So, you've got company coming over for Thanksgiving?

Decorating your yard for Thanksgiving gives your guests a warm invitation.

Native Americans, like the Cherokee and Creek, were the first in the United States to celebrate successful fall harvests by giving thanks in a festival of dance and feasting. When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, food was so scarce that half the colonists died from starvation. After the Pilgrims and Native Americans made peace with each other, the Native Americans shared their secrets for growing successful crops with the Pilgrims. The first official Thanksgiving Day celebration came in 1621, when Plymouth colonists and Native Americans together gave thanks for a successful harvest by sharing a feast that continued for days. This tradition of giving thanks has continued every autumn throughout history.

Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a circle of family and friends gathered at a table full of food. The abundance of leftovers from the meal prepared are carried home by visitors and eaten the next day, spreading out the celebration for several days just like the Pilgrims and Native Americans did long ago.

Lots of people decorate their front yards to celebrate this fall season of giving thanks. While the first settlers and Native Americans may not have had much in the way of decoration, today we have an endless supply of pumpkins, fall flowers, and manufactured products to use in this Thanksgiving celebration.

If you want to show your participation in this season of giving thanks by decorating your front yard, there are plenty of ways to do it. Since pumpkins are the mainstay of Thanksgiving, arrange different size pumpkins, along with colorful fall flowers such as pansies, chard, and snapdragons, along the steps of your home to create a fall display. Autumnal wreaths made of pine cones, fall leaves, nuts or berries can be hung on front doors. Get the kids involved in the decorating while giving them a bit of history about the struggle of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock and how Native Americans helped them to survive.

Use autumnal colors of ribbon to dress up your entrance and containers.  Add pansies, chard, and snapdragons, a blooming camellia, a colorful nandina or even artificial fall leaves to decorate the banister. Fall flags, windsocks or pumpkin bird feeders make for simple decoration near your door. Get creative. Use color and texture to create autumnal displays and show your holiday spirit.

Send us your pictures and we will post them here on our blog to show off your Thanksgiving decorations!

Snapdragons


Camellia


Nandina


Pansies


Chard and Pansies