How To Set A Thanksgiving Table: Easy and Beautiful Ideas

Want to impress your guests at Thanksgiving dinner? Learn how to set a beautiful and elegant table with these simple tips and ideas. Your holiday meal will be a memorable feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds!

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You put hours and hours of effort into preparing a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Wouldn’t you love for your table setting to be as special as the meal you prepared? 

Stress no more over how to set your table for Thanksgiving – it really isn’t hard at all if you’ll use these simple tips. 

CHOOSE A COLOR SCHEME

The designer secret to setting a successful holiday table is to choose a color scheme.

Whether you prefer traditional fall colors or a neutral table, choose two to three main colors for a cohesive look on your table.  

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Treat setting your table the same way you would choose a color palette for your home. It will make all the difference in the world.

You’ll want a base (or main) color, a complimentary color, and an accent color.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use more than three colors on your table. But it does mean that you should keep most of the color limited to the three main ones.

TIP: Keep the eye moving around the table by including elements with varying heights and textures.

On this table, the accent color is the green, which is found on the rim of the dinner plates and the eucalyptus used in the table centerpiece.

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The main color is neutral, which was used for the tablecloth and placemats.

The complementary color is orange, which is found on the pumpkins, the napkins, and the chargers underneath the dinner plates.

SHOP YOUR HOME

Stop! Don’t run out and purchase Thanksgiving specific dinnerware or table decor items until you’ve shopped your own home.

If you think outside of the box, you’ll be amazed at how you can use items from all around your home to decorate your table with.

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This Thanksgiving table setting has everything you’d expect to see on a casual, yet elegant dinner table, plus some you don’t:

• large amber bottles
• risers used to create various heights in the centerpiece
• a pretty quail feather at each place setting
• rustic and glam mixed together

All of these items work together to create a Thanksgiving tablescape that enhances the meal and makes the gathering even more memorable. 

MIX AND MATCH DINNERWARE AND FLATWARE

If you’d like to tone down the formality of a Thanksgiving table setting, be sure to mix and match your dinnerware and flatware.

I’m not recommending that you just pull everything out of your cabinets and throw it on the table willy-nilly. Instead, repeat the same mix of dishes at each place setting for continuity.

This is also a great way to set a special table when you don’t have enough of a certain color or pattern of dishes, but still want to set an cohesive table.

TIP: You don’t need formal dinnerware to host Thanksgiving dinner. Dress up your everyday dinnerware with decorative accent plates. 

For example, if I’m setting a table for eight, but I only have four salad plates of one pattern and four of another, I’ll alternate those salad plates at every other table setting.

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I especially love different patterns of flatware mixed together at each place setting.  It’s a great way to show off some of those vintage or inherited pieces that you only have a few pieces of.

ACCENT EVERYDAY DINNERWARE

To take your Thanksgiving decorations up a notch, add an accent salad plate or bread and butter plate to each place setting.  

Small, holiday specific plates can often be found very inexpensively and will make such a difference on your table!

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At this table we have: 

• contrasting color dinnerware
• fall leaf accent plates at the side settings
• cute squirrel accent plates at each end
• mini pumpkin at each place setting
• cute place card at each place setting

REPEAT ELEMENTS

Repeat the same colors and textures throughout your tablescape.

For example, think about what you used to create your centerpiece.  Are there elements of that that you can extend to each place setting?

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Can small elements, such as napkin rings, repeat colors found on the rest of the table?

Notice the repetition at this table:

• same color of pumpkins in the centerpiece and at each place setting
• eucalyptus in the centerpiece and on the dinner plate pattern
• napkins rings using the same colors as the centerpiece
• tablecloth, placemats and candlesticks all in the same neutral color palette

JUXTAPOSITION IS YOUR FRIEND

Juxtaposition is when at least two things are placed close together that have contrasting effects.  

It creates visual interest and enhances depth and dimension. It’s a well known trick to create drama and highlight individual pieces.

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These are just few of the types of juxtaposition you can add to your table:

• Casual and formal
• Rustic and luxe
• Shiny and rough
• Modern and vintage
• Dark colors and light colors

LAYER LINENS

Whether you use a tablecloth or not is up to you, but to really make my Thanksgiving table special, I almost always use one.  

But I don’t use the tablecloth alone. I always layer it with something else – a table runner, placemats, napkins, and sometimes with chargers.  

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My very favorite tablecloth to use is a natural linen one that I washed and dry, but don’t iron.

The juxtaposition of having the un-pressed, un-starched tablecloth mixed with the dressier place settings and candles adds a real drama that I just love and keeps the entire table from becoming too stuffy looking.

ADD A LITTLE SPARKLE

For an extra special touch, add a little sparkle to your holiday table.  It’s most dramatic when the meal will be eaten late in the day, after the sun starts to go down.

I love, love, love seeing the reflection of candlelight in glass on a table!

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TIP: To soften harsh reflections, add texture with natural elements such as woven placemats, pine cones, acorns, or dried fall leaves to the table. 

There are many ways to add sparkle to your table:

• lighted candles
• glass pieces to reflect the light
• mercury glass
• shiny tchotchkes
• polished sterling silver pieces
• gold flatware

ADD A LITTLE WHIMSY

Don’t take your table decorations too seriously – have a little fun!

Use that cute little salt and pepper shaker set or tuck those cute little figurines into your tablescape.  

Don’t be afraid to step out of the box a little!

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RULES OF THUMB TO KEEP IN MIND

And lastly, no matter how you choose to decorate your Thanksgiving table, there are a few rules of thumb you should always follow:

• To keep your table decorations balanced – the more elaborate each place setting is, the more simple the centerpiece should be.  Or the reverse – the more elaborate your centerpiece is, the simpler each place setting should be.
• Keep the centerpiece and decorative items low enough so guests can see each other across the table.
• Test the setup before guests arrive, by sitting at the table to ensure everything is accessible and the arrangement feels comfortable.
• Opt for unscented decorations. Strong scents from candles or flowers can interfere with the enjoyment of the meal.

Happy and warm Thanksgiving wishes from my home to yours!