I have a very large family so lots of prep work goes in to Thanksgiving, from getting all the tables set and making sure we have enough turkey and sides it is quite the process, my jobs including making Mac and cheese, and decorating. Putting together the centerpieces for each table is one of my favorite jobs I have. Last year I made them and shared how I did in on my stories but it was a much smaller scale since it was only 4 of us at dinner, this year there are nearly 50 people so thats lots of tables with lots of centerpieces. I use three simple things, a sugar pumpkin, fall flowers from the food store and a plastic cup or an old can.
How to:
To start cut the top of the pumpkin where the stem is n a circle as you would if you were going to carve the pumpkin for Halloween. Usually I trace the top fo the cup so it is roughly the same size. This just makes fitting it in easier down the line.
Second, this step is the gross if you do not like gutting a pumpkin. Once you have that top removed you take out as much of the insides as you can,. It doesn’t have to be perfect since you won’t be putting a flame in it as you would if it was becoming a Jack-o-lantern. Just enough so the cup or can fits nicely. I typically use a large spoon or my hands depending how mess I feel like getting and how fresh my manicure is lol. This might take a couple tries. Now is the best time to tweak the top to make it just the right size for the cup.
Once you have the cup fit nicely in the pumpkin fill it with water, the water will be hard to get in once the flowers are all arranged. There are two options for putting in the flowers. One, you can create a grid with scotch tape, this will help the flowers take shape. Two you can just start arranging them how ever you want with no grid. I have done both ways and personally I like to arrange with out the grid, I think it allows for more room for more flowers.
Arranging the Flowers:
Cut the stems as you go and cut little by little because once you cut to much there is no going back and you are stuck with a stem that is to short. Play with colors and mixing them and making sure they look full on top of the pumpkin. Lastly I typically had a bow to them to complete the look! The one pictured here I forgot but I think the bow gives it a nice finishing touch.
There you have an easy centerpiece for your Thanksgiving trample you can make using things you find at your local food store. Stay tune on instagram stories next Wednesday afternoon, I will be sharing how they came out for this years Thanksgiving dinner!
With love by the sea,
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