First, if you have a yard or access to a yard, wooded area or any natural environment, take a good look around.  Pine cones, pine branches, laurel leaves, magnolia leaves, pine needles, and even dish soap can be used to create some pretty clever holiday looks.  Most shrubs can spare a few leaves and perhaps you are lucky enough to have something growing with red berries!  Look around in nature and see what is available.   Then, look around your home for interesting articles that can be combined with nature to create a warm and inviting look for the holidays.  Perhaps an old sled from the barn or garage can be used on the front porch.  Or, pieces of crystal and cut glass can look very nice with greenery added to the side.  Are there bright colorful items in your dinnerware set or do you have some extra ribbonor bright scarves stuffed in a drawer somewhere?  Dish soap can become frothy snow and applied to windows, greenery or a tree by stirring briskly with a fork in a little water.   Be open to inspiration as you look through closets and drawers.  A little knowledge can go a long way in creating a festive holiday look. 

Some ideas to get you started:

Front Entrance – A store bought wreath is not necessary.   Simply string a few branches of pine, laurel or magnolia together, attach a festive bow to the strand and drape over a hook on the door.  The look is crisp, festive and free!

Porch or Patio – Take vintage items and create a vintage look from years ago.  An old runner sled is a marvelous addition to a porch or entryway.  Simply prop it up against the wall, drape some greenery over a runner and you have instant depth, color and holiday appeal. 

Centerpiece – No expensive items are needed to create a lovely centerpiece for a dining table.  Almost everyone has a pair of candlesticks somewhere in the home.  Move them to the dining table, add magnolia leaves and red berries at the base and you have a simple look for dining.  Or, take inexpensive tree ornaments and place them in the midst of greenery and the look is festive and bright.  The dining table is also a great place to showcase vintage Nativity scenes or items that hold significance in the family.  They are highly visible and all can enjoy.  A little greenery goes a long way to soften whatever items you want to showcase in the center of the table.  Various heights can be added by placing books, soup cans or blocks to the table in different heights and then covering the items with napkins, a scarf or table runner to cover the risers.  The decorative items can then be elevated in height and have even more visual impact in the center of the table.

Mantel – Greenery can always be placed over a mantel but more unusual items can be used as well.  Twist a decorative ribbon and place over the mantel and get a festive look.  Or, clear everything off the mantel and have ornaments, crystal or candles placed all across the top for a sparkly effect.  Mantles also look nice with lovely scarves, table runners or decorative fabric twisted and gently draped across the top. 

Spruce Up Your Upholstery – Leave the same furniture in place,and simply add a decorative pillow, by tying a ribbon on throw pillows that are already in place.  Red does not always have to be the color of choice.  Evaluate your room’s decor and perhaps gold, silver, blue or green would look better.  Simply take a soft ribbon and tie around pillows to create a holiday appearance.  Remember, less is more in this case so only do a couple for impact.  Too many will look over done and busy.

Smells – Simple smells can create the mood for a very pleasant experience.  Take a small pot of water on the stove and sprinkle whatever holiday spices you have in the pantry and keep simmering on the stove.  Use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice or whatever you have handy.  Vanilla or a liquid favoring will also work.  The secret is to have a gentle smell coming from the pot to drift throughout the home.  It makes the house smell nice and that contributes to an enjoyable experience for your guests.

Above all, remember the holiday’s are to be enjoyed and a showroom presence does not have to prevail in every single room of the home.  A few touches of color, greenery and a nice aroma will make every home feel special and festive.  Expensive decorations are not necessary to create a beautiful home for the holidays.

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(instructions on making these autumn leaves bouquet centerpiece HERE)

The foliage of autumn can make excellent arrangements, centerpieces, and garlands. If you prefer to hold on to that particular look for a long time incorporating them into your regular autumn decor instead of simply enjoying them for a single Thanksgiving holiday, there are a lot of excellent and natural-looking silk leaf garlands that will make excellent add-ons to your home decorating collection. The better the quality of the material, the more likely they are to stay for years of service and storage. The same is true with most synthetic decor items you purchase. Better quality generally indicates a longer shelf life.

Autumn fruits and vegetables also make great decorations when it comes to Thanksgiving holiday home decorating. As a matter of fact, the crops from the harvest and the friendship with the Native Americans were the very reason for the first Thanksgiving.   Therefore, it is just fitting to also include this historical event in the celebration of thanks.

Using wreathes in the colors of fall is another excellent decor idea for Thanksgiving. It provides a welcoming symbol for all who enter the home aside from being appropriate for the time of year.  Although there is exact type of an all-season wreath, there are a lot of that you can come up with fit the styles of each season using some simple steps. A grapevine wreath is a nice choice to start with and it can easily have seasonal items attached to it. 

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Pilgrim figures also make excellent additions to your Thanksgiving ornaments. After all, they were the original celebrators of this tradition that eventually became an important holiday, especially in North America.  You can ask your children to help select or even make the pilgrim shapes that you’ll be adding to your decor as well as a hand-printed turkey or two. Decorations need be expensive or pompous. Sometimes the simplest decorations made by the hands of children make the most memorable impressions on both friends and family alike.

Cornucopias make excellent centerpieces and ornaments for Thanksgiving holiday. Not everyone may have a dinner table large enough to accommodate one but these can work well on a buffet, a hall table, and on any other place in your house where you can manage to fit it in.

Sometimes, the food during Thanksgiving is all the decoration that you will ever need. Most importantly, never forget the meaning of this season, which is a time to give thanks for all the blessings in your life.

Go ahead and enjoy the food and the decorations, most of all enjoy your family and your friends for whom you celebrate the Thanksgiving season with.

First of all integrity is simply doing what is right rather than what is expected of you. A good example of this is when a baby is born and as that baby grows it starts to learn to smile, to laugh, and to speak. You don’t expect much because it is a baby. As time goes on that baby grows into a child, then a teenager, then he or she matures to an adult. The maturity will bring about an awareness and a sense of right and wrong. The expectancy to do what’s right and to be accountable to others.

Next integrity is your responsibility for learning to listen to words said and being able to interpret them for yourself. The words that you hear everyday are golden. They are like a river flowing effortlessly through the streams of your mind. Those words can make you strong or they can break you. You are responsible for listening well and applying  them ambitiously to your life.

Lastly did you have any ideal that integrity is the centerpiece of every relationship? Integrity helps each of us to build trust, confidence, and love in the people that we come in contact with. Obviously life would be really boring if we didn’t have people around us who we enjoy spending time with. Families are knitted closely together. The trust that they feel for each helps to build confidence. When that confidence is felt that love will influence the lives of others.

In conclusion the chacteristic of a good person will pocess: simple just doing what is right rather than what is expected of you. Being responsible for listening to what is said and interpret it for yourself. Integrity is the centerpiece for every relationship.. These are the characteristics of a good person and that means, integrity has been put into actions.