CREATE A THANKSGIVING COCKTAIL MOMENT One of the easiest ways to make Thanksgiving entertaining feel more intentional is to create a dedicated drink station away from the kitchen. This keeps guests from congregating exactly where you are trying to finish dinner. • Set up a console table, bar cart, sideboard or even a small corner of the dining room with wine, glasses, ice, cocktail napkins and one signature drink. For a Coast Thanksgiving, think bourbon cocktails, rosemary gin and tonics, a cranberry margarita or a citrus-forward champagne cocktail. And please include a beautiful nonalcoholic option, too. • Presentation matters. Put drinks in attractive pitchers or dispensers, use real glassware and garnish with citrus, herbs, cranberries or rosemary. It takes very little effort and instantly makes the gathering feel elevated. THINK BEYOND THE DINING ROOM Thanksgiving should not feel like everyone is trapped around one table for six hours. • Create smaller spaces throughout your home where people can gather. • Add comfortable seating to the patio. • Pull two chairs together near the fireplace. • Create a conversation area around the kitchen island. • Put appetizers somewhere other than the kitchen. If the weather cooperates, which it often does on the Coast, take part of Thanksgiving outside. An outdoor lounge with string lights, throws, candles and a fire pit can become everyone’s favorite place after dinner. Suddenly, that formal Thanksgiving meal becomes an entire experience.
usually the food itself. Instead of transferring everything into basic disposable containers, use serving pieces that add to the design: • Wood boards • White ceramic platters • Cast iron • Vintage silver • Glass cake stands • Beautiful casserole dishes Even a simple bowl of rolls looks completely different when it is served in a linen-lined basket. Elevated entertaining is rarely about spending more money; it is usually about presentation. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BREAK TRADITION The most memorable homes are not the ones following every rule. They are the ones that feel personal. Maybe Thanksgiving dinner happens outside. Maybe you serve seafood before turkey. Maybe the table is blue instead of orange. Maybe grandma’s china is mixed with Target glasses. Maybe everyone eats dessert around the fire pit. If your home feels comfortable, beautiful and welcoming, you are doing it right. Ultimately, Thanksgiving design is not really about centerpieces or napkins. It is about creating a place where people want to stay — a place where stories get told, plates get passed, somebody inevitably falls asleep on the sofa and everyone leaves already talking about next year. And if that happens with a view of the water and a bowl of gumbo somewhere nearby, all the better. Jennifer Miller is an award-winning interior designer and owner of Jennuwine Design. Connect with her on social media: @ designbyjennuwine.
LET THE FOOD BE PART OF THE DESIGN One of the prettiest things on a Thanksgiving table is
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