Around November, visions of turkey, pumpkin pie and andoille sausage stuffing start dancing through my head. The whole month, we start look forward to the time spent around the dinner table with those we love. And nothing says love in my family like good food – unless it’s a beautifully set table.
In years past, I’ve made a “kids’ table” for the children to sit at apart from the adults; banishing the kids to their own space works out well when there’s a big crowd gathering to eat. This year for a million reasons, it will be just my nuclear family for dinner. I imagine that we aren’t the only ones not seating for twenty, so I created some inspiration for those wanting a kid-friendly table that appeals to adults as well.
Never underestimate what you can do with a few yards of inexpensive fabric. While most of the supplies for our table came from my (rather extensive) fabric pile, I did pick up brown polka dot and brown thatch fabric on sale and created a backdrop by covering a canvas and a quick no-sew runner by ironing the hems.
Leftover orange fabric from Halloween was cut into strips and tied to the chairs as tie-backs. Scraps from my fabric pile made most of the roses that were the primary accents for the chairs, glasses and centerpiece. There is always a sale on fabric at the craft stores, which makes it easy to make a great visual impact for a small price!
Don’t worry about elegance when setting a table for kids. If you have them and have eaten with them, you already know it doesn’t work. We went with bright and bold colors layered with lots of texture to make a table that feels warm and inviting. Colored mason jars with trendy billy buttons from florist, Buds, Etc., and a runner made from a length of fabric were the center of attention (and easy!)
Each place at the table was set with a fun plate topped with an orange napkin. The napkin was wrapped in burlap ribbon for texture and a thin orange satin ribbon for contrast. Our “We are so thankful” printables were a great accent. Silverware in turkey branded holders were a fun and colorful addition. Finishing the place settings were the busy boxes for the kids to play with and place cards. The place cards are a must have for kid tables – they love seeing their names and it an easy thing to do to make them feel extra special.
Occupied kids are happy kids. Once dinner is done, let them reach for a “busy box” at their place setting. We filled ours with crayons, playdough, and a Thanksgiving thankful turkey craft. It’s just enough to give them something to do while finishing dinner as a family.
Something new we tried this year (since my oldest can now read) were conversation starters. There were giggles all around at the table, so we’ve declared them a hit!
Pie is the star of the show on Thanksgiving! All the other fussy desserts are not needed on turkey day, so hostess can breathe a sigh of relief that setting up an attractive table is a snap! A few nice florals and some cake stands to rest your pies on are all you need. Don’t forget pint-sized pies for the kids. They’ll love you for it.
Soooooooo cute!
Wow..your photos are so vivid with color. Great activities my small visitors would love to color a turnkey and paste cut out feathers.
Love the chair backers! Gorgeous as always.
so adorable!!!!
so cute! love the conversation starters and the busy box!
These are simple ideas that pack a seriously gorgeous punch!
Thanks, everyone! So glad you like it all!
You did such a great a job. I think we are going to have a kids table this year. Thank you for linking up to Party Time and we hope to see you again next week!
The busy box is a wonderful idea and honestly, a couple of my adult children need one! So many fun ideas Paula, thank you.
These are great ideas that can be used for a regular table setting too. Thanks for sharing your ideas on MM. Pinned and will be including this in this week’s roundup.