My entire family came to visit a few weeks ago and we celebrated an early Thanksgiving together. This is a new tradition we established a few years ago and I love having our gathering in October instead of the usual Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve always thought the Canadians had the right idea by celebrating in October and now we do that too. It’s less expensive for those who want to fly because it’s not peak travel time. It’s less crowded on the roads, and the weather is usually much better than late November. I also like that it puts more space between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Several family members helped me set the table and it was fun to have their creative input on what dishes to use (I have multiple sets). My husband had the idea to put fresh fall leaves on the table and I really think that was the perfect finishing touch! I don’t have a link for the table runner because I had it custom made to fit our long table. Here are some other links:

• Crate & Barrel Marin dishes that go with everything! I’ve had mine for years and I still love them.

• Wooden salad plate - a bit of a luxury and they are not dishwasher safe. I can’t remember where I got these. Check amazon or Etsy.

• Silver chargers - these are on clearance right now at Pottery Barn!

• A great basic silverware set that is well made.

• Simple white cloth napkins

• Bird napkin rings - no longer available but I bet you could find something similar

• Woven chargers - I think these came from Crate & Barrel a few years ago? Lots of places have similar ones.

We had a very traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, creamed corn, Brussels sprouts, rolls, and a new twist this year - cranberry salsa (without the cream cheese) instead of cranberry sauce. It was all very tasty!

Katie the Creative Lady