You Need to See These DIY Thanksgiving Decorations That Won’t Break the Bank

DIY Thanksgiving Paper Leaf Lanterns

If you’re the proud owner of a Cricut, this paper lantern craft is super easy. Crafter Sarah Johnson at EssyJae made a downloadable SVG file you can use. Just imagine a row of these with battery-operated tea lights inside, which would make extra child-friendly decor for the kid’s table. Mix in some fairy twinkle lights and a few faux or dried leaves to the scene to complete the look.

Cinnamon and Pine Napkin Decor

Thanksgiving really blurs the lines between fall and winter, especially when it falls during the last week of November. If you already have your Christmas tree up for feast day, there’s nothing wrong with bringing a little bit of the same spirit to your Thanksgiving table setting.

Add just a flair of Christmas to your Thanksgiving place settings by tying cinnamon sticks and pine to the place setting napkins. This touch will also add a nice aroma to the room.

Thankful Turkey Kid Craft

Getting your children involved in creating your DIY Thanksgiving decorations is such a fun way to make memories, and your extended family members will love seeing their handiwork. These cardboard turkeys with pink, orange, and gold feathers with a dash of star garland are equal parts adorable and tasteful.

You can have your kids make the first two to display as an example and even offer this as a craft for the other young guests to take part in. You can re-display the turkeys each year and continue to add to the collection.

A Harvest Bounty Centerpiece

Cooking a Thanksgiving feast is no easy feat, so the last thing you probably want to be doing the day before is putting together fresh flower centerpieces (although it is fun if you’ve got the time). This is an example of a centerpiece you can make weeks ahead and that will double as beautiful fall decor.

Simply take a few gourds and mini pumpkins and display them on a cake stand. You can also add in a few faux components, like artificial fruit and leaves. This centerpiece will also sit low, so your guests won’t have to look over tall arrangements to converse.

Dried Leaf Votive

This DIY votive really highlights the slightly translucent nature of fall leaves and magnifies their rich colors. All you need is a spare mason jar, some freshly fallen leaves, and some Modge Podge to pull it off. You can opt to make just one larger jar or make several smaller ones to scatter across your Thanksgiving table.

Magnolia Centerpiece

If you have access to a magnolia tree, add that to the list of things you’re thankful for this year. Magnolia leaves make beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas decor alike. You can put a few sprigs of them in the center of a table and add fresh fruit like pears and apples.

You can also weave in some fake green garland to extend the piece of decor across the entire table. You can save the Magnolia leaves and reuse them in your Christmas decor.

Cornucopia Party Favor

We love a good party favor around here, especially an adorable one like this that could double as decor. A basket of these right by the door will be a lovely touch, or you can put one at each place setting.

All you need to do is fill some waffle cones with goodies like candy corn and wrap the tops with a plastic film tied with twine. Another idea for potential filling could be mini fruit-shaped hard candies or gummies.

Personalized Place Settings

If there’s one piece of DIY Thanksgiving decor you should devote a little extra time to, it’s your place setting cards. Creating personalized name cards is a way to make your guests feel valued.

These adorable hand-lettered cards with a simple stalk of wheat are a perfect example. Instead of wheat, you could also use small dried flower stalks. If your hand lettering skills aren’t quite where you want them to be, you can purchase small letter stickers from a craft store to spell out the names.

Mini Turkey Pumpkins

This quirky-cute DIY Thanksgiving decoration is perfect for the kids‘ table. In fact, you can even ask your kids to help out with making them. Take a few mini pumpkins and hot glue some googly eyes, a beak and a waddle onto the bottom. Then, hot glue some feathers onto the other side. Make several and line them up together along the center of the table.

Pressed Flower Runner

Table runners can add such a nice detail to your Thanksgiving table. This DIY runner will be sure to get you extra compliments. You can make this runner by pounding vibrantly-colored flowers with thin petals into the fabric using a small hammer, and the pigments from the flowers will transfer onto the fabric.

Just a heads up on this project: you won’t want to wash the runner since it can remove the pigment. It’s best to just spot-clean any gravy or pie stains off it.

Greenery in Napkins

Another use for magnolia leaves is to tuck them inside your place setting napkins. They should slide very nicely into your napkin ring holders. you can even flip the leaves and alternate colors between tan and green on every other place setting.

Thankful Banner

Listing out things you are thankful for is always a nice activity for guests to complete while you’re putting the finishing touches on dinner. You can turn this activity into a decor piece by stringing the cards on a garland, and you can keep adding to it year after year.

