I had big dreams for my thanksgiving table setting this year.

I am a little embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve been mulling over all the details of my thanksgiving table setting since August. From the color palettes and potential centerpieces to the choice of dinnerware and whatnots, I have been giving my Thanksgiving table way too much thought!

But alas, in the end, I couldn’t do any of it! I unfortunately sprained my ankle pretty badly and I am now stuck with crutches for a few weeks. Maybe the Good Lord wanted to give me a lesson on giving silly things too much importance or maybe it’s just a bit of bad luck; I’ll never know, I guess. What I do know, however, is that I had to shrink up my ideas of grandeur and present you with a toned down version of what I was going to create.

Despite my slight disappointment of not getting to show off my meticulously planned tablescape, I am extremely happy with the result of this simple, yet elegant Thanksgiving table setting.

My sprained ankle has been a lesson on humility and remembering to focus on what is truly important: being grateful to spend Thanksgiving with the people that I love and am thankful for, despite what the decor looks like!
In the end, I am kinda glad I kept things simple this year, plus, well, there’s always next year 😉

Table Setting Basics

Because of my injury, I wasn’t able to purchase the majority of the last minute stuff I needed, like fresh flowers and greenery, so I had to work with what I had.

About a month ago, I found these beautiful charger plates on sale at Micheal’s, a jute table runner at my local dollar shop and plaid napkins at the grocery store.

All simple stuff that don’t necessarily go together, but they are the foundation of my table setting.

As a matter of fact, I always try to buy pieces that can be used for different occasions. This is what I like about the Micheal’s charger plates I found. They don’t necessarily say “Thanksgiving” or even “autumn”, but pair them with a few seasonal elements, and voilà! They become the perfect base to a Thanksgiving tablescape!

Setting the Table

Because of my injury, we are keeping things casual this year, so I went with my classic off-white dinnerware and blown glass glassware.

Again, I love these pieces because they are so versatile. The off-white dinnerware has a thin gold rim which makes it easy to elevate it from a casual family gathering to a formal dinner event with just a few table accessories.

These plates and glasses are my go-to accessories for most of my table settings. They are like that little black dress that easily transitions from casual wear to evening wear with just a change of shoes.

Once I had all elements figured-out, it was time to get to work.

Table Setting Steps

I started by placing the jute table runner at the center of the table, with charger plates on each side of it. Then, I moved on to dinnerware and glassware.

Now, just like this, the table looked quite pretty, and I think that most people stop there with their table setting. However, that is the equivalent to wearing a beautiful outfit with no jewelry or any kind of accessories: it looks a little bland.

Tablescaping is all about adding layer upon layer to create a beautiful dining experience.

So I looked around the house and decided to add the lantern that usually sits on my mantle and white large ceramic vases that would create balance on either side of the lantern.

Then, it was time to add some color.

I stuck with the autumn theme and added a beautiful leaf garland and various pumpkins to the mix.

The end result was a beautiful fall inspired Thanksgiving table setting that was very easy to put together, even with crutches!

I hope this has inspired you to add a little something extra to your next Holiday table setting.

Happy Thanksgiving and God bless,

Talk soon,

The Working Stay at Home Mom