Making a Thanksgiving Cornucopia

At Thanksgiving time, it's fun to decorate the table with traditional fall colors and Thanksgiving themes. One of the most traditional Thanksgiving decorations is a Thanksgiving cornucopia. The word "cornucopia" means "horn of plenty." It symbolizes abundance and the harvest season. It is easy to make a beautiful Thanksgiving cornucopia for your Thanksgiving table centerpiece. Give it a try this year.

What you'll need:

• A horn-shaped basket: this can be bought already shaped, or you can gently warm and shape a basket into a horn shape yourself. Do not use an open flame to do this as the basket will catch fire. Instead, hold the basket over a pot of boiling water until it is malleable.
• Raffia and colorful leaves: choose fresh or artificial. Artificial will last longer, but fresh colorful leaves allow you to choose from nature's bounty.
• Fall harvest vegetables and fruit (fresh or artificial): use those which are hearty and won't spoil if left out for a few days. Good choices are: small pumpkins, gourds, pomegranate, and Indian corn.
• Nuts and/or fresh cranberries (don't use fresh cranberries if you are making an artificial arrangement).
• A nice big tray to place it on. Placing it on a tray will make the display portable so you can move it off the table to make room for Thanksgiving food as needed.

How to assemble it:

1. Line your tray with colorful leaves.
2. Place your horn-shaped basket atop the leaves.
3. Stuff the back of the basket with more leaves and raffia. Put more leaves on the bottom of the basket, and leave some raffia sticking out.
4. Place your largest vegetables in first to fill the space. This is like taking a group picture and putting the big people in the back so everyone small can be seen.
5. Arrange the smaller vegetables in the horn next, allowing them to overflow and spill out. Add more leaves between some of them for color and artistic flair.
6. Pour the nuts and cranberries over the arrangement to fill in cracks and add the artistic effect of big to small items coming from the horn.

Note: if you choose artificial items, you may make a more permanent display by affixing them with glue and craft wire. You can still use Indian corn as it will not spoil.