It can be fun to reminisce on the things you were thankful for in years past. Robin of MammaShire even offers these specific cards as a download. All you need to do is print them on various shades of fall-hued card stock, punch some holes, and then string them with some twine.

Marbleized Acorns

These marbleized acorns look deceptively hard to make, but it’s a beginner-friendly DIY. You can get the full tutorial from Crafterward, but it just basically involves purchasing the right kind of paint and being willing to clean up a little mess.

You can scatter a few across your Thanksgiving table, thoughtfully put one at each place setting, or put them all in a bowl as a centerpiece.

Dried Flower Pumpkins

The faded colors present in dried flowers make for gorgeous fall decor. Dried straw flowers and wheat make stunning toppers for pumpkins of any color. A pumpkin with dried flowers glued on top will not only look beautiful but will make a great conversation piece.

You can choose to put one large dried flower pumpkin in the center of the table or scatter several miniature versions throughout. You can even offer them to your guests as a nice little party favor.

Dried Leaf Place Card

If you’ve got a little time to forage, you shouldn’t have to spend a dime on your Thanksgiving table place cards. When the leaves start to change in October, save a few and press them into books. Come November, pull them out and use a soft felt-tipped marker to write your family members‘ names on them. You can also place a feather next to it and tie it all together with some ribbon that you already have on hand.

Pinecone Garland

This DIY pinecone garland looks pretty complicated to make, but it only requires about $10 in materials and a free afternoon. In her tutorial, Sincerely, Marie Designs explains exactly how to put it together using hot glue and twine. For Thanksgiving, you can tie on a fall-colored ribbon. Then, come Christmas, you can attach a red or green ribbon instead.

Paper Plate Pumpkin Pie Garland

This kid-friendly DIY couldn’t be any more adorable. Take some paper plates with a nice raised edge and paint on some tan crust and orange pie filling. If you’re feeling brave, you can also help them add a layer of glitter between the crust and pie filling. Or, there’s always glitter glue. When everything is dry, finish it all off by gluing on a white cotton ball as a dollop of whipped cream.

Paint Color Sample Card Garland

Orange paint sample cards are also fun materials for a pumpkin pie garland. Explore the orange section and grab a few cards. You can opt to stick with one version of orange or perhaps pick a few different ones out and make an ombré effect with all of it. Have a bit of fun with the crust and glue on a tan fabric with a nice texture.

Felt Pie Garland

If you want to make a pie garland that’s a bit more durable than the paper plate example, felt is a great material to consider. You can give your pie slices a 3-D effect by filling them with stuffing and braiding strips together for the crust. Last but not least, make some charming whipped cream bundles to display on top with a little folding and sewing action.

Thankful Tree

This is another example of DIY Thanksgiving decorations that you can keep adding to each year. Cut out some leaf shapes and have each guest write what they are thankful for on them. Then, put some faux twigs in a vase and tie on the leaves. It may look a bit sparse the first year you start the tradition, but over the years, you may have to start adding more twigs.

Bundle of Wheat

A bundle of wheat stalks with a ribbon tied around it is an understated yet beautiful piece of fall decor. You can make this craft using real or faux wheat. Faux wheat may store a little better than the real deal. If you find that this decor is too tall for your table, you can put it on the buffet that you will be serving food on.

Wooden Place Cards

You never know what a visit to your local craft store will lead you to find. These place cards made from wooden plaques and plastic letters are a wonderful example. If you aren’t able to find any wooden pieces that work just right, you can saw some yourself. You can even save these sturdy name cards and reuse them next year.

Woodland Pumpkins

Get one last bit of use out of your Halloween pumpkins and dress them up for fall. All you need is some felt, buttons, and a little creativity to turn them into woodland creatures like owls and foxes, perfect for gracing your Thanksgiving tablescape. Perch them both on a slice of wood to complete the look.

Pinecone Turkeys

Pinecones start falling in fall, which is perfect timing, considering they make for great Thanksgiving and Christmas decor. Go out foraging, paint your lot metallic gold, and turn them into turkeys using materials like gold foil cupcake liners and crepe paper. You can display a few on each table or on your mantel.

Scrap Fabric Garland

If you’re an avid DIYer, there’s a good chance that you have some fabric scraps collecting dust in a drawer. Pick out all the best fall colors and patterns and simply tie them to a string and bunch them up. You can also visit your local fabric store to look for discounted remnants if you need a few filler pieces. This garland would look great hanging over your mantle or a buffet table at a Thanksgiving feast.

