Decorating for Thanksgiving

Did you know that the first Swanson’s TV Dinner menu, presented to the public in 1952, was geared to Thanksgiving?  It consisted of turkey, gravy, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes and buttered peas. Created because the Swanson Food Company had ordered 12 tons more turkey than they could sell in the conventional way, TV dinners heralded the beginning of an era in which many family meals would be eaten in the living room, in front of the “One-Eyed Monster.”During the following decades, the dining room began to be eliminated from the floor plans of tract housing and apartments.  Although we cling to the vision of a huge dining or kitchen table heaped with our Thanksgiving feasts, most families nowadays actually eat this exalted meal in the living room.  For one thing, the seating there is more comfortable for the drowsy feeling that tends to set in after eating turkey.In some homes, the front entrance leads directly into this room, and it should be the focus of decorating efforts, hinted at from the outside by an autumn-themed wreath or garland on the front door.There are many iconic themes and items for Thanksgiving decorations, but if you want yours to be special, look to family traditions that make your results unique.  This is appropriate whether or not your guests will be family members.  Even if your figurines, wreaths, garlands of brightly-colored leaves, special serving dishes, and so forth are completely unmatched to each other, the key to a harmoniously eclectic setting is that it’s all tied together by the fact that each of the components was chosen by you.The CornucopiaThe autumn date of Thanksgiving represents the bringing in of the harvest, from a time when America was a more rural, farm-focused society.  The traditional representation of this concept is the cornucopia.  These can be bought as basketry or ceramics, or even made by you, by forming woven bread dough (with a braided or twisted edge) over a canning colander. (Be sure to grease the outside of the colander first, for easy removal after baking.) The bread version can be made days ahead and allowed to dry near (or above) a heat register.  To turn it into a centerpiece for the sideboard or a coffee table, line it with paper towels and fill with apples, apricots, oranges, gourds, nuts, etc., all chosen in a small size so that they will nestle comfortably inside without dwarfing the appearance of the container.  Tuck the edges of the paper towel out of sight behind the fruit nearest the front.Autumn Garlands, WreathsThe components of these traditional items of decoration can be bought quite inexpensively.  Check first at stores that charge only $1 for each item.  Whatever you can’t find there, you can fill in at conventional stores.For the ardent do-it-yourselfer, go out when the natural leaves on trees and shrubs are at their brightest, and cut branches of them no more than 3/8" thick at the base.  Smash the bottom 4" of the stems with a hammer, and put them, bouquet-style, into a vase with a solution of 1 part glycerin to 3 parts water, about 5" deep.  Put them away for at least 2 weeks in a dry, dim area.  The branches and leaves will drink up the glycerin water, retaining the color at which you picked them, and will resist drying out, sometimes for years.  They will be fairly flexible for fashioning into garlands, wreaths, or simply displayed as bouquets.  You can mix and match natural and artificial parts of a display very attractively.The most pleasing decorations are those that are distinct, from one holiday to another.  Recently the line has been blurred somewhat, with strings of orange “pumpkin” or white “ghost” lights looking, from a few doors away, as if someone on the block is rushing the Christmas season.  This is not to suggest that you shouldn’t do something that looks pretty to you.  After all, it IS basically for your enjoyment.  Also, there is one time when one season really does run into the next: Halloween decorations, with their pumpkins and autumn colors, can be segued into Thanksgiving adornments simply by removing the skeletons and witches, and tucking in turkeys and pilgrims where they were.

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