Thanksgiving Place Setting (2024)

FAQs

What is the proper place setting for Thanksgiving? ›

To set a table, start with the dinner plate at the center. If you want to add a salad plate or small dish for sides, put it right on top. Along the left side, add the dinner fork and salad fork. On the right, place a knife and a spoon, if needed.

It may include a centerpiece of flowers, pumpkins, autumn leaves and/or fruit, votive or taper candles, and formal china, silverware, place cards, and wine and water glasses. A traditional Thanksgiving table setting is often layered with seasonal decor objects, serving dishes, and platters.

A mixture of gourds and mini pumpkins running down the length of your table makes for a charming, autumnal table display. Flank your pumpkins with navy blue plates, linen napkins, and natural wood-accented silverware for a different take on Thanksgiving tablescapes.

What Kind of Decorations Do People Use for Thanksgiving? Traditional Thanksgiving decorations include autumn foliage, centerpieces, and themed accents like turkeys, pumpkins, and cornucopias.

The fork is placed to the left of the plate. Place the knife to the right of the dinner plate and then set the spoon to the right of the knife. Set the water glass in the top right corner, above the knife. The napkin can be placed on top of the dinner plate or beneath the fork.

On the left side of the plate, place the dinner fork closest to the plate with the salad fork to its left. On the right side of the plate, place the knife with the serrated side facing inward, and place the spoon to its right. Lastly, glasses should be placed the right above the plate.

This year, as you prep your Thanksgiving table with DIY napkin rings, pretty placemats, and your best serving platters, think about adding a cornucopia. It might just be the perfect centerpiece to represent your plentiful spread and gratitude.

The traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece is called a cornucopia. They are also known as a Horn of Plenty. In classical antiquity, the cornucopia was regarded as a symbol of a bountiful harvest.

It continues to symbolize abundance, a bountiful harvest, and, by extension, an appreciation for both of those things. It makes sense, then, that Americans today still use the decorations as centerpieces for their Thanksgiving table.

People naturally want to move from left to right at a buffet table, so take advantage of that flow: start with stacks of plates on the left end of the table, then follow them with the turkey (and any other big proteins you might be serving) and then heavy, starchy dishes like mashed potatoes and stuffing (and anything ...

How do you make Thanksgiving centerpieces easy? ›

Naturally Simple

Pears, nuts, fall leaves and wheat grouped in a wire bowl form a pretty centerpiece that celebrates autumn's bounty. Accent the display with a solid-color table runner and chartreuse Hypericum berries grouped in small glass vases or cups.

When To Decorate for Thanksgiving. You can start as early as November 1 and keep your Thanksgiving decorations throughout the month. This includes your tablescapes, turkey décor, and other Thanksgiving-specific accents. Keep these up for until three days after the big night.

For a contemporary aesthetic, consider a garland in a neutral or monochromatic color scheme like this one, which features a mix of brown and tan pumpkins and similarly fall-colored leaves. You can drape a garland pretty much anywhere—around the front door, behind a garden, or along a fence in the backyard.

Finally, amid the Civil War in 1863, Hale got her wish: President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. The turkey comes in because the big birds were plentiful in New England, often distributed to soldiers in the Army.

4 p.m. is perfect because you want it to be late enough in the day that this meal is the main event—there will be no major meal before or after.” Importantly, a 4 p.m. mealtime does not go against any prescriptions of etiquette.

The area surrounding the site of the first Thanksgiving, now known as southeastern Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island, had been the home of the Wampanoag people for over 12,000 years, and had been visited by other European settlers before the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620.