I’ve gathered an assortment of Thanksgiving ideas, decorating tips, recipes, tablescapes, centerpieces, and DIY projects from “Thanksgiving’s Past” at Cottage Green. For the full instructions and details about each, click on the highlighted links. I am so sorry, some of these older pictures are really “grainy” and are not very clear.
A Welcome Home for Thanksgiving has some ideas on how to “dress up” your front porch and a simple DIY project using grapevine around your front door frame.
Click on Easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece for one of my favorite ways to create a centerpiece. It assembles in minutes!
Here’s an easy appetizer to enjoy while awaiting the feast Easy Caramel Toffee Cream Cheese Dessert Dip served with apples. It’s harder to say than it is to put together! (;
Decadent ruby red Apple Cranberry Salad is the perfect mixture of cranberry tartness mixed with the sweet fillings of jello, pineapple, crispy apples and pecan pieces.
Click on autumn-napkin-rings for these charming, grapevine napkin rings. The silk autumn leaves and sprig of bittersweet brighten each table setting and they are so easy to make!
An Autumn Tablescape gives tips and how to’s for creating your own beautiful table for Thanksgiving.
Click on Easy Thanksgiving Favors to learn how to make these sweet little favors. Miniature Kraft bags are tied with colored twine and topped with a whimsical acorn and assemble in minutes.
Plus, on the same blog … learn how to make this decorative bow and this beautiful autumn wreath filled with glittered stalks of wheat, purple clusters of grapes and autumn leaves. Both the favors bags and the autumn wreath instructions are on Easy Thanksgiving Favors & DIY Autumn Wreath.
Now for a re-cap and some pictures of “all things autumn” from our recent trip to Missouri. Autumn is our favorite season to travel and we love seeing the beautiful colors of the Ozark deepen each day we’re there. Look at this blazing Maple Tree!
Chrysanthemums in rustic pails perched above squat-y pumpkins.
Fuchsia colored Coleus that almost glowed.
Short pumpkins, tall pumpkins, Cinderella’s and Baby Boo’s gathered beside more gorgeous Coleus.
Dark green, light green, orange, and white pumpkins contrast beautifully with a huge decorative pot of flowering Kale and burgundy Coleus.
Look at these amazing pumpkin displays we saw at Silver Dollar City.
Pumpkins stacked to the treetops …
And my favorite … a darling little pumpkin cottage with a fern lined roof!
This spot was so enchanting, Richard and I walked along the creek bed and the only sounds were the burbling creek and the evening crickets.
A lone Sycamore leaf drifting along in the crystal clear waters.
Look at this perfectly charming cafe … Sugar Leaf Cafe & Bakery where we had lunch one day.
… and came back for dessert on another day! (:
We loved the beauty and mystique of “Pumpkin Nights” at Silver Dollar City in Branson … with owls dangling from the treetops.
One King Owl ruling over his parliament of owls.
A camp site with glowing pumpkin flames.
And the last picture … this “Chapel in the Woods” we were thrilled to find.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our vacation and the Thanksgiving ideas will inspire and motivate you as you begin planning your own Thanksgiving.
From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda
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To make the woodland centerpiece I took the plastic covering off of 2 blocks of floral foam and hot glued them into the bottom of a woven basket I had. Then I began filling the basket with a collection of grasses, cattails, pine cone floral stems, pheasant feathers and birch twigs I had “amassed” over the years. The tallest part of any arrangement should be in the center, so after anchoring my tallest pieces I began “fanning down” both sides from the center of the arrangement, inserting my filler into the florist foam. The last addition and focal point I added to the arrangement was a metal art piece … a copper stag among metal fir trees. 
For my place settings I used pieces of vintage Hull and Pfaltzgraff pottery, a treasure that Richard found and bought for me at an auction he went to with his brother, Bob. The dishes are a sweet remembrance for both of us since Bob passed away this past October. ❤ The pattern on this stoneware is known as “Brown Drip” pattern, a favorite of both the Hull and Pfaltzgraff Stoneware Companies during the 1930’s.
These simple, rustic napkin rings are made using mini-grapevine wreaths. I downloaded my free 
I love these darling little bean pots and keep collecting them whenever I see them at antique stores. 
They look charming holding BBQ beans for autumn wiener roasts … filled with 
Crystal glasses and little goblets from Germany are etched with grapevines and are rimmed in gold and have golden bases. I love the look of the fragile crystal contrasting with the heavy pottery and the comparison makes the crystal seem even more delicate. 
And this hand painted canoe makes a darling caddy for sweeteners!
A mixture of metals … the copper stag and the goldware add gleam to all the forest browns, moss greens and the deep brown dishes. For a final touch of coziness, I added this little lamp that looks like it was made for my woodland tablescape! The golden lampshade matches the carved canoe and also highlights the goldware and golden goblets while the dark silhouettes of the spruce trees and moose on the lamp shade adds more “depth” to my rustic theme.
You know how I love using every day objects in unusual ways?! I pulled Richard’s cashmere muffler from the closet and thought it made the perfect table runner for my woodland tablescape! The softness of the muffler contrasted with the rough basket centerpiece and it’s color … the same browns and moss-green colors found in the forest!
Juxtaposition/definition by Merriam-Webster: the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect. Hmmm … crystal next to pottery, textured, woven centerpiece sitting atop soft, luxurious cashmere, and rustic grapevines mixed with elegant goldware??? I love juxtaposition decorating! (:
After our second Bald Eagle flew off, our “Blue, Super Moon” was just begin to rise and it was gorgeous! I couldn’t help but think of the scripture I had just read that morning …“Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.” Psalms 104:1-3
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Merry-go-round, Fun Slide, Funnel Cakes, Fresh Squeezed Lemonade and Fried Oreos! (:
Outside, the table is covered in a quilted tablecloth and a “God Bless America” centerpiece of fireworks and stars.
Red, White, and Blue baskets await hamburgers, a cluster of red grapes and brownies. Striped, paper bowls are perfect for individual portions of potato salad and make clean up, easy. A blue wired basket holds cups, plates, cutlery, and patriotic straws.
Cottage Green on the Lake 