House Beautiful

Hosting Thanksgiving this year? Oh my!

…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,

9 Responses to “Hosting Thanksgiving this year? Oh my!”


  • The most important tip: remove the little bag of innards from the turkey’s neck before you roast him…no one told me to look there and my first bird, I assumed, was minus his “parts” cause they weren’t in the rear! 🙂
    Next best tip ever~brine that bird baby! Throw in a little Alton Brown (foodnetwork.com) this and that and let it soak. Proceed to place lot of real butter underneath the skin and season with tons of fresh rosemary and garlic~yummo!
    Love you!!

    • Steph @ Covet Living

      PAM! I love rosemary, and I love butter more. I am printing your comment and posting it next to the stove – thank you!! LeAnn – that’s a really sweet idea. I thought of writing notes to each person but on the place card is an awesome idea. Thanks!!

  • Just another idea for the placecard photos….write a little note in each one to that person to give thanks for coming/being an awesome person.

  • This inspires me to do something special for my family! I’m beginning to think just showing up and asking “where’s the food” might not be enough…

  • Thanks for getting me excited for Thanksgiving, Steph!! You will be crush it!! My mom always likes to remind me when things burn or nothing tastes quite good- “at least we’re not the turkey.” xxo

  • You are going to host the cutest shankshgiving ever. Paul and I did it last year and it was sooo fun. Consider: Lobster mac & cheese and paul’s yummy recipe for roasted veggies. ahhhmaze.

    • Hi Steph, our family always has small sherry glasses (antique red with 22kt rims) with chilled bubbly, non alcoholic juice. It’s nice because even the children get one to toast with. We serve to each on a nice tray. Have a nice Thanksgiving!

      • Steph @ Covet Living

        T-money! I like it! Since there’ll be no nuggets at Thanksgiving this year, we’ll go with good ‘ol fashion real booze. But I def wanna do this! Thank you!

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