Decorate Your Home for Thanksgiving: 15 Ways

Decorating for Thanksgiving doesn't need to take a lot of time or cost a lot of money. Since the Thanksgiving season is so short, you’ll want some quick decor ideas that will be easy to put in place and then pack away when the season is done. Maybe these 15 quick decorating ideas will provide some inspiration.

1. Throw Pillows

Harvest and Thanksgiving throw pillows are a given for a quick, adorable way to spice up your living room for the holiday. Look for pillows that come in festive harvest colors or that commemorate the gratitude, pilgrim, or turkey aspects of the season.

2. Use Nature

There’s no need to go overboard on fake decorations when you have the real stuff in your own backyard. Take your family on a nature walk and collect leaves, pine-cones, acorns, etc., and use them to decorate in clever ways. You can do leaf presses with your children and make your own centerpieces.

3. Candles

Scent is an important, and often overlooked, aspect of decorating for any season. It’s a good idea to light candles with pumpkin spice or harvest scents to set the Thanksgiving mood.

You can also use candles as a simple decoration. Candlesticks and plain candles surrounded with leaves and pumpkins are a very attractive sight for the season.

4. Deck Out the Dining Table

Since the table is where Thanksgiving happens, use it as a prime place of decoration. Get a fall-colored table cloth and a table runner, and then make a festive display in the center. You might want a cornucopia spilling out pumpkins, apples, and leaves, or you could do a cute turkey and pilgrim display. Get creative with this one.

5. Layers

A great way to add Thanksgiving color is to simply add layers rather than removing existing decor. Add a colorful sash to your curtains, and toss a small Thanksgiving themed rug over your regular one in your living room. Surround lamps, statues, and photographs with leaf garlands for an easy decoration to both put up and take down.

6. Thanksgiving Mantel

If you have a fireplace mantel, use it to your full advantage. Cover it in leaves, candles, pumpkins, crafts, and whatever else you can think of to give your living space a classy Thanksgiving look. Remember to layer and play up those autumn colors.

7. Front Door Wreath

No house is ready for Thanksgiving without the perfect outdoor wreath. Use nature to make a festive wreath. Pine-cones, leaves, acorns, gourds, and mini pumpkins are all great options for your wreath decor.  Check out these other tips for the perfect fall wreath.

8. Thanksgiving Craft Table

If you have kids or you just love to craft, a table to display those crafts is a must! As you and your kids spend time together making homemade turkeys, cornucopias, leaf presses, and more, don’t let all that talent hide away in a box. Display each item on a designated craft table by the front door or even in the kitchen.

9. Give Thanks Jar

Tis the season to be thankful, and what better way to remind your family to do so than by having them put gratitude notes in a decorative jar on display? It will remind not only your family of how much they have to be grateful for, but also your guests.

10. Harvest Candy Bowl

Candy corn and candy pumpkins don’t expire after Halloween, and putting those leftover candies in a bowl in your entryway for guests is a simple way to decorate and re-purpose Halloween leftovers.

11. Gourds and Pumpkins

If you could only do one thing to decorate for Thanksgiving, gourds and pumpkins would do the trick. Strewn tactfully around the house, these little fall beauties are the perfect way to fill your house with Thanksgiving cheer.

12. Accessorize with Throws

A very simple way to spice up any living space is a good, fall-colored throw blanket. Put these over the backs of dining room chairs, sofas, and at the ends of beds, and you have added instant fall color to your home.

13. Gratitude Reminders

Set up gratitude reminders around your house. This could be as simple as a wall decal saying “Give Thanks,” or as extravagant as a wall in your kitchen painted with chalkboard paint with reasons to be thankful written in colorful chalk. Continue to update the list as the season goes on.

14. Front Porch Decor

As you decorate your house, don’t forget about your front porch, especially since more people will see the outside of your house than they will the inside. This is a great place to put your giant pumpkins, cornucopias, colorful wreaths, and dried, yellow and orange plants.

15. Use the Fireplace

To make your home inviting for Thanksgiving, don’t forget to use the fireplace. Have the fire going every now and then. If you don’t have an electric fireplace and you don’t want to light a fire, light plain candles and bunch them together in your fireplace.

Pretty soon, your house will look just like Thanksgiving, reminding you, your family, and your guests of everything they have to be thankful for.