Thanksgiving/ Fall/ Autumn Decor & DIY Projects

7 Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor & DIY Ideas! Perfect for Autumn too!

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This Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor page contains lots of Easy DIY Projects for Thanksgiving, Fall, and Autumn.


This Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor super page contains the following Do It Yourself projects: DIY Lantern Seasonal Decor, Inspiring Tabletop Fall Decor, Fall Cornucopia, Festive Fall Garland / Swag Festive Fall Piano Decor, Decorative Fall Broom, Festive Fall Wreath, More Resources for Thanksgiving!

We love celebrating Thanksgiving – usually a big gathering with friends and family. Annette loves decking the halls with beautiful red, brown, and gold fall decorations. This page contains a growing collection of decor and crafts ideas for Thanksgiving. Plus some links to Thanksgiving-related topics like cooking a turkey and how to serve up a Thanksgiving feast on a budget.


DIY Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor – Lantern

A DIY Autumn/ Thanksgiving/ Fall Lantern Decoration w/ Silk Leaves & White Twinkle Lights.

This was a super simple craft that cost about $1. For the winter, we picked up pinecones from our backyard and spray painted them silver, red, and gold. Then we wove a short string of lights (30-50 count) in-between the pinecones. Adding a gold ribbon bow on top put the finishing touches on it.

For the Fall, we bought some Autumn colored silk leaves and stuck them in a foam block, then covered the foam block with burlap scraps that we had leftover from landscaping projects. For the Spring, we will try putting plastic Easter eggs inside with the string of lights. And for Summer, we will pack the lantern away until the Fall decor comes out.

Annette picked up the lantern at Hobby Lobby in May when it was on clearance for about $15. If you search garage sales or thrift stores, you could probably find something similar for less.

This DIY video above shows the process of putting the lantern and pinecones together.


Inspiring Tabletop Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor

A Fall Table Top Decoration that includes a Glass Pumpkin, Pillar Candles, a Silk flower Arrangements, and Silk Flower Garland.

It was time to rearrange all of our fall decorations. We are just about empty-nesters, and what I had been doing for fall decorations for many years needed a facelift.

I hope if I describe what I pulled together for this, that you’ll be inspired.

  • The center fall silk flower arrangement was found at Michaels several years ago, being sold for 90% off after Halloween (approximate cost $3 to $5).
  • The two glass candlesticks came from a consignment store where I had credit and were marked down to $2 each (but nothing out of pocket).
  • The orange pillar candles were already on hand and I had purchased them previously to be used in holiday centerpieces.
  • The clear glass pumpkin (can be found at Walmart in the fall for about $6) had been used for several years previously and was filled with plastic and glass autumn-themed beads, which were purchased a couple of years ago, after Halloween when they were marked down 75 to 80% off.
A Fall Collection used on a table top with a pumpkin, cat tails, candles and dried flowers
  • The clear glass bowl (on the left) is filled with Autumn colored curling ribbon that I already had on hand.
  • The small ceramic pumpkin and the small wooden turkey have been used for many years in other spots around the house, but fit perfectly into this grouping.
  • The two small votive candles on the left and right side were also items that I had in the house for many years.
  • The leaf garland came as a small section with another garland that was used to make a fall swag (see it here).

All told, the total price out of pocket for this Autumn display is less than $10.


If you’re looking for some money-saving ideas for your Thanksgiving dinner or for some fun activities for your guests, watch this video.

Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor – Cornucopia

A Beautiful Fall Cornucopia with Plastic Fruit that includes Grapes, Pumpkins, Gourds and Artichokes.

Annette grew up seeing her mom put out plastic fruit in a bowl as a kitchen decoration. She thought, “I’ll NEVER do that!”

Now, you know what happens when you say, “NEVER.”

Everything changed when Annette decided to decorate for the Fall Season.

We have an antique oak dresser in our front hallway that was begging for a Cornucopia Arrangement (really, we heard it say so).

She originally filled the Cornucopia with dried Pomegranates, Gourds, and Indian Corn, but after a couple of years the real dried items were looking kind of worn (shedding and falling apart).

Festive Fall Cornucopia of fruit on an oak dresser.

It was time for a make-over. Our crafty, creative daughter, Becky suggested plastic fruit. At first, Annette bristled, remembering her childhood vow. However, she soon decided to follow Becky’s advice and began searching the wall of bags at Goodwill and Savers Thrift stores.

