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Whether you are throwing a big Thanksgiving Day party or just have a nice intimate family dinner you want your table to reflect the holiday. Before you start buying fancy linens and china think about what the holiday really means. It's about the some of first settlers meeting the natives of the land and getting to know each other and the place they lived better. It's about new challenges being faced head on and coming together and being thankful for what you have including your family and friends.

Now think about the symbols of Thanksgiving. When you think of this day what pops into your head? Turkey, a table full of food and people you care about. Pilgrims, Native Americans, leaves changing color and falling. Take everything the holiday means to you and think about what you want to project to the people that you are having at your table.

If you are throwing a big feast for the first time you may not have the dishes or the silverware for very many people. Instead of heading to your local department store how about heading to a community thrift store or any second hand store to pick up some neat mismatched but still complimentary dishes. You can do the same thing with silverware. Sometimes you can find nice big sets of dishes for a very small price. Same with serving dishes, linens and glasses so you can set your entire table for the price of a set of dishes.

Think nature. Leaves, twigs, feathers, mums and anything else that makes you think fall. You can make place card holders from twigs a bundle of twigs and twine, and a candle with a wreath of mums around it can make a beautiful center piece. You could also make some little turkeys with some multicolored construction paper just to sit around the table or for your center piece.

Think of alternative space savers for your table too like a cake stand for serving the turkey or giant margarita glasses with ladles for serving the sides. Because they sit off the table you can set other things around them easily and you may even be able to set all the food on the table so you and your guests don't have to keep getting up.

The most important thing for your table will be the people around it so try not to make your decorations too tall so everyone can still talk and be able to look at each other. Also don't get too carried away because you will still need places to set the food.

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