bountiful

Gather your favorite people together for a Thanksgiving dinner full of friends, fun and food! This simple and stylish Thanksgiving dinner is the perfect way to start your festive celebration and a new family tradition.

INVITATION

Dinner Date
Thanksgiving is synonymous with turkey, and who better to feature on the invitation than the fowl itself, inviting your guests to dine with him, or rather on him. Alternatively, fall for the autumn leaf invitation and address labels available from HP - details to follow in this article.

INTRODUCTION

Warm Wreath
Create a warm welcome with an autumn
wreath hanging on your door. Make your
own using a polystyrene/oasis ring and
insert real or fake leaves, acorns and
berries. Or see our choice in the IN GOOD COMPANY SHOP.

DECORATION

Display

"A Feast of Thanks" Leaf Garland
String along the sentiment of the occasion by printing out this falling leaves banner. Print the leaves, punch holes on either side, thread through ribbon or string and fasten to the wall with double-sided poster tape or Prestik.

Falling Leaves
MATERIALS
Leaves (real or fake)
Chunky wooden beads in autumn colours
6m of clear fishing line
Prestik
Skewer

DIRECTIONS
Tie a knot around the first bead, skewer a hole in the centre of a leaf, thread fishing line through the leaf, and add another bead. Measure 10cm and knot line around another bead, add a leaf, bead... repeat until all 6m are done. Cut fishing line into 1m lengths, stick to the ceiling with Prestik.

TABLE

Autumn Shades
Lay the table with a linen tablecloth, runners and napkins in brown, orange, cream or even white linen. Set with cream or white tableware, and chunky country flatware.

Bountiful Basket
In the centre, fill a basket with fruit and vegetables: pumpkins, gourds, squashes etc. Decorate with acorns, berries and fall foliage. See our choice in the IN GOOD COMPANY SHOP.

Natural Place Settings
Add to the centerpiece basket berry balls, or place one of these at each place setting, and insert a miniature nail together with a place card. Alternatively, find miniature apples, pears, seedpods or acorns still on the twig and insert into linen napkins. Tie a ribbon bow and add a name card. For easy place cards print out the Feast of Thanks place cards - which cleverly have festive words on the reverse side like "gratitude" and "bountiful". See our berry balls for sale in the IN GOOD COMPANY SHOP.

HP Tablescape
The "Feast of Thanks" design paperware featured in this article is a free download from the Creative Studio at www.hp.com. The collection includes:
Invitations
Envelope address labels
Menu cards
Place cards
Leaf centerpiece

Tree of Thanks
A nature-inspired centerpiece from HP provides dinner guests with a meaningful focal point to share and give thanks. Print, cut out and include leaves in the invitation pocket - one of the leaves requests guests to please use the enclosed leaves to write about things for which they are grateful for, and to bring the leaves along to the celebration. These leaves will then be included in the centerpiece, by punching holes and tying with ribbon or raffia to tree branches in a vase, or in our party's case; a metal leafy branch candleholder. For the artwork, assembly and instructions, visit www.hp.com Creative Studio.

Paper&Cake Tablescape
Visit www.paperandcake.blogspot.com and download for free their Thanksgiving Tablescape. This collection includes:
Menu
Napkin rings
Wine glass tags
Place cards
Wrap-around candle centrepiece
Food label cards

For best results, print the PDF file on muted colour (tan, orange or green) cardboard.

MENU

Mulled Apple Cider
An especially heartwarming and deliciously refreshing drink on chilly fall days and nights. Mulled cider is essentially apple cider simmered with various spices, usually, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, but there are many variations that also use orange zest, cardamom and allspice. Recipe under GOOD TIMES/RECIPES.

Turkey with all the fixin's
Thanksgiving is the one of those occasions where a sit-down dinner is the order of the day.

THANKSGIVING MENU

Starters
Cheese ball
Stuffed Mushrooms with Spinach

Main
Sour Cream and Chive Rolls
Roast Turkey and Chestnut Stuffing
Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples
Twice Baked Potatoes
Tarragon Green Beans
Creamed Onions
Cranberry-orange Sauce

Dessert
Classic Pumpkin Pie
Old-fashioned Apple Pie
Pecan Pie

FUN AND GAMES

Box of Questions
A Thanksgiving holiday game guaranteed to inspire fun and meaningful conversations at your Thanksgiving dinner. A truly unique hostess gift! A great way to help foster family togetherness and create a memorable Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving themed conversation starters like:

What are you most thankful for this year?

What is your favourite Thanksgiving tradition?

What is your family motto?

Available for hire see our website GOOD AS NEW.

FAVOURS

Lunch Leftovers
Purchase Ziploc reusable plastic containers and fill up with the dinner's leftovers, your guest's will be extra grateful for their turkey sandwich for lunch the next day at work.

Gratitude Journals
Take a page out of Oprah's book, and give guests small lined notebooks. Affix on the cover book labels bearing their name and "Gratitude Journal". Encourage guests for the next year to write down 3 things everyday that they are grateful for. Whether it is a small thanks for the Outsurance traffic official that saves one an extra 5 minutes in the morning rush hour or a big thank you for the members of a loving family; one is guaranteed to have a much more positive attitude towards life.