Christmas Tree – This is my hobby.

I was thrilled to host Thanksgiving this year, not only because I love spending time with my family, but also because it gave me an excuse to create a holiday themed tablescape.

In recent years I’ve gotten more and more into tablescapes.

It’s another outlet for creativity, and I like pulling things from around my house to place down the middle of my dining table.

I’ve pulled framed photos, shells, and collected trinkets for my tables when hosting friends and family.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like almost anything goes for a tablescape.

You want bows? Butterflies? Bird houses? Tie and stick them onto candle holders or table runners and make it a thing!

(My husband was sure to tell me that placing miniature chairs down the middle is a little insane — I just love a miniature piece of furniture, okay?!)

This holiday, I’ve had a lot of fun thrifting specifically for my tablescapes.

Here, I’m sharing the details on where I sourced all the items for my Thanksgiving table.

Goblets – Goodwill West Palm Beach
Glasses – Home Goods (I store these separately / away from our daily use cabinets so nobody can break them, and only bring them out for guests)
Flatware – Passed down from my mother-in-law
Crystal candle holders – wedding gifts
Pink taper candles – Goodwill West Palm Beach
Beaded/wooden candle holder – Nearly New Thrift Shop West Palm Beach

Napkin rings – thrifted and gifted from a friend
Fall wreath – Goodwill West Palm Beach
Bronze candle holders – passed down from my mom
Dark blue dessert plates – Goodwill West Palm Beach
White & blue dessert plates – thrifted & gifted from my mother-in-law

Floral urn – Nearly New Shop West Palm Beach
Block print napkins – Etsy
White vessel thingy I used as a candle holder – thrifted & gifted from my mom
Glass cake stand I used as a candle holder – found at a garage sale years ago

Baby girl made this sweet centerpiece at school!
Teacup I used as a candle holder – thrifted & gifted from my mom
Dinner plates – fiestaware; I chose dark blue plates for our family’s everyday use because the color hides scratches and they look nicer longer!

It felt like a blessing to be able to make my table beautiful for friends and family to gather around — I hope your Thanksgiving was fab, too!

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Last week’s thrifted ‘fits & highlights:

Easy breezy dress from Goodwill West Palm Beach

GAP shirt dress, linen pants, Target sandals from Goodwill West Palm Beach

I left this at Goodwill and kinda regret it!!!

Top from Goodwill West Palm Beach, Madewell jeans from Goodwill Boutique in Boca Raton

Cutie frog earrings from A Timeless Treasure West Palm Beach

Shells and rocks from Goodwill West Palm Beach styled in one of my plant pots

Still screaming over this bag found at Goodwill West Palm Beach — the red and the bamboo handles!

Button up from my Denver Goodwill haul, MANGO bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach

I styled an area in my bedroom with shells, a basket, and design books from Goodwill West Palm Beach

This basket from Goodwill West Palm Beach is solving a clutter problem on my desk!

The weekend before Thanksgiving is “Christmas Tree Weekend” in our house.

Since our daughter was born, it has been magical to reinvigorate holiday traditions — naturally, the teenage boys are less interested these days.

We only truly began defining the elements of Christmas Tree Weekend a few years ago, really.

There aren’t many tree lots open this early, but we found one in Boynton Beach. So, the tradition is that we pile into the car and hit shuffle on our Christmas playlist for the first time.

It’s the official start of a nonstop loop of Christmas music from now ’til the new year.

Picking out the tree is always a battle between Vince and me. I want a smaller, more manageable tree, he wants a sky scraper. I think we met in the middle this year.

We take a family photo and Vince always requests the guys save a slice of tree trunk to turn into an ornament — he uses a wood burner to make them every year.

Elaine was 8 months old for her first Christmas, and picked out an ornament at the tree lot. So, we always have her pick out an ornament! These beautiful beaded ornaments support makers in a Guatemalan village.

After we lug the tree in, the Christmas music continues, we don our matching jammies, and start decorating.

As you know, I love to decorate my home, but for the holidays I don’t do much. The tree is the main event.

Elaine is three, and it’s the first time she’s truly aware of tree decorating, which made this extra special.

She was so thoughtful about each ornament she placed (and screamed for us to look each time 🤪).

Elaine loved seeing the ornaments her brothers made at her age, and I imagine she’ll love it even more as she gets older.

We added another layer to the tradition this weekend: we took a break from decorating to order Chinese food and eat it while watching a Christmas movie.