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There are many ways to decorate for Thanksgiving, and these DIY Thanksgiving decorations will help you get started on a gorgeous holiday theme. From glittery gourds and napkin rings to modern glass goblets, this roundup of homemade decorations will give your Thanksgiving table an extra touch of personality and love. My motto is homemade is better than store-bought any day.
Glitter Gourds
Shiny and simple, glitter gourds add a little shine to the room. Choose a gourd that has a flat bottom. This will allow you to balance on your mantle or your table.
Add some sparkle with kids’ glue glitter, or add glitter with a hot glue gun. Make sure you choose one that’s hot enough to melt the glitter! And don’t worry if they don’t stick right away—they might still stay attached after they cool down and dry out overnight.
Either method will leave you with some cute mantle or table decor. It could even be arranged into a centerpiece!
Thanksgiving Decorations – Modern Glass Goblets
Goblets are a great option for a modern Thanksgiving table. You can use glass goblets on hand or purchase them online or in stores. Give them a coat of paint to transform them from ordinary to elegant.
Apply the paint using a paintbrush, starting at one end of the goblet and working your way up to the top. You can use any paint you’d like; I recommend something that dries quickly so that you don’t get bored waiting for it to dry between coats!
A good choice would be acrylic paint, which dries within 20 minutes after application (just make sure anything you use is non-toxic). If this seems too long to wait before being able to display your masterpiece (and who doesn’t want to show off their work?), try using watercolor paints instead—they’ll dry much faster than acrylics and still give you plenty of time for other projects!
Let each coat dry completely; this will take about an hour per layer, depending on how thickly you apply it—so if more than one coat is required for full coverage, plan accordingly!
Fall Napkin Rings
Napkin rings are easy to make and can be adorned with any fall-themed embellishments. You may even have some extra napkins lying around that you can use!
Materials:
- Paper napkins
- Ribbon or twine (to create a design)
- Crayons, paint, or stickers (for decorating)
There are many ways to decorate these napkin rings. You can braid the ribbon or twine or use a wide ribbon, so there’s plenty of room to write names or add stickers. You can use a thin ribbon and wrap it around the napkin.
Choose what suits your style the best. Invite the kids. They’re sure to have a great time with this.
Painted Gourds or Pumpkins
Painted gourds are another colorful use of the plant. All you need is paint (preferably acrylic), stencils, sponges, and paint brushes. You can also use glitter.
Use stencils to create stripes, or paint a pattern with a sponge for a distressed look. If you want something sparkly and glittery, use metallic or iridescent glitter paints. If you want a glossy finish on your gourd decoration, spray it with clear acrylic sealer spray.
Thanksgiving Florals
If you’re looking to decorate for Thanksgiving, you have plenty of options. You can go traditional and put up a turkey or get creative with your decorating.
One of the best ways to add color and life to your home is by adding flowers! Flowers are an easy way to make any space look more festive, especially if you want something other than pumpkins or corn stalks hanging around. And if you live in an area where it’s cold in the wintertime (like me), having flowers will help brighten up the darker months of November and December before spring arrives!
If you want to keep things simple and inexpensive, pick up some vases at a local craft store like Michael’s—they’ll have plenty on hand for all different sizes and shapes. When the time comes, you can fill them with real or fake flowers, whichever you prefer.
If there aren’t enough vases available at either place, then try searching online; there are many options out there, but I recommend sticking with something durable like ceramic rather than plastic because those tend to break easier over time due to their thinness.
Beaded Napkin Rings
Beaded napkin rings are a great craft to do with the kids. They’re the kind of Thanksgiving decoration you’ll cherish for years.
Materials:
- beads of various sizes and shapes (I used seed beads, but you can use any kind of beads)
- ball chain
- needle nose pliers (or something similar)
Step 1: Separate your beads into groups based on size or color. You’ll want to leave enough room between each group to get your needle into the hole in the middle of them.
When picking out your colors, be sure to consider how many different shades you have for each bead type—the more variation there is in color, the more interesting it will look when it’s finished!
Step 2: Put a drop of super glue on one end of each ball chain link and press down onto each end until secure. Repeat this process until all links are glued together at both ends (there should be two sides with glue).
Step 3: Use your needle nose pliers to pull off one side of each link from its partner piece so that they’re no longer connected through a looped end (you’ve now created “charms”). Once all charms are done, put them on the napkin rings.
Confetti Plate Thanksgiving Decorations
What You’ll Need:
- Styrofoam plates
- Hot glue gun or tape (if you’re using a hot glue gun, be sure to use the low setting)
- Confetti of your choice! You can use real confetti, glitter, or even sugar sprinkles! Make sure that whatever material you use will stick to the plate once it’s stuck down.
Choose something that’s not too sticky so you can easily remove your decorations from the plate when they’ve served their purpose!
How To Make Your Confetti Plates
Decide where on your plate(s) you want your confetti placed, then apply hot glue in small dots all over the surface of the plate until it is fully covered with glue dots (this will help keep everything in place).
It is best if they are spread out evenly so as not to interfere with each other when viewed from above. However, this step depends entirely on how much room there is on each plate. Some may only have one large open space, while others could have several smaller ones throughout their surface area instead!
This step should take about 15 minutes per person, depending on how much confetti needs to be attached. If more than two people are working on this project, having everyone take turns gluing would speed up things considerably.
Framed Corn Husk Artwork
We all have those old clothespins lying around, so pick up some corn husks or silk flowers, and you’re ready to decorate! Use the clothespin to hold the husk in place while applying glue with a paintbrush.
You can use regular glue on your project, but if you want more sparkle, why not try glitter glue? It’s easy to apply with a paintbrush and will give your frame artwork some extra pizzazz.
If you’d rather keep things simple and classic, there’s no shame in using regular old white acrylic paint from any craft store—just buy a big 5-gallon bucket of it. You can get it at Walmart or a craft store. Pour it into whatever container works best for holding watercolors: an old watercolor palette set or even just an empty jam jar will do nicely!
Once everything has dried overnight (or longer), hang your masterpiece up proudly in plain sight for all Thanksgiving visitors who come knocking at your door!
Make Thanksgiving Decoration Fabric Turkeys
The easiest way to create these fabric turkeys is by using felt or felt-like material like fleece or terry cloth. Choose colors that match your decorating scheme and then cut out shapes (turkeys) with scissors or tailor’s chalk on both sides of the material, depending on whether you want the finished product to look like both sides are different. For example, one side with eyes and another without—or just make one side unique (such as adding a face). Glue feathers onto each side using a hot glue gun if desired; once dry, shake off any loose pieces before folding over the top portion of the “body.” Tie a string around the tail end using a bow knot secured under the lower body flap so they don’t move around while hanging up during party time!
All of these Thanksgiving decorations are easy to make at home!
If you’re looking for a fun way to decorate your home for the holiday, there are many ways you can do it on the cheap. Dollar stores and craft stores have lots of supplies that are perfect for DIY decorations, and all it takes is a little creativity.
We hope these ideas have inspired you to make your own DIY Thanksgiving decorations. The best part about these designs is that they can be personalized to reflect your own style, so whether you’re looking for something simple or something more intricate, there are plenty of options here!
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