Thanksgiving Decor - Golden!

This year, I decorated the Thanksgiving table around an heirloom: the stunning gold-plated flatware that my father inherited this year from my great-grandmother Doris Stillman Frazier, rest in peace. She survived the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II, and the deaths of her son and husband, the latter who was a veteran of the Pacific Theater. She gave my father some of his fondest memories of holidays, with her always welcoming, loving, and stable home. To honor her, I wanted to design a Thanksgiving table that highlighted these prized heirlooms.

To make the flatware's hue stand out, I chose a dark brown table cloth from Target and black napkins from Bed Bath and Beyond. I added gold chargers from Michaels under my mother's beautiful Johnson Brothers "Friendly Village" dinnerware. My favorite glasses, amber Helianthus goblets from Anthropologie, continued the gold theme.

Right before dinner, I lit taper, pillar, and floating candles on the sideboard and on the dining room table, which bathed the room in an amber glow.

So much fun - and so affordable to do, considering that most of the items were things I already owned. The beautiful goblet-style votive holders were my one splurge, and they came from Country Crafters in historic Ellicott City.

My mother made delicious pumpkin and acorn squash soup totally from scratch - and yep, that means baking the squash and scooping it all out, kudos to her! She also spoiled us with chicken breasts with traditional stuffing and, for dessert, pumpkin creme brulee. All of which, coincidentally, went perfectly with the golden hue of our Thanksgiving.

My family and I would like to incorporate this heirloom flatware in our holiday celebrations from now on, and since I am loving the idea of a Victorian / Dickensian Christmas, Grandma's gold flatware would be a gorgeous touch. Nothing like decor to transport you to whatever country or era you want. Or, in this case, to keep the spirit of someone we love near us.