Home Is Where Gratitude Grows: 10 Cozy Ways to Celebrate

Grandma’s stuffing. Aunt Jane’s silly jokes. Pies side by side across the counter. Great Uncle Paul asleep in the corner chair after dinner. So many images come to mind when you think of Thanksgiving Day. Watching the Macy’s Day Parade in your pajamas while tantalizing odors drift from the kitchen then the Westminster Dog show comes on, and everyone oohs and aahs over the adorable pups. All of these memories have a single thread that runs through them: home. The memories may look different through your individual lens, but the foundation is the same. We all think of home, and that is why Thanksgiving matters.  

Here are some cozy Thanksgiving Day ideas to celebrate your gratitude with the ones you love.

Set the Scene for a Cozy Atmosphere 

Think of your senses: sight, sound, smell, and touch. If you can incorporate one or more of these, you can create a cozy atmosphere in your home at Thanksgiving.  

Sight 

Lighting is a mood setter. Try dimming the lights over the dining table or add candles to your table. If using candles, find unscented ones—you don’t want to compete with those delicious odors drifting from the food!  

You can also hang warm string lights to add a soft touch to the room. It can also add a party atmosphere depending on the light you choose, so be careful! 

Sound

Background music sets the tone. At Thanksgiving, you can play at low volume an instrumental playlist of holiday tunes. Perhaps you’re not ready to introduce holiday music just yet. In that case, soft jazz or classical music can do the trick! Either way, keep the volume low so as not to interfere with conversation.  

Smell 

You might be thinking the scents from the kitchen will be enough. However, you can enhance these scents. Try putting a pot on the stove filled with water, orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and a few star anise. Start this Thanksgiving potpourri a few hours before your guests arrive.  

You might also add small arrangements of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme to your table setting to enhance the wonderful odors emitting from your food.  

Touch 

Comfort is the name of the game here. If possible, invest in comfortable chairs around the dining table. For post-dinner, soft faux-fur or chunky knit blankets can be tossed over couches and chairs to invite your guests to settle in and relax.  

Add a few pillows to invite the post-dinner snooze. Remember to choose autumnal colors to keep the Thanksgiving theme alive.  

Try using soft, natural synthetics on the table like linen or cotton. You can add a tablecloth or even a table runner. You can also add natural elements as décor like pine cones or small gourds. 

Expand Your Hosting Space with Flexible Living Areas 

Open Up Your Floorplan 

Sometimes the best plan is to move furniture out of the way. Move big items against the wall. If possible, even remove non-necessary items from the room altogether, like decorative tables or bookshelves. Pick up rugs that “designate” rooms to create a wide, open feel to your space. Make sure all your doors are open and kept open.  

Use the Buffet Strategy 

Avoid setting up the buffet in the kitchen or dining room. Instead, use a console in the living room or a folding table in the entryway. This reduces the bottleneck that occurs where people are trying to eat their dinner.  

Stagger drink stations: create a non-alcoholic station and a cocktail/beer/wine station in two distinct areas to keep traffic separated.  

Post-Dinner 

After dinner and dessert, lay down throw pillows and blankets in the dining room. Set up board games on the dining room table. Encourage guests to use the dining room in addition to the main living area to spread out.  

Want more ideas to make your home the bustling center of Thanksgiving celebrations? Visit Great Day Improvements for even more ideas. 

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Ready to make your home the heart of holiday celebrations? Explore our gallery for inspiration.

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Put Gratitude and Family at the Center 

Make a Family Gratitude Jar 

A family gratitude jar is a wonderful tradition that everyone in the family can enjoy. From young to old, it is an exercise of love and gratitude. Dedicate a mason jar or something similar and provide small slips of paper with pens or pencils. Place the jar on your dining table, and ask your guests to write something they are grateful for on a slip of paper prior to dinner.  

When everyone is seated at dinner, the host removes the slips of paper and reads them aloud. Or, as a twist, the host may give the gratitude slip to the author to read for themselves.  

Share Thanks at the Table Before Dinner 

Another wonderful tradition is to ask everyone seated at the table to express what they are thankful for before the start of dinner. One by one, each person states one thing that has brought them joy, gratitude, or thankfulness in the past year.  

Cozy Corners for Relaxation and Gratitude 

Whether your guests are staying overnight or there for the day, giving them the chance to relax and express their gratitude is a wonderful way of expressing your own gratitude for their presence.  

The Gratitude Station 

Create an area in your home—perhaps a quiet corner, nook, or even a guest room. The station can be created in several different ways.  

