Hosting a Holiday – Thanksgiving in your new Home?

One of the great things about owning a home is having the space to host your holiday events.  I was raised by my maternal grandmother with modest means.  Hosting a holiday get together was not part of our world, and in retrospect, I have a hard time remembering anything at all about Thanksgiving outside of what we may have done at school or church – you know the ole turkey made out of a tracing of your hand, etc.  While I love Christmas, everybody loves a great Thanksgiving dinner.

As I estblished my own home and created my own traditions, hosting Thanksgiving in my home was something that I relished.  While the group may have varied from year to year, I began to develop my “classic dishes” and introduced a new entree each year for some variety.  Everybody always seemed to have their favorite – “Mom’s dressing”, the “cranberry sauce”, etc. (ahem – it was never the desserts). While I am no longer the exclusive host of this event (we share it among my grown family), I still want each year to embrace both that comfort in a traditional family Thanksgiving dinner along with just a splash of unique experience.  I have also learned to relax a bit and laugh off those times that aren’t perfect.

Aside from getting the inside track on the hottest new dish or managing to sparkle up those old family stories, changing up the decor really helps to keep things interesting and fresh.  I believe in letting the food be the star so I start with the dining table and go from there.  We have a lot of little ones this year so I will need to keep that in mind.  HGTV offered a lot of great centerpiece ideas.  Does one of them work for you?

Thanksgiving Centerpieces