Thanksgiving 2020 had some built in challenges with a global pandemic going on, but it still needed to be a gathering with wonderful food, lots of laughter and table setting with flair! It ended up being everything I could have hoped for. My Thanksgiving is the Sunday before, so the kids can spend the holiday with the ever growing gaggle of best friend cousins. After the house had a good cleaning I started with the flowers. I brought in a few extra pieces than what we usually have around the house. I did flowers for the bathroom, coffee table, bird table, a big one for the buffet, and a centerpiece for the dining table. For a little extra flair I added fall leaves and acorns I gathered on my morning walk.
The Flowers
I always set out a favorite candy dish filled with mixed sour ball candies (just like grandma Nancy did), another with nuts, and one for chocolate. Finally I have a reason to fill the picture dish with new images from our last trip.
The Table Setting
On to the main event: the table setting and "enhanced" Heirloom Pumpkin from LUX Floral and Design. It's really easy to enhance any design when you're the florist. I always seem to get exactly what I ordered.
Handwritten place cards (never computer printed) are accented with acorns. My great grandmother's salt cellars are converted into fidget dishes for tonight and filled with almonds. I designed some bobeches with bleached wheat, bunny trail grass, and white strawflowers, accented with grey velvet ribbon. These little gems stop dripping wax from landing on my tablecloth.
The Buffet
The blessed buffet, where food and flowers come together, a beautiful buffet truly is my happy place. I lay out the buffet the night before exactly how I want it the next day. When guests arrive they'll have a preview of what's soon to come. Throughout the social hour I'll take dishes back to fill. When it's dinner time I'll start to bring everything to the buffet. There is always someone who offers to help; when we're in the kitchen I'll tell them to sneak a taste of something as a little thank you. When everything is out, a toast is made and dinner begins.
Happy Thanksgiving. I hope your day is filled with as much beauty, food, fun and flair as mine was.