Within a few weeks, she had a Cornucopia full of beautiful fruits to decorate our front hall dresser.

The Final Cost was somewhere between $10 and $15.


Festive Fall Garland / Swag

A Festive Fall Garland/ Autumn or Thanksgiving Garland/ DIY Holiday Garland/ Fireplace Garland

How we created a festive fall banner with materials from Goodwill and Hobby Lobby for about $11. Annette & Steve work together to create a 25-foot long beautiful autumn swag for their fireplace.

  • Time: about 2 hours
  • Our Cost: $11 – $13
  • Retail cost: $85

Materials used:

DIY Video Tutorial:

Watch as we figure out how to combine garlands, pinecones, and other decorator items to make this Festive Fall wreath.


Festive Fall Piano Decor

Festive Fall Piano Decor for an Upright Piano made from Straw Scarecrows and Ceramic Pumpkins.

If you’ve ever wondered what to do to spruce up the top of your spinet or upright piano for the fall, Annette came up with this fun idea for autumn.

This piano top decor is made up of 3 rows.

  • Back row: Two 15″ tall Mum plants (silk) and a 12″ tall glass vase filled with dried stems (approx 30″ tall).
  • Middle row: Two 11″ scarecrows on either side and two 14″ scarecrows in the middle
  • Front row: One 10″ scarecrow centered in front of the tall glass vase.
  • And two ceramic Jack-O-Lanterns: approx 6″ tall (one on each side)

All of these items can be gathered from garage sales, thrift stores, and craft stores.

You can use discount coupons at Hobby Lobby, Michaels and JoAnn’s. All of these craft stores have terrific markdown sales right after each holiday – that’s the time to stock up for next year.

Fall piano decor close up photos of straw dolls and pumpkins

By the way, the piano we have is more than 100 years old. Annette’s sister, Steve our daughter Abbey, countless friends and even one New York TV producer have played on it.


Decorative Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor – Broom

Decorative Fall Brooms are a Great Alternative to an Autumn Wreath.

As an alternative to front door wreaths, Annette decided to decorate a couple of decorative brooms for the fall season.

Supplies:

Directions:

Holding the broom with the bristles down, start in the back on the top of the handle by putting a dot of hot glue and pressing on the satin ribbon with a knife or spoon (don’t want any singed fingertips). Continue to wrap the ribbon around the handle of the broom from the top, down toward the bristles. Add another dot of glue under the ribbon and every other loop around the broom handle.

When you reach the top of the bristles, put a dot of glue on the Front of the broom and secure the ribbon there, leaving about 6 inches to hang down as a “tail.” Trim the bottom of the tail in an upside-down “V” shape to finish it.

Using fall colored wire-edged ribbon, make a bow of your choice on a Bow Maker.

Next, take your silk flowers and trim the stems to about 2 to 3 inches in length. Weave the stems behind the ribbon and into the broom head. Secure with hot glue.

Finally, add nuts and other dried craft items.

There are grapevine cinnamon brooms at Fry’s/Kroger right now, selling for $7.99 in our area, just waiting to be decorated.


Festive Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor – Wreath

This Festive Fall Wreath was made from a Wicker Wreath, Silk Flowers and Beautiful Ribbon.

This festive fall wreath was made from craft supplies I had at home and cost less than $7 to make. I hung it on a wall in our entryway courtyard to greet visitors.

Supplies:

Directions for a Festive Fall/ Thanksgiving Decor – Wreath:

Start with a wooden wreath form (whatever size you like). My 24-inch wreath form was found at a garage sale or thrift store for less than $4. Lay out newspapers on your driveway or on a folding table and spray paint the wreath form. Be sure to spray it from several angles. Walmart.com has very inexpensive prices on spray paint.

I combined two different kinds of ribbon, that I already had at home, to make the simple bow on the top of the wreath.

Heat up your glue gun and start gluing a variety of Fall items across the bottom of your wreath. Be sure to insert ends into the nooks and crannies of the wreath to secure them better.

We have a pomegranate tree in our yard, so the smaller ones are dried and kept for craft projects.

If you have a crafty Thanksgiving or Autumn Decor tip or project to share, please leave it in the comments below and we’ll review it for posting on this page.


More Resources for Thanksgiving!

If you’re interested in more frugal and fun Thanksgiving ideas, check out these blogs. Note, the How to Cook a Turkey like a Pro contains one of our most popular “How To” Videos!

If you are interested in some kids Fall/ Thanksgiving books, click here.

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