Thanksgiving Place Card Ideas from the Hardware Store

By Zoë Gowen

Who knew how much fun you can have with Thanksgiving place card ideas when you get creative at home improvement stores!

Thanksgiving decorating can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be if you can make it a little bit fun with some creativity. Homemade Thanksgiving decorations can be really fun and a great way to get the kids involved. DIY Thanksgiving decorating ideas are endless, but we think a clever approach is to shop the aisles of our local home improvement stores to get some inspiration for great Thanksgiving table décor. Chances are you may have some of these things lying about in your garage or your tool shed. These are also great ways to get the whole family involved in creating your Thanksgiving decor. Give tasks to each person to appeal to their interests. If Dad loves perusing the aisles at the local home improvement list, send him on his way armed with a list of all the things you'll need. Kids will also love to get in on the action. And, we venture to guess, they'll love telling guests that they are the talent behind each place card setting. 

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Miniature Pots & Spray Paint

Courtesy of Home Depot

Spruce up small terracotta pots with green and purple metallic spray paints. Plant lavender in the purple pots and rosemary in the green pots, write guests names on small plant sticks in each one. Alternating colors, place a pot at every guest’s spot. Bonus! These will double as party favors.

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Address Letters

Courtesy of atgstores.com

You won’t even need to pick up a pen with this one. Purchase a residential house letter to match the first initial for each guests’ name. Using twine or ribbons, tie it to a rolled napkin at each place setting. See more about folding napkins.

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Butcher Paper and Electrical Tape

Courtesy of Lowes

Skip the formal white tablecloth this year and opt for butcher paper instead. Cover the whole table with the paper. Mark out a square for each place setting with thin black electrical tape. Above the square, place another strip of tape and write the guest’s name above it in a large graphic font or paint it on with stencils.

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Wire Turkeys

Courtesy of Lowes

Put on your sculptor’s hat to shape 18 gauge copper wire into quirky turkeys—the goofier the better. Start the turkey by making an oval shaped “ball” for the body, a smaller “ball” for the head, and a big fan shaped loop for the tail feathers. Wire it all together, place the turkey on the plate, and slip the place card through the tail feathers.

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Candlelight and Copper

Courtesy of Home Depot

Purchase a package of tea light candles ($16.86/100 at HomeDepot.com) and copper mesh sheeting. For each place setting, write the guest’s name on a card with a black marker. Cut a square of the copper sheeting, large enough to fold in two and fit the place card. Attach the shimmery place card to the tea candle with twine or place the candle on top of the card if you prefer. Place each one of these on top of the salad plate and light the candle right before guests sit. Watch them be amazed at the glow and shimmer. They would look perfect with this table setting.

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