Get your home holiday ready
Whether it’s your first or fifteenth time hosting Thanksgiving, preparing your home for guests can be stressful. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. Take a look at these quick, easy and inexpensive ways to cozy up all areas of your home.
Entryway
To make your guests feel welcome, create an inviting autumn display on your entry table. Fill a large vase with golden ginkgo (gold leaf-shaped decorations) and bittersweet branches. Both materials are available at craft stores. Then place real or fake pears in a rustic bowl, add a bowl of nuts and have a bottle of wine ready. You can also add fresh seasonal flowers, such as sunflowers, mums and orange roses. Just put the flowers in a vase and change out the water every few days. Your flowers should stay fresh for a week.
Dining Room
To give your table a harvest feel, hallow out a small pumpkin to create a “basket.” Place a block of wet floral foam inside, add a pillar candle in the center, then surround with fall flowers and berries. Or, place seed pods, pinecones and nuts around cream pillar candles for an easy centerpiece. The decoration’s neutral colors will complement colors of Thanksgiving food.
If you prefer a clean, modern look, go with succulents. These plants are available at gardening stores year-round, and they’re low maintenance. To begin, add gravel a solid bowl. Place your largest succulent in the bowl, then build the smaller plants around it. Add soil over the roots, until all roots are completely covered. Water the plant at least once a week. Many home décor stores, such as West Elm, also offer low-cost workshops where you can make your own succulent centerpiece with other people.
Porch
To liven up your front porch, add a seasonal wreath. One easy wreath craft is to make a mini “pumpkin” wreath out of putka pods- they look like mini pumpkins, but they’re actually dried organic seeds that don’t deteriorate. To make the wreath, you need a 12 inch foam wreath form. Apply a small dab of hot glue to the wreath form, then immediately place a putka pod on the glue. Repeat until the entire front foam is covered. Let dry, then apply a second layer. Once all layers are dry, remove excess glue and loop a ribbon around the wreath to hang. If you have outside space, dress that area in fall décor too!
Guest Bedroom
Since holiday guests are usually part of Thanksgiving, now is the time to spruce up your guest bedroom. Give bookshelves, mantels or drawers a quick fix by sprinkling fall leaves. You can either pick up silk leaves at a craft store, or gather your own from the backyard- a perfect activity to do with your kids.
It’s also time to swap summer colors for fall shades, such as gold, russet or dark red. Just changing a few pieces- such as adding throw pills or blankets of this color- is an easy way to make an impact, without spending a ton.
Have a bedside table? A vase with fresh flowers, a small bowl of candy and an awesome stack of recent magazines are sure ways to make someone feel at home.