In the family I grew up in, we did not really put a premium on presentation. As a matter of fact, we tended to neglect it altogether. For a holiday like Thanksgiving, for example, we would go pretty all out with the food. We would have two or three different kinds of relish, turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, a salad, and plenty of other gourmet grub, but we would never bother to go all the way and make a Thanksgiving centerpiece.
Even simple to make Thanksgiving table centerpieces were beyond our limited holiday preparations. I can not say why exactly, but for some reason or other, it did not seem important to us. That is why I was so surprised and impressed the first time I went over to my girlfriends family for the holidays.
They had an absolutely gorgeous Thanksgiving center piece. It was the perfect expression of the joy that the autumn season brings. The table was decorated with gourds, stocks of maize, and woven straw scarecrows holding little Hersheys kisses in their hands. It was kind of silly, but it was also adorable.
What really amazed me about that meal was how much having a festive dcor really added to everything. It really made it a much better day for all of us. The room was bright and cheerful, with little gourds scattered around to symbolize natures bounty, and because of that, we were bright and cheerful as well.
The next year, I decided that I would make my own homemade Thanksgiving centerpiece. I thought it would be hard, but it really was not. In general, Thanksgiving centerpieces are just a matter of assembling a few different elements. You dont really have to make anything at all - all you have to do is to arrange a few things. I decided that a pile of gourds was a must have. Inside of that, I put a bouquet of flowers mixed in with a few stalks of corn. It was not quite as polished as the Thanksgiving centerpiece at my girlfriends home the year before, but it still looked pretty good. All in all, it was quite nice for a first try.
Since then, I tried to have table center pieces at all of my holiday events. Im going to make a Thanksgiving centerpiece this year, but I think Im going to go a step farther. I can hardly wait to assemble a nice Christmas centerpiece for the first time. Im already coming up with some really great ideas.
3/22/2015
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