Our Thanksgiving 2023 + Thanksgiving Tablescape

It’s only Wednesday and and this week has already been a whirlwind because Thanksgiving got picked up and put away last week only to immediately start dragging all the holiday decor down and start decorating for Christmas!

But I am here to quickly recap our Thanksgiving day because it is one of my favorite holidays to gather all our family, friends, and loved ones and sit around the table to enjoy a fabulous meal. Every other year, I host my side of the family for a big Thanksgiving day and it truly brings me so much joy. Yes, it is definitely a lot of work; but all so worth it in the end!

We always pray for good weather because we usually have over twenty people and need to utilize the outdoor space for tables and seating. This year, we had a little rain scare early in the week; but mainly it was looking to be a much colder Thanksgiving for us than usual! Thankfully the rain stayed away, but it was a bit cold with full cloud coverage. We told everyone to dress warm and we managed to still enjoy our meal outside.

I had fun setting all the tables a little differently this year. We order Fall flowers from Fiore in Pensacola and then I pulled from mine and my Mom’s tableware. We have collected some fun holiday plates over the years and I love getting to have different themed tables.

It is not very often that we get all 8 grandchildren together, so we always have to summon them for a picture! A few eyes closed, but all-and-all, pretty good 🙂

I will share links the best I can for the tables capes at the end of the post. I did love using some fun little LED lights on the tables this year and I jazzed up my simple white lights with a cute raffia lamp shade from my friend, Kelly’s, shop this year. I also love these gold lamps so much this year, that I have bought two more. They look pretty in different places around the house too!

For placemats, I have used some fun paper placemats from Rosanne Beck and mixed in a few that I already owned. I also love typing up our Thanksgiving menu on Canvas and placing one on everyones seats for Thanksgiving day. We also use name cards for everyone since there are so many of us!

For napkins this year, I used a mix of some I owned from Home Goods and Target. Part of that was because they were still brand new and freshly pressed for me already! Some of my other napkins were all wrinkled and there was no time for ironing! I find that if I don’t get them ironed the day they come out of the dryer before I put them away, then they never get ironed. Just a helpful tip, because that is always a tough one!

Do you have a personal favorite from the three tables? I had a hard time choosing. I think I love this one above with the turkey plates the best!

:: Shop the Tables::

The kids table came out really cute this year too actually. I had a blast making this bread cornucopia a few days before Thanksgiving this year. You can watch me make it here. I think it may have to become a new holiday tradition.

For the kids table, I always love to use some type of coloring tablecloth or placemats and then I have collected these plates from PB Kids for years now. If I have to add to, they may be slightly different; but all the colors match up.

I love my sweet family so much and it is always so special when we have my oldest brother in town from Miami with his kids.

The OG crew!

There is always enough food to feed an army and I love it. We do appetizers first for a couple of hours and then its time for the big feast!

Just before we make our plates to sit, I make the whole crew come outside to take one group photo with everyone. I always love looking back on these pictures!

It was a beautiful day with loved ones and I can’t wait for the next one!

It wouldn’t be the holidays without someone getting sick though! Friday morning after Thanksgiving, sweet Molly woke up with a fever and cough. She broke out in a little rash too. Never a dull moment.