• The gratitude jar—like the jar used at the dinner table, place a jar with slips of paper and ask your guests to write something they’re grateful for and place the slip of paper in the jar.  
• The gratitude tree—Place bare branches in a vase. Provide slips of paper with a small hole punch and some twine, or yarn. Ask your guests to write something they’re grateful for and add the paper to one of the branches.  
• The gratitude journal—ask your guests to add their gratitude to the journal. You might even provide prompts like: I am thankful for the chance to…; A lesson I learned this year was…; I appreciate [a person] because…; A simple joy I experience this year was… 

Relaxation Station 

Similar to the gratitude station, find an area away from the main party where guests can find peace and quiet.  

• Add some adult coloring books for mindful entertainment. 
• Meditation cards with short breathing exercises 
• Reading materials 

Cozy Up with Some Fun Entertainment 

Waiting for Dinner 

While you wait for that special meal, you might entertain your guests with pre-made Thanksgiving Bingo cards. You can also create a short, 10-question or less, Thanksgiving-themed trivia game—make it competitive and place your guests in teams! 

Post-Dinner 

You know your guests best. Some might want to take advantage of the Relaxation or Gratitude stations. Others may want to catch up on the annual football games. Still others like to gather around and play games or enjoy entertainment together.  

You might prepare ahead of time a family, photo montage to play at this time.  

Or a game of Charades or Pictionary as a family is a fun, inclusive activity.  

Some family members want to burn off those calories! For those guests, they can head outdoors for some touch football. If the weather is uncooperative, try an active game on the Wii.  

Make Personalized Thanksgiving Decorations 

DIY Thanksgiving Decoration Ideas 

Whether you’re watching your pennies, enjoy crafting, or want to get your kids involved in the preparations, everyone can create something on their own.  

If you’re just starting out, cranberry vases are beautiful and simple. Take a clear, glass vase with a little water. Add some cranberries and a floating tea light and voila! You’ve got a homemade addition to your table.  

Also for the table, you can scatter mini pumpkins, small gourds, pears, and apples the length of your table runner. Fill in the gaps with dried leaves, pinecones, and fresh rosemary and thyme. Then intertwine white fairy lights or small votives.  

For the kids (some adult supervision required), gather fall construction paper, twine and a hole punch. Cut out shapes of leaves from the construction paper. Have the kids write down something they’re grateful for on the leaves. Punch a hole in each leaf. String the twine through the holes of each leaf, and you have a garland to drape across your mantle.  

Thanksgiving Day for many is the unofficial start of the holiday season. Time to start shopping, put up a tree, and decorate your home for all to enjoy. While trees and lights are popular and beautiful, Great Day has a fun activity for the whole family: paper snowflakes!  

Visit Great Day Improvement’s blog for instructions on how to create these wonderful paper snowflakes and start decorating your home and windows today! 

Indoor-Outdoor Living: Bring the Fun Outside 

Patio or Deck Gathering Ideas 

The patio and deck spaces are wonderful additions to your Thanksgiving hosting. You can designate the coffee and dessert bar to the patio—especially if you’re in a milder climate zone and it’s comfortable to eat outside.  

For the cooler climates, you can fire up the pit and set the deck chairs around it. Don’t forget the hot chocolate! A s’mores bar would add to the ambience as well.  

The key is to remember to make it cozy and warm. At this time of year, you’ll need to remember lighting. Add some string lighting to keep the ambience alive. You might need to add some heat as well. There are propane heaters or warm blankets can do the trick too! 

Create a Hot Beverage Station 

That hot beverage station will be key, especially if you plan to utilize your outdoor space. Coffee and tea are a must, but you can add hot chocolate in all kinds of flavors to appeal to the younger guests (and even the older ones with a sweet tooth!) 

Keep Your Home Tidy Before, During, & After Thanksgiving 

This can be a major stress factor for many hosts. The better prepared you are, the more you’ll enjoy your day! 

Before 

• Declutter and put away anything non-essential. Designate “off-limits” zones and keep these areas locked away. If you have to box things up and take them to the basement temporarily, that’s okay too.  
• Clear your entryway. It’s the first thing guests see.  
• Make sure the dishwasher is empty.  
• Tidy the bathroom—set out fresh towels, refill soap. Create a small basket with extra toilet paper and a scented candle. 
• If you haven’t yet: be sure to winterize your home before the weather gets too cold.

During 

• Place trash bins in key areas so litter isn’t lying about the house.  
• Clean as you go in the kitchen—this way dirty dishes don’t pile up taking up valuable real estate in your kitchen. 
• Keep disinfectant wipes handy, so you can clean up spills immediately.  

After 

• Do a quick tidy up after dinner—ask the kids to help. 
• Clear the table and get the dishes into the empty dishwasher. 
• Have Tupperware ready before dinner and know who is taking home leftovers. 

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Great Day Improvements has helped countless homeowners prepare their homes with ideals spaces for holiday celebrations and more. Contact us to see what we can do for you! 

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