes. It's super easy to make your table look like you hired a professional or spent a million dollars.

Cheap Trick #1

One of my favorite ways to get great accent pieces is to hit the local goodwill or thrift store. Not only are you helping a cause but your saving the environment. The idea of fast fashion is spreading to home/holiday decor and it breaks my heart. We are so quick to buy new cheap items and dispose of them as fast as we bought them.

But before I go into the Goodwill I have a color palette in mind. It may change if I find something REALLY good but if I can't find what I am looking for in the right color it may be somewhere else. I often try Etsy or good old google. Sometimes it takes two or three trips to the thrift store.

I love buying plates at the Goodwill. I swear they never have full sets so I buy two in each tone that matches my color palette. I'm always on the look out for matte ceramic plates.

Cheap Trick #2

The good old grocery store. Yes, I do love hitting Trader Joe's and adding food/fruit/veggie elements to my tablescapes. Especially for the holidays because apples, pears, pomegranates, and citrus are in full affect. Don't forget pumpkins and gorges!

Below you can see we used beautiful gorges as name cards. It's super easy and it's a great party favor.

Cheap Trick #3

Yes, I hate to say it but the Dollar Store is great source sometimes. As I mentioned before I hate spending money on cheap items but every now and then it's a better deal than Target. I go there for tapered candles, votives and wine glasses. Yeah, wine glasses. A lot of the time they have stemless wine glasses. I buy them there because my friends get a little wild and something breaks every year. These glasses are heavy duty and usually last a few falls and they look nice.

Another great find at the Dollar store was this plan white plate. All you need is a sharpie and great handwriting and you've got yourself a rad table menu!

Cheap Trick #4

Kraft Paper! I have used kraft paper for a tablecloth, a menu sign and a welcome sign. It's super cheap and you can find at almost any craft store. I buy mine on Amazon. It's the cheapest for the amount I usually need and it comes right to my door.

The first year I used kraft paper as a tablecloth. I wrote everyones name directly on the paper where I wanted them to sit. I left makers on everyones plate and we all wrote what we were thankful for together.

The second year I used kraft paper I cut a large piece off and hand wrote the menu on the paper and hung it up by the table. The third year I basically did the same idea but create a welcome. As you walked in the door everyone wrote what they were thankful on the welcome sign.

Cheap Trick #5

Forge!!!!! The cheapest thing you can do! Take your cute pup out for a dog walk and bring your clippers. Snip a few pieces from here and there for the perfect centerpiece. Fill up a few bud vases you have around the house or goodwill scores you found and call it good. Just be careful for poison oak, nosy neighbors and dogs.