Happy Thanksgiving (And How Birdie and I Decorated For Our Last-Minute Thanksgiving Dinner)

Like many people, our usual thanksgiving was canceled. We’ve done the last 20 years at Brian’s parent’s house in Sacramento with all the cousins, aunts, uncles and it’s the ONLY time of year that we all get together and it’s an EXTREMELY fun day. Like epically fun. But 30 people, from 8 different households (and a few college students) wasn’t a great/safe idea this year. So a couple of months ago we all decided to cancel but planned on still going up and having it be super small – just us, Brian’s brother, and his parents. But two weeks ago, heeding all the warnings, especially with the crazy spike we decided even that was risky. So instead we are having a very small family thanksgiving here, which is totally fine and worth the non-risk. I want it to feel at least a little bit special, so Birdie and I planned out how we would set the table, and she really wanted to help and even make things for it. I was in heaven. It was the first real time that she and I collaborated on how something should be styled, and I let her really take the lead (while guiding her towards certain things obviously). Here’s how it turned out:

Sherpa | Vintage Fabric Table Cloth (similar) | Candle Holder| Candles | Vase (similar) | Wine Glass | Water Glass | Flatware | Placemats | Plates | Oversized Stripe Pillow | Sherpa Pillows | Faux Fur Lumbar Pillow | Wood Garland | Napkins

She took it so seriously, it took 3 hours of our undivided attention and it was so fun I can’t even tell you. This girl loves to ‘help’ more than I thought possible for a kid. And not for like just 10 minutes, she FINISHES the job (even with cooking she is so invested). I taught her where everything goes, how to fold napkins, and even how to stand back and look at it all together and edit. At one point she said ‘mama, I think there is too much going on’ and she was RIGHT. We used what we had on hand and it turned out pretty darn cute. I think when you collect a certain style of stuff for a certain style of house it can just look good together when thrown on the same table.

I’ve been hoarding vintage plaid (this Japanese fabric is from Etsy) for a long time so I threw that down as the tablecloth which feels super cozy (even though it’s very ripped) and “fall” in a fun way. The leather chargers I’ve had for a couple of years (from Target) and the plates and flatware are our Made by Design everyday dinner plates. Of course, I wanted to buy some more handmade stoneware plates (and salad plates) but we don’t need or want them post-thanksgiving, so these white ones will do just fine (plus they are so lightweight and easy to wash in the dishwasher).

And then we foraged for fall leaves and branches for each place setting and the centerpiece which was VERY “fall.”

My Dress | Birdie’s Dress (unavailable)

I had these cute little tags that Birdie wanted to use as place cards (not that we needed them) and she wrote all our names and even a little drawing of ‘thanksgiving’ (turkey, leaf, heart, etc). They were SO CUTE. We threw on some candles (Birdie made the pillar that is wrapped in leaves and twine) and I already had those colorful tapers, in these candle holders I bought last year.

Now here’s a photo a little farther back so you can really get the whole picture of what it looks like:

It was VERY thrown together and no, Sara did not come to professionally shoot this (and I tried hard not to care too much about the styling being perfect), hence the slightly crooked candles. Or maybe it’s the new way to achieve the “organic, effortless, thrown-together” kind of look we had no choice but to go for since it was so last minute. Here’s another angle with (slightly) straighter candles:

All in all, Birdie was so proud of it that she wanted to get photos “for my portfolio” (I DIED WHEN SHE SAID THAT) so we went ahead and set the whole table so we could take better photos. I want to permanently bottle up and save forever the pride that she exuded, and I’ll start by framing one of these photos…

It’s a different thanksgiving this year and I know there are a lot of mixed feelings out there. Our household hopes that you are all staying safe, cozy, and filling your day however you want. Cooking or not, family or not, hopefully next year we can have an EPIC family thanksgiving in a safer world. xx

For more info & resources on our dining nook (or if you want to see it styled out for everyday) click on this post 🙂

Design by Emily and Elliot Henderson:)