Planning Thanksgiving Celebrations

Thanksgiving celebrations are all about gathering together and enjoying the companionship of friends and family. While the turkey dinner may be the highlight of your Thanksgiving party, make sure the events before and after dinner are just as memorable.

Pick Your Party Type
Decide what kind of Thanksgiving party you want to host. Consider all the factors, such as how big your space is and if kids will be attending. If it's a big family affair with lots of children, don't plan a formal dinner party. If you're just inviting a few close friends over, it might be fun to dress up and use the best china. After thinking about all these factors, make the final decisions on a guest list and the style of party you're planning.

Decorations
To make your gathering feel truly festive, decorate the house with lovely and inexpensive decorations. The rich natural colors of fall provide a perfect backdrop to the day. Whether you are having a formal or a casual Thanksgiving party, these decoration ideas can transform your home into a cornucopia of comfort and style.

Outdoors

• Welcome everyone by hanging a festive fall wreath on the front door. You can make one with supplies from your local craft store or purchase one.
• Decorate your entryway with pumpkins. Gather a variety of pumpkins in different colors, sizes and textures, and arrange them artfully among some fall foliage.
• Arrange decorative gourds and Indian corn in some wicker baskets or empty flower pots and arrange them on each step leading to your front door. Tie orange, brown or other autumn-colored ribbons to the pots.
• Make a whimsical scarecrow with old clothes, a painted pumpkin head and a floppy straw hat. Seat it on a hay bale, and decorate around it with dried corn stalks and pumpkins.

Indoors

• Create simple clusters of fall beauty with varying sizes of pillar candles set atop silk autumn leaves. Add gold ribbons for extra sparkle.
• Make nut pillars by taking Styrofoam shapes and hot-gluing various nuts (in the shells) , completely covering the foam center. Walnuts, pecans, almonds and even acorns work well.
• Use fall colors to accent the table, such as a rich brown table runner or burnt orange napkin rings.
• Try hanging garlands of artificial autumn leaves over window treatments and above doorways. Accent with bundles of dried flowers.

Pre-Dinner Activities
If the guests are arriving at least an hour before dinner, it's a good idea to have a few things for them to do during the Thanksgiving party while you're attending to last-minute dinner tasks. Depending on the age of your guests, you can keep everyone busy until its time to dine.

For kids, prepare a station with crayons, pencils and a few Thanksgiving-related activities, such as coloring pages, crossword puzzles or hidden pictures. Don't try to do a detailed craft that needs your attention to explain because you'll simply be too busy at this point. Save the fun projects for after dinner when everyone is relaxing.

For adults, have a few appetizers set out. Nuts, cheese and crackers, chips and dips or a veggie tray are good starters. Recruit a helper to prepare beverages for everyone, from a little wine to refreshing soft drinks. Create a welcoming atmosphere for the Thanksgiving party with soft music playing and perhaps a few family photo albums setting out for relatives to browse through.

Post-Dinner Activities
While many families head to the TV to catch some great college football games, other families like to play games and spend quality time together. Here are some Thanksgiving party ideas on how to keep everyone entertained while they're digesting and waiting for pumpkin pie.

Play games. Choose family favorites where everyone can play, such as Win, Lose or Draw, dominoes, Scrabble, Monopoly or other traditional competitions. Or get really creative and organize a Jeopardy-style game with either Thanksgiving trivia or guest-specific questions, such as "This person's high school tennis team won the state championship."

Create a slideshow. Bridge generations and bring long-distance relatives closer by renting an LCD projector and showing a compilation of family photos or snippets of home videos.

Take it outside. Many families have outdoor traditions, such as sledding, touch football, 4-wheeling or snowmobiling.

Get crafty. Establish a craft tradition while some guests watch the big game. Try sewing a baby quilt for an expecting family member, creating homemade Christmas ornaments or adding a few pages to an annual Thanksgiving family scrapbook. Don't forget a craft table for the kids, including turkey puppets, marshmallow and apple turkeys or paper pilgrim hats.

Be thankful. If the mood is right, try a simple devotional. Say a traditional Thanksgiving prayer, read scripture or just give guests the opportunity to express gratitude for things and people in their lives.