This year, I decided to host a small Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving dinner party  at my place!  I called in my favorite entertaining expert, my sister Kim!  She always has the best ideas when it comes to mixing tablescape colors and let me barrow her beautiful china and agate napkin rings!  I wanted to make it rustic but modern and feminine so we played with texture and color to bring the room to life.  She had the idea to use antlers and hand calligraphed place cards in mini tree trunks to give it a special touch. (See, always thinks of every detail!)  Since my apartment is decorated in all neutral tones, we used natural colored linens.  I love these ‘give thanks’ napkins too!

At our family dinner parties we always have a topic where everyone goes around the table and gives their answer, a tradition my dad started years ago.  At Thanksgiving every year we go around the table and say what are most thankful for, but this year I am trying to follow what I learned from Shawn Achor of the Happiness Advantage and come up with three new thanks every day.  It’s a great table discussion for your dinner too!

I loved the look of a flower table runner I had seen on Pinterest so we decided to make one by putting oasis in three dishes down the center of the table and filling in fall foliage, hydrangea, and unique flowers that brought out the different  colors of the China.  Remember to keep it low so your guests can see each other across the table.  Another simple idea is to use boxwood garland down the center.

Normally when I host a dinner party, I don’t like to use scented candles on the table because it can compete with the food, but my Nest pumpkin candles made it smell like warm pumpkin pie was coming out of the oven!  They also make a perfect hostess gift if you are heading to an in laws or friends house for Thanksgiving!

Images by John Cain for KrystalSchlegel.com