You deck out your turkey with all the fixin’s, but what about your table??Andrea Correale, entertaining expert and president of event planning company Elegant Affairs (www.elegantaffairscaterers.com), offers ideas on how to create a beautiful tablescape without breaking the bank. “These are super simple and don’t require any artistic skill,” she promises. We’re in.
The more room, the merrier
More important than even the decorations is making sure your guest are comfortable and have ample room to fit at the table, says Correale. This might mean renting slimmer chairs because, as she says, “no one wants to be squished.”
The ol’ classic
“Take a dark wooden salad bowl, fill with water and float autumn- colored flower heads, like Gerber daisies and mums,” says Correale.
Edible decor
“Utilize those bags of assorted nuts [in the shells] that are around this time of the year,” says Correale. “Simply place them in some of your own bowls down the center of the table mixed in with some pillar candles. The effect is simple, natural and elegant.”
Fall foliage runner
You’ll need an old cloth or paper table runner, a glue gun and colorful autumn leaves for this one. Cover the runner with the leaves and adhere with a glue gun. You can use this technique with place mats, as well.
Place settings
“Even though it’s just friends and family, make the dinner more special with place settings,” says Correale. She recommends using small pumpkins and attaching a name tag or place card onto each stem. Then, place one pumpkin in front of each place setting to the left of the water glass (you could also use pears or apples).
Small gestures, big impact
“It’s all in the details,” says Correale. To give your table a greater impact, she recommends tying your dinner napkins with raffia (straw-like string) or twine. Embellish by attaching some berries, leaves or a name tag to each tie.
