My Great Big Thanksgiving Tablescape Breakdown
11 people. 1 tiny New York City apartment.
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Thanksgiving is without a doubt my favorite holiday. I consider it the kickoff to the most festive time of year, and I love that the focus is on cozy vibes, good food and gratitude. One of my dreams when we moved to Manhattan last year was to host my family for Thanksgiving. We live on the Upper West Side right along the parade route, I just knew it was going to be magical. My entire family rallied and we had the most unbelievable time in the city.
As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, the guest list got to be larger than anticipated, but we were up for the challenge. My husband handled the menu, and I handled the table. Together we tackled random apartment projects that spruced up the place before everyone arrived.
I thought it might be fun and helpful to share everything that went into my tablescape. I was really pleased with how it turned out and everything I sourced I know I will have and use for years to come.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this very thorough deep dive.
The Process
Step One: Inspiration
The first thing I needed to do was gather some inspo. I knew a few things right off the bat: I wanted it to be formal and I wanted to get the Woodland Spode salad plates with different animals for each setting. So I started to search tablescapes with this pattern and brainstorm what colors would look nice. I knew with eleven people I didn’t want a really stuffy table, especially in a small space, I wanted breathing room.
I found this blog post and locked in on the chargers and silver accents. She was focused on the horse plates, more equestrian leaning, which was very fun and Ralph Lauren.
Then I found this blog post.
I loved how much chiller this felt. It reminded me a lot of Ina Garten’s table settings which feel relaxed and elegant at the same time. From this table I was inspired by the napkins and the French wine glasses, which I already had been obsessing over from Crate & Barrel.
Step Two: Gathering Materials
First up, the actual table. Our table is a big farm style wooden table with a bench and four chairs that comfortably fits six people. We had just ordered new black chairs, and I held on to our old chairs knowing we’d need the extra seating.
I can’t recommend having a bench as part of your seating more. It allows an extra person to squish easily. I did some measuring and landed on this card table to add to the end of our dining table as an extension.
Having the table extension meant I needed to use a tablecloth to cover. Miraculously I found this lightly plaid, cream, extra-long one to use as our base.
I loved the colors of this plaid runner. It was just the right dash of fall/Thanksgiving and paired with the formal white base tablecloth, it balanced out really nicely.
I had a weird obsession with needing chargers for this table, don’t ask me why. I was an idiot and didn’t put nice chargers on my wedding registry so I took to eBay. For some reason, Pottery Barn stopped making the most perfect chargers known to man. I found six on eBay and spent maybe too much money on them but I was a woman obsessed. This was also when I thought we were only having six people over for dinner. What I love about these is the texture that the edges have. They give some dimension. There are some okay ones on Pottery Barn’s website currently, gun to my head I guess I’d get these, but they aren’t quite right! Williams Sonoma has these which are pretty but pricy. When I found myself needing more chargers, I ordered these from Amazon and I have to say, they exceeded expectations. I did every other place setting PB and Amazon so to the eye it wasn’t really obvious that some people had cheaper ones.
I went back and forth on whether or not to use my dishwasher safe white plates from Crate & Barrel or whip out the wedding china. After a harrowing shopping day, I decided that it was a sign I needed to use the good stuff. My Bernardaud gold rimmed plates made their debut, and I filled in with a few regular plates. Still working towards our set of 12!
The star of the show and my biggest splurge was of course, the Spode Woodland salad plates. My china theory still stands here: go with a plain base plate for the registry, and as life rolls on and you find yourself hosting different events, you can add salad plates which are more cost effective.
Also here is a very good hack: the salad plates I’m seeing on Replacements (a hack in general), which is where I ordered from last year, are way more expensive than anyone wants to pay. You want to look for “imperfect” plates on their site. I was in the $10-$15 a plate zone and when they arrived I swear I couldn’t tell one thing was ever off about them. Check eBay too! People sell sets.
Napkins were easy breezy and I took inspo from that second blog post. I went with linen hemstitch. They were wonderful and again, the relaxed linen kept things balanced next to formal pieces like silver chargers. I think it’s good to take a kind of hi-low approach. Couldn’t recommend these napkins more, I think they’re a very fair price and I’ve already used them a ton.
Okay you guys are honestly probably sick of me talking about these French wine glasses but I think they’re fantastic. The price, the feel, the fact that I can throw them in the dishwasher— I will sing their praises endlessly. I was very torn initially on if I wanted to do the amber colored glass for Thanksgiving or the plain clear glass, but I’m glad I went with plain. I use them almost daily, and I think had I got the amber they would have felt seasonal.
The only downside to the French wine glasses is that a lot of people think they are for water, which they can totally be used for. I played with various glass options at the store, but nothing was really calling me enough to purchase.
Instead, I whipped out Dollar Tree stemless wine glasses we had from our Christmas engagement party to have on the table for water. It provided a height difference and if people mixed it up and did wine in the wrong glass it was all gravy baby. I don’t think Dollar Tree sells the exact wine glasses we had, but if you need bulk glassware, don’t forget about them! We also had pre-dinner cocktails in my IKEA coupe glasses, another budget friendly item that has served me very well time and time again.
For flatware I used our everyday silverware, which I spent hours agonizing over for the wedding registry. I specifically wanted one set that was good for casual everyday dining but would also look nice on a more formal table. Pleased to report these did the trick.
I am a stickler about having water on the table and plenty of it. We put out our Waterford pitcher and I even had additional carafes down the table. It’s worth the table space your guests will thank you.
For the grand finale, if you’re still with me, it’s time to decorate! I knew I wanted to keep flowers low, and have mixed heights for the tapers. We were gifted off our registry the Waterford candlesticks and tealight votives which I used one of for the center and tallest tapers. Then I ordered these silver low candlesticks which I absolutely love along with these taller ones. I found two perfectly in the middle height ones on Poshmark for $13. So 8 tapers total down the center of the table.
For florals I actually struggled a bit until I went into the Ralph Lauren store on Madison and saw this:
I immediately went on eBay and Poshmark and found 6 small mint julep cups (I almost didn’t find them because the seller actually was spelling it wrong, “julip” in her listing. Search typos! That’s a secret I almost never share but if you’ve made it this far you deserve it). I hemmed and hawed but landed on doing white roses. It kept things bright and clean. Orange seemed to clash a bit and red seemed too harsh.
And then it was showtime! I did flower arrangements about two days before and had them stashed away in Mikey’s office, I had piles of everything ready to go, and when everyone parted ways post parade for a nap and regroup, I was able to quickly get the table set and had time to get myself ready. I ended up doing handwritten place cards as well on leftover Paper Source cards from our wedding.
Here is a pre-lit close-up video for you:
And then twinkly night-time magic:
Well there you have it! For me, putting a table together and hosting is a big, fun art project that I love to do. The hunt and the process is exciting for me, but I recognize that is not the case for everyone. I start early so I have time to deep dive, to barter on Poshmark, to scour eBay for the best deals. I’m sure I could have ordered everything you see here a week out for about three times the price, but where’s the fun in that?
Let me know if you’re hosting Thanksgiving this year! Or if you have any questions.
Happy hosting!
xoxo
This and your back-to-school newsletter are tied for my favorite posts you’ve ever written! I clicked every link, read every supplemental blog post, and watched all the TikToks. Now, I’m so hyped for Thanksgiving and holiday planning!
Wow those white roses in the julep glasses are just perfect - would have never thought of that. Also love that you used so many things from your wedding registry! Clearly you put the right things on there!