A Few Decorating Ideas

With Thanksgiving just one week away, you might be looking around your house thinking – this place doesn't look very festive. And how could it? With most department stores paying little attention to this most honest of holidays in the interest of encouraging more Xmas binge buying, there really aren't a lot of Thanksgiving decorations available. And yet, one does want a bit of autumn ornamentation to reflect the cheer and good will of Thanksgiving. So if you are looking for a few creative Thanksgiving Day decorating ideas, feel free to peruse the suggestions provided below.

• A cornucopia of gourds is a classic Thanksgiving decoration. But I find that here in Maine most of the gourds we grow have already begun to mold by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. If that is also the case for you, try painting apples, pears, or even some golf balls to look like festive gourds.
  
  
• If you live in a climate (like Northern Maine) where snow on Thanksgiving is not only common, but expected, why not use some of that snow to decorate the outside of your home? Nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving” more than a festive snow turkey.
  
  
• Halloween decorations can be repurposed into Thanksgiving Day decorations with only minor tweaking. For example, that horrific, glowing-eyed goblin that you place by the front door each Halloween, can be redressed like a mumps-ridden pilgrim with buckled hat, brown wool coat, and swollen face.

• With Thanksgiving being mainly about food, one would think that decorating the house with roasted turkeys and cranberry sauce would be a great idea. But it turns out a turkey at room temperature (roasted or otherwise) gets to be pretty unsanitary rather quickly. So why not decorate the house with plastic food? You know what I mean – those toy roasted turkeys that you buy your children to play house with. It's festive, fun, and won't be smelling up the place the next morning when you're cleaning up.
  
  
• And if all else fails: put up the Christmas tree, hang out the wreaths, and string up the garland because let's face it – the stores all have skipped Thanksgiving Day, and if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em.

And now that you know the basics of Thanksgiving Day decorating, why not put in the extra effort and deck the halls with gourds and turkeys (fa la la la la, la la la la)? You and your family will be glad you did.