Make it personal
Make place cards with photos instead of names. Tie linen napkins with rough string and slot in ferns or a sprig of rosemary for a rough luxe look. It's little details like these that will put your own stamp on Thanksgiving. Prefer things low key? We spotted this pared back take on a Thanksgiving table on Pinterest - DIY it by sticking to natural materials, foraged foliage and simple church candles. Having a kids' table? Cover it with the same plain parcel paper and provide colored pens and pencils to keep little hands busy.
Go vertical
Want your Thanksgiving table to look gorgeously abundant, but don't have the space what with all the food as well? Get round it by making a Thanksgiving mobile that you can hang from the ceiling. Use nylon invisible thread to create a shower of leaves in golden fall colors. It will make a feature of the Thanksgiving table and still leave plenty of room for the feast.
Write a message
Provide simple luggage tags and pens at the table for everyone to write down what they are thankful for. In the same room, have a tall vase filled with tall branches to hang the tags on to make a gratitude tree that everyone can come back to and read later in the day.
Layer lighting
The way you light a room can transform the space (and help create a laid-back feel). On the table, nestle chunky candles in hurricane lamps filled with chestnuts or even cranberries - making sure the flame won't touch the decoration. As the afternoon rolls on, turn on a mix of floor and table lamps to create the soft layers of light that you'll need for a calm and cozy atmosphere for your get-together.
Get fresh
Take a chance and lay your Thanksgiving table outside in the Fall sunshine. Ask everyone to wrap up warm and have wool blankets to hand, so you can get back to basics and eat together surrounded by nature (or at least out in the garden). Next, light a fire and have toasted marshmallows all round. You can't get a better end to your Thanksgiving than that.