All you need to make an easy Thanksgiving centerpiece is just a few autumnal elements that suggest an abundant harvest.

Here’s a list of just some of the items that are often used to make Thanksgiving table decorations.

Basket – perhaps a cornucopia basket.
Cake Stand
Compote
Jug or pitcher
Vase
Seasonal flowers – the red, yellow, and orange, hues of dahlias, chrysanthemums, or roses, work really well.
Mini pumpkins –  a larger pumpkin can make an unusual vase.
Gourds
Apples
Pears
Grapes – both red and green would be a good choice.
Pomegranates
Acorns
Wheat
Nuts – maybe chestnuts, hazelnuts, or walnuts.
Candles
Autumn foliage – perhaps oak leaves, or berry branches, or other Fall branches with their autumn fruits (like quince) or russet colored leaves.

PS. Your farmers’ market or grocery store is a great place to find affordable, seasonal flowers, fruit, and vegetables.  Also, this year, why not get the kids involved in making their own special Thanksgiving centerpieces.

But these spooky cutters are not just great for making cookies, they’re also ghoulishly good for cutting sandwiches into fun shapes.

This simple Halloween treat for kids is really easy to achieve, and it’s sure to be a hit with your children too!

After gathering your bunch of nature’s winter finery, fill a glass vase two-thirds full with tap water – a glass vase that’s wider at the base than at the top, and about 5 inches or so high, is a good kind to use.  Then – cutting the end off of each stem as you go – arrange your stems of greenery, blooms, and berries one by one in your vase.

And there you have it – a Christmas centerpiece that’s easy to make and inexpensive too!

Incidentally, depending on the region in which you live – and of course the weather – you may have some forsythia flowering in your garden.  If so the branches of the forsythia shrub, with their pretty yellow flowers, are just perfect for this kind of Christmas table arrangement.

Happy Christmas!

The moon glows eerily bright
As witches on broomsticks begin their flight
Down In the streets roam the green eyed cats
While low in the sky fly the scary bats
Ghosts walk free in the cold night air
Go out tonight if you dare.

Happy Halloween!

Pitchers, votive holders, egg cups, tumblers, sugar bowls and creamers, jelly jars, small watering cans and pails are just some of the items that can work really well as containers for flowers.

So be creative and brighten up your home with a pretty flower arrangement that’s just that little bit out of the ordinary.

P.S. Please, only use containers for flowers that you no longer use for food or drink.

1.  Homemade heart shaped cookies.

2.  Homemade cupcakes, iced, and adorned with pretty sugar roses or heart shaped cake decorations.

3.  Tasty heart shaped sandwiches – simply use a cookie cutter to cut sandwiches into sweet heart shapes.

Don’t forget there are lots of scrumptious Valentine themed goodies in the shops too.  Including chocolate hearts, heart shaped cookies, conversation hearts, and lollipops.  These are sure to make someone special smile.

P.S For a fun and easy Valentines party table centerpiece, simply fill a vase with flower or heart shaped lollipops.

Have a happy Valentine’s Day.

• Cut out your cookie dough with Halloween themed cookie cutters.

• Decorate cupcakes and ice-cream with sugar sprinkles – like ghosts and pumpkins or maybe with orange and black colored sprinkles.

• Use cupcake paper liners with a scary design.

• Take a look at the wide range of spookily shaped molds available  – they’re perfect for making cupcakes, ice-cream, jello, ice and candy.

• Decorate your table with confetti cats, broomsticks and cauldrons.

• Use paper cups, plates and napkins with a Halloween pattern -  this is an eerie good idea.

And don’t forget at this time of year there’s lots of good quality but cheap Halloween candy and cakes in the shops – great for kids of all ages.

❀ Hang or place lavender sachets in your linen cupboard.  Lavender is said to be good for deterring moths – and it smells nice too.

❀ To give your linens a light fragrance, line your linen cupboard shelves with scented drawer liners.

❀ Label any bags or wrappings that linens are stored in, or label the shelves.  This way it only takes a minute to find just what you’re looking for.

❀ Try to keep different sized sheets, as well as those that are fitted and those that are flat in different piles.  This will save you having to unfold them to check what kind they are, and whether they’re for a kids, queen or king bed etc.  Alternatively keep bed sets together.

❀ Use baskets and boxes to organize some of your linens.

❀ If you have pillows that you rarely use, a good suggestion is to store them at the top of your cupboard, and to put the things you use more often on shelves that are to hand.

Hope you find them helpful.

If you get oil-based paint or tar on your hands, try using a little wax furniture polish – it should come off in seconds.

P.S. don’t forget to wash your hands afterward.

❀ Keep it simple.

❀ Depending on the occasion and if appropriate, plan your guest list, menu, theme, decorations, centerpiece, games, gifts and favors well in advance.

❀ Make lists and check them off when you complete a task, or have shopped for an item or ingredient.

❀ For a sit-down meal its a good idea to stick to recipes that you have made before, and been happy with the result.

❀ Setting your table prettily or elegantly to suit the occasion will set the mood of the event and help to get your party off to a good start.

❀ Choosing a simple table centerpiece such as an arrangement of fresh flowers, or items that tie in with the time of year or an event will help to decorate your table and add to the ambiance of the occasion.

❀ Don’t forget to make sure you have enough plates, cutlery, glasses and linen.

❀ Background music is a good idea as music can help to lighten or set the mood of an event.

❀ Allow plenty of time to decorate a room or garden, making a centerpiece, setting the table, preparing the food and getting yourself, and if appropriate your family, ready – these always take longer than you think.

❀ Remember to make sure your bathroom is ready for your guests, with fresh towels etc.

❀ If possible try and enlist the help of a relative or friend.

❀ Stay calm and enjoy the party.