thankful for hobby lobby

So, this year is the first time I've hosted Thanksgiving dinner.

Since I love a cute table for a celebration, I rounded up all my "fall" stuff, and it just wasn't cutting it. I knew I needed SOMETHING to cute-n things up a little, but I didn't have anything.

So I headed to Hobby Lobby for a 40% off something-or-other, and found this adorable buffalo plaid table runner! For FIVE BUCKS!

I also had to buy the name tags because they were adorable. So with one runner being 40% off, I spent about $11. And it totally sealed the deal. Oh wait, I also bought the roll of ribbon for 50% off, which I will use many more times I'm sure.

Other things that I had on hand that helped the decor were the lantern, the eucalyptus (also purchased at hobby lobby for 40% off), the lights and pumpkins (from Target dollar spot a couple years ago). But the black napkins were leftover from another bday party, and the white ones that I added the ribbon and eucalyptus leaf to were just totally plain napkins that I fancied up a little instead of buying the already cute ones.

The best part about the table runner is that it is technically disposable, which is why it's cheap, but it's also wipe-able, which means I'll be using these babies for Lilian's Christmas party next weekend. WOOT! I'm always talking about cost-per-use, and if I use these a couple more times for parties, we're talking LOW cost-per-use.

Also, if you look closely, you'll see that the silverware is all mismatching, and wine(ish) glasses as well. But hey, we made it work, and it's good enough. ;)

Here's the final product:

Anyway, considering how simple this was and the reaction from the guests, I figured maybe it was worth being my very first post. And you better believe I'll be adding some red and green accents and writing names in red to reuse this stuff for Christmas (I gotta hurry before the buffalo plaid goes out of style). ha!

Overall tips:

-buy generic things instead of holiday specific so you can use them again.

-gather whatever stuff you have around the house for your main area of focus

-layering is cute (name tag and white napkin over a black napkin was way cuter than the napkins NOT layered on the plate.)

Anyway... that's it.

Do I wish I had a bunch more pumpkins? yes.

Is it good enough? also yes. :)

-Andrea