…nevermind the fact that all those gizzards & giblets & nasty innards make me want to hurl.  Or the fact that the biggest thing I’ve ever hosted is a Bachelorette party.  But hey, how hard can it be?  Hold the penis straws, throw some turkey & yams in the mix, n’est-ce pas?  Bang.  Plus, look how well I did with hosting a lobster boil.  I’ve totally got this in the bag.

So it was with that sound logic – coupled with a temporary lapse of sanity (and also a lot of love) – that I invited all of my & my boyfriend Matt’s relatives within a 300 mile radius + a few old friends to have Thanksgiving at our house.  That’s a potential 16 people.  Matt has since suggested that I also pass out flyers at the local Kroger and/or maybe invite a few homeless folk, just for good measure.  Anyhow…  a sh*t show it will be, and I can’t wait.  Check out the potential gaggle of characters and tell me you don’t wanna jump on the bandwagon:

Enter the planning stages.  Usually (or let’s be honest, rarely as of late), I hop on here and blog about chirpy little quotes, adventures in Goodwill, and instructional DIY’s.  But this time, I may need a little friendly advice from some of you who have done this before.  Here’s what I’ve got so far…

INVITES: Necessary?  Nah.  So fun?  YES (!)

{via}

DECOR:  Okay, this I can do, so let’s start here before I try to figure out anything else – like jiblets and innards, wuf.   I’d like to do something simple and pretty on the tables.  Maybe a rustic backdrop with some shiny stuff, some earthy stuff, and a little jewel-toned glass sprinkled in.  These really fanned up my skirt while I was perusing the Pinterestphere…

(1)

{Design by Eddie Ross}

(2)

{Style Me Pretty by way of Pinterest}

(3)

{Design*Sponge}

Alright, let’s break some of that down.  As for the plating, if you like the (1) Eddie Ross tablescape (old floral dishes and Transferware, in the blue/brown colorways), those are pretty easy to source from flea markets, old antique stores and eBay…  here’s a smathering of some you might run across.  Collecting mismatched dinnerware in the same color(s) would be awesome:

{photo sources all available here}

For the wood grain runner look (2), you can start with a dark tablecloth, snag some wood grain wrapping paper from somewhere like the Container Store to use as a runner, then layer in white dahlias in white pumpkins and a few votives (think clear Ball jars – especially the smaller jelly jars with cut glass so the light reflects prettier), and you’re all set.

As for (3), the rustic look:  you can easily find a long burlap feed sack for a table runner (source eBay & antique stores), mismatched dinnerware in varied white textures (Goodwill – as in this post – or West Elm), and a few fall bouquets of flowers.

PLACE CARDS: I’ve done this in years past, when my mother barked politely asked me to make place cards for everyone…

{photo by my talented cousin, Amy Bane}

But I wanna kick it up a notch this year, so I’m merging the place-card-on-pretty-paper idea with the family photo idea.  Wasn’t Stevie B a cute little guy??

{via | via}

That’s a mouthful already, and we haven’t even talked about food yet.  Perhaps we’ll discuss the Menu later this week?  And more importantly, the Fall-themed cocktails that’ll go with it…  In the meantime, if you have any great advice for hosting a big crowd for a holiday, please send it my way!

xoxo,