Table decorations for Thanksgiving don’t need to be elaborate. If you are looking for something simple and cost-effective, look no further than your own backyard or local produce department.

Backyard Compliments
If you have a vegetable garden, you’re in luck. A few fall vegetables are the perfect table decoration for Thanksgiving.

To create a cornucopia made out of bread, purchase a package of frozen homemade bread. Allow the bread to thaw, then roll several loaves together and form them into a cornucopia. First, make a small tornado-like mold out of tinfoil, making sure it is very wide at the top. Mold the bread loosely around the tinfoil. Carve a basket-like appearance into the surface of the bread with a sharp knife. Don’t cut your lines so deeply into the bread that they cut through, but do make them deep enough that they won’t disappear when the bread rises. Place the cornucopia in the center of the table with veggies spilling out.

Another great table decoration for Thanksgiving can be created out of twigs and seed pods. Use vases that are short so that your guests will be able to see and talk to one another. For color, use redbud twigs or the brilliant orange and yellow seeds found in a bittersweet vine. If you can’t find twigs or vines that are brightly colored, you can always use a can or two of spray paint to create a couple of short vases filled with twigs and seed pods.

One big advantage to arrangements of twigs and seed pods is that you can make them up to two weeks ahead of time and store them in a dust-free location until needed. The last thing anyone needs is to be making a list of last-minute table decorations for Thanksgiving on the day of the big event.

Keep It Simple
Table decorations for Thanksgiving should reflect on the season and the holiday. Since we’re taught that Thanksgiving came to pass during a meal shared by Pilgrims and their Native American neighbors, try to bring that union out in your centerpiece. This can be done by decorating pumpkins to look like Native Americans and Pilgrims and then placing them in the center of your table. Children love this project. Choose several pumpkins of various sizes; three or four is a good amount.

Another great pumpkin idea is to simply hollow out a couple of small pumpkins and use them as vases. Mums are the perfect flower for this type of arrangement. The pumpkins that are best suited for this project are short, squat pumpkins with thick skins. Set the seeds aside and bake them for a late-night snack.

If you're using vegetables and produce to make the centerpiece, make the table decoration three days in advance and store it in a cool place, such as a spare refrigerator or a cold garage. Vegetables will begin to decay the minute they are cut, so if you need to make cuts to insert candles or to form a base, wait until the day of the big event.

Pumpkins and Gourds
Using 11 small pumpkins or gourds as your foundation, print two copies of the words “GIVE THANKS” on computer paper in large enough print that it stands out nicely down the middle of the table. Spell out the words GIVE THANKS. Beneath these words spell out the same words, but backwards. In other words, in the second row, the S will be below the G, the K will be below the I, the N will be below the V, etc. Because you will be placing the words down the center of the table you’ll want guests on both sides of the table to read the simple but appropriate Thanksgiving note. Tape the top and bottom letters together, and then stick a wooden skewer between the two letters and fasten it in place. Allow about two inches of the skewer to stick out below the letter. Insert the skewers into the flesh of the pumpkins or gourds to keep them in place.

If using only one large pumpkin the same message can be made, but you may have to become a little more creative. One way to do this is to run the letters up one side of the pumpkin and down the other, or across the top.