Decorating For Christmas When You Are Hosting Thanksgiving

When it comes to holiday decorating there are those that decorate before Thanksgiving and those that wait until after.

I typically wait until after because I host Thanksgiving and want to maintain that cozy fall vibe for my guests.

I also like to follow nature and what's happening outside when decorating inside.

The New Jersey weather can be warm one day and cool the next, so I prefer to keep fall around until the day after Thanksgiving.

Some years, Thanksgiving falls so late in November that I want to decorate earlier but don't want to sacrifice the autumnal flavor until after the last fall gathering.

And now, we are talking about skiing on Thanksgiving weekend so I don't want to wait much longer to get started.

Since I want to start decorating sooner, how can I balance the two so I don't leave ALL of my decorating until the day after Thanksgiving?

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How to Decorate for Fall and Christmas Before Thanksgiving — Blending neutral and natural elements of both seasons is the perfect solution to decorating before Thanksgiving without losing that fall vibe.

Decorate with a Transitional Theme

My solution is to infuse the two and decorate with a transitional theme I'm calling "Fristmas."

Fristmas is that time of the year when you want to decorate for the holidays but want to keep fall around for a little bit longer.

It is perfect for those years when Thanksgiving arrives in late November.

Blending both means we can decorate earlier while still keeping the fall vibe going through Thanksgiving.

The best way to achieve this is to tone down the fall colors while adding winter greens and other natural elements to your decor.

After Thanksgiving, the neutral fall items will get swapped out for Christmas glitz.

Decorating for the holidays will go much quicker this way and we can have the best of both worlds through Thanksgiving. It's a win-win!

So here's what I've been doing since the weekend.

I gathered all of my fall bins and started putting away any pumpkins or faux florals that are orange or rust-colored.

Anything that is green, white, or neutral, I am keeping out.

I started pulling out my winter green bins – not my holiday stuff – just the greens and natural elements.

This includes pinecones, evergreen twigs, small trees, white berry sprigs, and anything else that would work with a transitional theme.

Thanksgiving Table Decor — How gorgeous is this vintage wooden toolbox?

How to Decorate for Thanksgiving with a Transitional Theme

While in Vermont a few weekends ago, I found this cool vintage toolbox in Vermont while antiquing with Shana.

The moment I saw this toolbox, I knew it would be perfect to house a centerpiece on my dining room table for Thanksgiving.

I immediately envisioned small evergreen trees, greens, gold pumpkins, pinecones, and fairy lights stuffed inside.

Because I don't want autumnal colors in this arrangement, I painted some pumpkins gold.

It is glitzy enough for winter decor, yet still looks like a neutral fall.

I saved myself a trip to the craft store because I had two faux pumpkins laying around that I did not mind painting.

I had gold chalk paint on hand so I applied two coats of paint on each.

After they were dry, I added a coat of clear wax to protect the color.

While painting these, I remembered having some real pumpkins that I didn't need anymore from another area in my home.

Instead of throwing them out, I painted them to use at each place setting.

Once the pumpkins were dry, I started designing my Thanksgiving toolbox centerpiece.

I started with three small evergreen trees then tucked in the two larger gold pumpkins.

As filler, I then added faux evergreen sprigs, pinecones, and a few small gold pumpkins.

When finished, I wrapped battery operated fairy lights (paid link) around the toolbox handle and winter greens.

For each table setting, I started with my favorite cedar branch placemat from Pier 1.

On top, I added this gorgeous antique melamine charger, then topped it off with a Lenox dinner plate, gold napkin, Lenox salad plate, and small gold pumpkins.

I will add place cards that will be attached to the small gold pumpkins.

Sneak Peak of My Fireplace Mantel

I just started decorating my mantel and incorporated some gold pumpkins with my winter greens.

I'm giving you a little sneak peek because my fireplace decor is not completely done yet.

But I wanted to show you where it is going in case you want to try a transitional theme too.

For the greens, I bought a gorgeous faux garland, tucked in a few extra branches, added two small trees, five oversized pinecones, white berry sprigs, gold pumpkins and fairy lights.

What do you think so far?

I love how cozy and natural it feels!

When we are done hosting Thanksgiving, I'll swap out all of the gold pumpkin decor for holiday glitz.

The change will be quick and simple. I am also starting to work on my stair garland but will keep it to simple greens and lights until after Thanksgiving.

What Do You Think?

While I was playing around with different tablescapes, I wasn't sure how I wanted to decorate my Thanksgiving table this year.

I am really glad that vintage find inspired me because I love my Fristmas theme!

While I've been using that vintage metal planter centerpiece you've seen in my blogs lately, I wanted to change it up this Thanksgiving and do something different.

That vintage toolbox looks so cool with the small trees and gold pumpkins.

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