Can you really believe that next week is Thanksgiving??  Time is flying, but I’m cramming in all the fun that I can!

I truly love Thanksgiving as a time to enjoy my family, eat great food, and be thankful for all the things we have – big and small.  This year my Mom is hosting Thanksgiving which I love, but since we won’t be at our house for the holiday; I thought it would be fun to have a few friends over the week before for a little “friends-giving.”

I decided to keep my table pretty simple with just a few sprigs of fresh eucalyptus (that has dried up).  I refurbished my pumpkins from Halloween and gave them a nice makeover.  I used a matte white spray paint and sprayed each one with two coats.  Then, I painted each of the stems with gold paint that I had on hand.  Once they were dry, I placed them on my table and they gave the perfect neutral pop!

I picked up this very simple runner from Target and used some old candle holders that I had on hand.  I love these gold and white candles that I picked up from Mudpie too.  They will be wonderful at Christmas time too.

Here’s a few of my favorite tips for decorating a table or hosting a dinner party::

1. Set your table the day or two before the party – This saves so much time and stress the day of a party.  Sometimes you don’t think it will take long to set the table, but when there are lots of other things to be doing, it can be really helpful.
2. Prep as much of the food as you can ahead of time – I went straight for Ina Garten’s Make it Ahead cook book for this dinner party.  I knew I was making a turkey and gravy plus some stuffing and I wanted to do as much as possible ahead of time.  The day of the party, all I had to do was bake! How easy is that??
3. Use place cards –  I love a good place card.  It’s so nice to just let people know where they are sitting instead of making them guess.  People always are asking where Matt and I like to sit because they don’t want to take our seats and this takes all of the guessing away.
4. Make sure to chill the drinks – If you are serving champagne, wine or anything that needs to be chilled, make sure you do it before the guests arrive otherwise it’s too late!
5. Light your candles and play some music – Set the mood before your guests arrive and light all your candles.  It’s also nice to have a little mood music playing- so pick your playlist!
6. Have fun – Lastly, be sure to have some fun!! It’s easy to get stressed, but try to make yourself relax and enjoy your company!

Here is a round-up of items from this post.  If I missed anything, just message me and I will try to answer.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend prepping for the holiday!!

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