High style, half-disposable Thanksgiving table

This year, Thanksgiving is on you. You’re having your side, his side, so & so who’s in town, them, he, she, oh-no-not-him and Aunt Judy. Whoever’s coming, that’s a lot of stuffing, quite a few folding chairs and a LOT of dishes.

While I can’t help you with the 20lb monster you’ll be cooking, I can help make your table look fabulous AND make the after-meal clean up a breeze. With a high style, half-disposable, Thanksgiving table, you’ll have a tablescape to be proud of and a lot less dishes to do!

Oh, and did I mention it was cheap, too? It cost just $9, mostly thanks to one of my favorite stores, Dollar Tree! My table is set for 4, but this same table setting for 12 would only cost $2 more. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Half and Half Plating: Half disposable plates and half real plates make for half the clean up! Here I used festive disposable appetizer plates and my everyday plates for dinner plates. Cost: Leaf motif (hey that rhymes!) app plates were 14 for $1 at Dollar Tree.

Glasses: We’re going for high-low here, as well as easy clean up. Using real glasses not only looks great on the table, but also are items that can be easily loaded into that dishwasher without extensive pre-washing. Cost $0.

Napkins: Are you ironing the napkins before or after you make the triple batch of green bean casserole? Exactly. These paper napkins got an upgrade from folded to fabulous by using two instead of one. Unfold each napkin one time, then lay half of each napkin on top of the other. Place the appetizer plate over top to give the illusion of a larger napkin and bring some color to the table. Cost: A pack of 36 solid green napkins were just $1 at Dollar Tree.

“Silverware”: It’s hard to imagine a beautiful Thanksgiving table filled with plastic, but let me tell you preach that plastic has come quite a long way! These chrome plastic utensils are slightly sturdier than your average plastic spoon, and don’t require polishing before or after the meal. Cost: A full setting for 4 is just $1 at Dollar Tree.

Centerpiece & Place Settings: These were so easy to create! Simply collect some small and medium sized branches from your yard. Rinse off the small ones to remove any outdoor grime. Once dry, hit them all with a little gold spray paint to give them a slight shimmer (optional.) For the centerpiece, add the medium branches to a vase of real or faux hydrangeas. Place tealight holders on either side, then add some trivets (because lets be honest, the real centerpiece is the food!) For the place settings, take three branches and tie them together with some yarn or ribbon. Use a thumbtack to adhere a sparkly faux leaf, then wrap the end of the ribbon or yard around the thumbtack twice to keep it all together. Tuck the remaining leaves into the centerpiece and place near each setting. Cost: Faux Hydrangea Stems, Vase, Gold Spray Paint, Trivets and Tealights – Had all on hand,  2 Faux Fall Leave Stems – $1 each at Dollar Tree, Yarn – $1 Walmart Clearance, Branches – Stolen from nature, Gold Thumbtacks – Left over from my Rockstud Pumpkins, 2 Gold Tealight Holders – $1 each at Dollar Tree, 2 Tall Glass Tealight Holders – $1 each at Dollar Tree.

With only $9 spent, and only one run of the dishwasher needed, a high style, half disposable Thanksgiving table is the way to go! You’ll spend less time in the kitchen and more time engaged in conversation about Aunt Judy’s bunion surgery.

Hmm, on second thought, maybe you should take out all that china…

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