Turkey Day decorations, part 1

I don’t know how many parts there will be, but I know it’s more than 1 because I want to show you how everything will look on Thursday when it’s all pulled together.  🙂

First let me interject that Sprout #13 is out… Seeds of Generosity… and it’s a good one.   This special issue of Sprout is dedicated to every sweet soul impacted by Hurricane Sandy. 10% of all sales made from this issue (including new subscriptions) will be donated to the Red Cross.  OK, read on.

I feel I must begin by letting you know that I don’t particularly care for the American holiday of Thanksgiving to begin with.  We urban dwellers are far removed from reason to celebrate this year’s harvest (plus we just had Sukkot!) and I have always despised the deceptively cheerful story of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people… the deaths of millions of Native Americans seems cause for some kind of memorial, not a kickoff to the holiday shopping season! I don’t like the food, I don’t like the football, I don’t like the commercialization of the holiday.  (Clearly I am in the minority here!)

So anyhow, since we ARE having 33 people to our home on Thursday and they ARE expecting the traditional festivities, it seemed that the best way to get myself excited about it all was to involve CRAFTS! I’ve been busy with all sorts of new projects.  Yay!

This first project is for table centerpieces.  I started with three nested wooden boxes (at left) and covered them with scrapbook paper.  I got three crates to decorate as well (seen in both pictures above).

Here are some in-process photos:

Some detail shots:

And the finished products:

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Also for table decor, a little pumpkin before and after (the hard drives have nothing to do with it).  I am using Amanda Parker’s free Thanksgiving printables for much of these projects.

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Also from Amanda, this cute banner, which I printed on cardstock, cut out, and tied together with cute ribbon…

… these cutouts, which are so cute on the folding chairs with all the different orange ribbons I got …

… and these tent cards (to help guests identify what’s being served – you can see that I ran short and had to improvise) and these napkin wraps, secured on the back with washi tape.

Besides this, I’ve been putting together some craft projects for the kids to do, finalizing the menu, and straightening the house.   It’s going to be fun seeing it all come together!

On Wednesday, I’m having my first blog giveaway! Come back to see what it’ll be and how to win.