What did the pumpkin say to the pumpkin carver? Cut it out.

We are loving the seasons changing, but where did time go? Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start looking for turkey recipes. Or is ham the go-to choice for you? Nonetheless, we are big fans of creating a tablescape that guests will enjoy — and hopefully will distract from the slightly overcooked green bean casserole. When we polled you on Instagram about a month ago, it was clear that what majority of you wanted were simple tablescapes that weren’t overdone or fussy. So, we’ve made it easy for you this year and have two easy tablescapes you can easily replicate – one for kids and one for adults.

Kid-Friendly Table Setting

Who helps the smaller pumpkins safely cross the street? The crossing gourd.

Who says a kids’ table can’t be cute AND functional? One thing we love to do is to incorporate crafts at the table to entertain the little ones.

1. We started out with these kraft paper placemats as the base layer. Not only are they inexpensive and disposable, but they will act as the foundation for craft central.
2. Next up we added these melamine plates which have the prettiest handmade texture, but you don’t have to worry about kids breaking them.
3. For the next layer, add in a cloth napkin for an elevated feel. We love these olive green ones from Amazon.
4. On top of the napkin, add a salad plate (again, we love these melamine ones so kids don’t break them).
5. Add in your silverware, and if you want, we recommend acrylic glasses for kids because it looks a little nicer than a bunch of colorful plasticware, but you don’t have to worry about glass getting broken.
6. To jazz up the table, we added some tea light candleholders with LED candles so you don’t have to worry about anyone burning themselves. We also bought these fun tree stickers and wrote each kid’s name on it to act as a place setting (although these have a fun second use we’ll cover in below). Lastly, we sprinkled these foam leaf stickers and white mini pumpkins across the table to add a little extra pizzaz.

Paper Placemats | Tree & Leaf Stickers | Googly Eyes | Pumpkins | Crayons | Flameless Candles | Candle Holders | Dinner Plates | Salad Plates | Acrylic Glasses

Now comes the fun part. All of these elements can also become interactive activities for the kiddos. The kids can take their tree and stick it onto their placemat. Then they can use the leaf stickers you’ve scattered across the table to decorate their tree. We hid a sheet of googly eyes in each child’s napkin, so they can use those to decorate the pumpkins if they want to, and these gel crayons work great for not only coloring on the placemat, but decorating the pumpkins too.

So, not only is this table setting beautiful AND indestructible, but it also will provide the kids with plenty of entertainment while the adults socialize.

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Simple Table Setting for the Adult Table

What happens when you drop a pumpkin? It goes squash.

With only a few simple swaps, you can take the elements from the kids table and turn it in to a simple but beautiful tablescape for the adults you’re hosting.

To create this tablescape, we started out with many of the same elements.

1. Start out with the same kraft paper placemats as the base layer. We love the scallop detail on them that dresses up the table a little bit.
2. Instead of the melamine plates from the kids table, we oped for these ceramic plates instead. They are a great quality for a great price. However, use whichever plate you prefer.
3. For the next layer, we used the same olive green napkins from Amazon.
4. On top of the napkin, we added the salad plate that came in the same ceramic plate set.
5. We topped the plate with the white mini pumpkins and used a gold sharpie to write the guests’ names on each place setting.
6. We then added in our silverware and glassware before we focused on the rest of the table.
7. We wanted to keep the rest of the table simple, so we scattered a few more of the white mini pumpkins across the table. We did reuse the same tea light candleholders and LED candles, but we added in some additional taper candles and other candle holders as well.

Taper Candles | Clear Candle Holders | Green Candle Holders

All of these items will elevate your tablescape game this year whether you’re a seasoned vet or a deer in headlights. The kids will love the interactive pieces picked out for them and the adults will appreciate the simple elegance of it all. Like we said, these table items are perfect for the whole family to enjoy and create a beautiful Thanksgiving day.

What did the pumpkin say after Thanksgiving? Good-pie everyone.

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