by Brooke Shambley

Created on: September 27, 2010   Last Updated: August 18, 2011

While the turkey and the pumpkin pie always make the table wonderfully decorated, sometimes the rest of the house needs a little help on Thanksgiving.  When having guests over for this special November holiday, the table should be just the start of your decorating.  Consider expanding your Thanksgiving decor from your table to other rooms of the house and even outside to your front yard.  Consider these creative tips when decorating the indoors and the outdoors for Thanksgiving.

Inside your home, dress your furniture with the signs of the season.  Buy a fall-colored throw for your sofa and consider buying matching pillows for each corner.  Another way to display the festive decor is by placing a Thanksgiving mat outside of your front door.  This also serves to keep the wonderful fall foliage outside of the house instead ending up on the newly cleaned floors.  Remember to roll out a table runner that best matches your table top and consider buying a floral centerpiece for the occasion.  Even gourds and pumpkins can add a festive touch throughout the interior of your home by creating an ambience when going from room to room.

Make sure to remember the guest room and the bathroom when filling the house with your Thanksgiving decor.  The guest room is the perfect place to consider the holiday season, because each holiday brings guests.  Find a fall inspired quilt for the foot of the bed and place pillows on the bed that have leaves, pumpkins, or turkeys on them.  Fill a vase with wheat stems and leave it by the bed.  Even the bathroom can be decorated for Thanksgiving.  Consider purchasing towels with fall colors and a decorative hand towel with pumpkin, acorn, or leaf embroidery.  Be sure to stop by your favorite scent store for a bathroom spray that is reminiscent of the fall. 

In your front yard, keep those pumpkins from Halloween to decorate for Thanksgiving.  Pairing pumpkins with other types of gourds is a great reminder of the bounty to be celebrated on Thanksgiving.  If you live in a cooler climate and have access to dried leaves, take the leaves and spray paint each side with either silver or gold spray paint.  Hang these either from bare trees or along the edge of your front porch railing.  Consider placing a festive wreath on your door to make a final statement.  Not only can guests enjoy the colorful display, but you will also inspire your neighbors to enjoy the season.

Never think of holiday decorating as a chore, but instead, get into the spirit with family decorating party.  Drink apple cider, bake a pumpkin pie, and spread the Thanksgiving spirit throughout your home.  Be creative and show your hospitality with your display of Thanksgiving decor!

Learn more about this author, Brooke Shambley.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.