Thanksgiving at 11 Magnolia Lane

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, probably because it’s so hard to commercialize it. While I dearly love Christmas, I am very stubborn about not decorating my house or putting our tree up before Thanksgiving. That’s definitely not a criticism of those who do, I just like to be sure to give Thanksgiving its due every year. My daughter and I usually spend “Black Friday” decorating instead of engaging in shopping as a combat sport, so I do start the minute that Thanksgiving is done!

Since we’re down to the wire now–just a few more days–I thought it would helpful to put all of our Thanksgiving posts in one place. We’ve got three Thanksgivings under our belt here on the blog, and there’s plenty to choose from. I’m going to give you a single location to find all of our Thanksgiving recipes, printables, tablescapes, and decor. It couldn’t be easier!

~Recipes~

Terry’s Thanksgiving post is definitely your most comprehensive source for recipes–from appetizers to dessert, she has it all. Plus, if you’re gluten-free, these recipes are too. She includes shopping lists and easy instructions. I have served these recipes and they are wonderful!

If you want to add the gluten back in :), then you definitely want to make my macaroni and cheese recipe:

And because I am NOT afraid of carbs, my friend Becky’s Refrigerator Yeast Dough Recipe is also an excellent, make-ahead addition to your Thanksgiving meal. I baked and froze mine last week, then I’ll just reheat them at meal time.

Do you need a kid-friendly dessert idea? Amy’s White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies will fit the bill:

If you’d like to serve an adult beverage to your guests, there’s really no better seasonal choice than Amy’s Whipped Apple Cider Martini. They are truly to die for!

Unless, of course, you prefer her Salted Caramel Martini Recipe. Or both?! Yum!

At my house, we have deep fried the turkey for the last ten years or so, and it is SO good that I am happy to deal with all the Southern redneck jokes that people make when they hear that! Next year I’ll post the recipe for exactly how my husband takes Tom Turkey from frozen to crispy brown goodness. Hint–there’s usually a cornhole game or two while he’s cooking, plus it frees my oven up for all the sides!

~Printables~

If you’d like to print place cards for your Thanksgiving table, I included two different versions in this post I wrote just a couple of weeks ago. Here’s one:

And the other:

Or you can spray paint small chalkboard signs, like I did here:

Setting a kids’ table? Check out two of Amy’s tablescapes here:

Amy made gorgeous printable “Give Thanks” cards that also work as place cards:

~Tablescapes~

Need a few ideas on how to decorate your Thanksgiving table? My all-time favorite is Amy’s:

And I posted a natural tablescape two years ago (before I knew anything about photography, not that I’m very good now):

You already saw this photo, but this is what I’m going to do this year. Yes, most of the dishes, etc. are the same–who can afford to swap them out every year?!

~Decor~

You probably put your Fall decorations up weeks ago, but if you’d like some additional inspiration, here are a few of our spaces and how we’ve decorated them for Thanksgiving over the years (there were too many to post them all, but if you want to see more, just go up to the menu at the top of the page and click on Holidays, and then Fall/Halloween and Fall/Thanksgiving):

My home, this year:

My back porch, this year:

My front porch, last year (at our old house). By the way, if you like the “Thankful” banner, there’s a link to print that out in this post.

Amy’s home, last year:

Amy’s front porch, last year:

And I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite posts, written last year by Amy. It’s about the importance of the table, and how God intended for it to be a place to gather the family for food, fellowship, instruction, and celebration. I wish all of you those things this Thanksgiving!