Personalized Pumpkins

Forgo typical place cards and paint a pumpkin set. You can choose to paint real ones or faux ones. If you go with faux, you can give them to your guests as party favors to display with their holiday decor next year. Or, keep them and store them with your seasonal decor to reuse next year.

Dried Orange Garland

Dried orange garland makes a beautiful addition to both your Thanksgiving and Christmas decor. For Thanksgiving, you can drape it along the center of your table with some fall leaf garland. Come December 1, hang it over your mantle with some beautiful evergreen garland. To make dried orange garland, you just need a little patience, a cookie sheet, and an oven.

Handmade Thanks Vases

If you have a stash of empty wine bottles waiting to go to the recycling center, you can up-cycle them yourself with this DIY instead. You’ll start by painting them white. Once they are dry, you can attach layers of burlap ribbon using hot glue. But before you add on that last layer of burlap ribbon, consider painting on letters to spell an on-theme message like „Thanks.“ These vases are the perfect size for displaying a few wheat stalks inside.

Pilgrim Silhouettes

Pay homage to those who journeyed over on the Mayflower with these pilgrim silhouettes. If you have kids, ask them to model for you. Snap a picture of them dressed as little pilgrims and trace their outlines on construction paper. Finish it off with a frame and you’ve got yourself a cute keepsake.

Foraged Centerpiece

You don’t have to spend a fortune on flowers to make your Thanksgiving centerpieces look beautiful. Nature can provide you with everything you need for free. Throughout the fall, pay special attention to the ground while on your walks. Pick up beautiful leaves, pinecones, and feathers you find, and put them all together to create some Thanksgiving beauty.

Corn Husk Wreath

If you plan on making several corn dishes throughout the fall (or for Thanksgiving alone), save your corn husks and turn them into a wreath. You can cut of the ends for a clean look and tie a velvet ribbon on top. Tuck in some wheat stalks for a nice added detail.

Drawn-On Place Settings

Paper table cloths can be a game changer when it comes to hosting Thanksgiving. And as an extra perk, you can draw right on them. Instead of cluttering the table with place cards, write your guests’s names right on the table cloth.

Gather Wreath

Wreaths don’t exactly come cheap these days, but you can dress up a basic one to work with multiple seasons and holidays. Try your hand at making a beautiful Thanksgiving garland to display on a wreath, like this cute one that says „gather.“ Little yarn tassels are super easy to make and will add a nice texture to the mix.

Feather-Inspired Pumpkins

If you painted a set of pumpkins to be extra scary for Halloween, what’s stopping you from giving them a fresh coat of paint for Thanksgiving? Draw inspiration from turkey feathers and paint your pumpkins in various shades of tan and brown with white speckles. Gold always looks great for stems.

Pink Painted Pumpkins

You can also choose to take your painted Thanksgiving pumpkins in more of a simple direction. Instead of painting them with a design, you can paint them just one solid color. Pink is a fun color to experiment with, even though it’s not traditionally found in Thanksgiving decor. It tends to look great with other Traditional Thanksgiving colors, such as orange and gold.

Floral Pumpkins

Blue is another unexpected hue that looks great with other Thanksgiving colors like yellow and orange. Embrace the power of complementary colors, and paint some blue designs on white pumpkins. Simple floral patterns would look great, and may even match your plates.

Pumpkin Pie Place Cards

A pack of cute store-bought place cards can be surprisingly pricey to purchase. Save some money and purchase a few packs of construction paper instead. Then, you can make these adorable pumpkin pie place cards. You can download a template for these adorable ones from A Beautiful Mess. Just don’t forget to add a dollop of whipped cream by gluing on a white pom pom or cotton ball.

Hanging Dried Flowers

Spare the last of your fall blooms before the first frost and hang them upside down to dry in bundles. Not only can you use them for dried flower arrangements later, but you can also hang them above your table as whimsical DIY Thanksgiving decorations.

And just because you’re decorating with dried flowers doesn’t mean you need to stick with dried flower arrangements for the table. Dried flowers look great next to fresh flowers.

Ribbons on Wine

The bow trend is still alive and well, and one way to bring it into your Thanksgiving decor is via your wine bottles. Simply tie some ribbons around your red, white, and nonalcoholic wine options. You can display them all next to each other on a wine cart or disperse them throughout the table setting.

These bows would also look great on candle sticks and around napkins and utensils in lieu of napkin rings. You can repurpose all the bows in your Christmas decor by tying them on your tree.