I’ve always loved holidays but I’ve been finding less joy in them the last few years as many of them centre around food. However, this year, I’ve decided to change things up and celebrate holidays differently nay incorporating things I enjoy like decorating! Usually my mom has always been the decorater but the last few years have been busy so it just hasn’t been a priority. This year, I am taking over the role and adding more festive vibes to our home for the different seasons and holidays. It’s a great way to keep your space interesting especially when you spend a lot of time at home!

First, I started tackling this task through Pinterest! When in doubt or uninspired, Pinterest is always there to save the day. I wasn’t sure what style I was going through so I looked through some fall decor tags and saved the photos I liked to one of my boards dedicated to this thanksgiving’s decorating. Here is my Pinterest if you’d like to see some of my inspiration (beware most of my pins are crochet and knitting patterns!).

In the end, I decided to go with a very classic fall style. I love the warm oranges, yellow, reds, and browns that come along with the season so it was a very natural choice! Though I didn’t get to decorate as much as I was hoping as I got sick right before thanksgiving, I was very happy with what I was able to put together this year, on a budget and everything! Almost all of my decorations were purchased either at the Dollarama or at Michael’s. I even managed to borrow some with helped cut down on cost. I thought I’d share how I decorated and maybe inspire you for next year with some easy and affordable decor!

First step to any good classic fall decor is pumpkins and gourds! When you leave a pumpkin uncarved, they last a surprisingly long time. Gourds are perfect to mix up sizes and to throw in a pop of colour in small spaces. You can also get a bag of them (real or fake) for a great price at a local supermarket or dollar store.

I also snatched up this bouquet of flowers at our supermarket! I spotted it out of the corner of my eye and it was so unique and full of beautiful colours so I just couldn’t resist. The bouquet was under $20 and I just used a china vase we already had and voila!

Seeing as I was decorating for fall but especially for thanksgiving, the table setting was the most important part to me. I started with a base of two yellow fabric placemat that we already had. I was going to use a table runner but I figured that wouldn’t fair well with a puppy in the house. Then, I scatter a thick layer of orange, yellow, and red fake maple leaves. Then I put some pinecones and acorns that had a tad of glitter (always a good time for glitter) on top. The last layer was some gold mini pumpkins I found at the dollar store. Since we have lots of allergies in this house, I went with artificial but you could easily swap both of these out for real ones!

I felt like the centrepiece needed some taller in the middle. Originally, I was going to use a foam pumpkin as the vase for the flowers but I waited too late and there wasn’t any to be found! I did however find this cute glass pumpkin bowl that I used instead. I got the vase and the flowers at the dollar store too. I used a mix of different colour and types of flower to add visual interest and I was really happy with how it turned out! Lastly, I added some tea light for ambiance and it was done!

In the living room, I didn’t do much decorating but the hanging leaves were quite the statement piece so I think it worked. On the curtain rod, I hung a banner that I had made last year. The banner and string came together from Michaels and then I used a silver sharpie to write “thankful” across it. It used quite a bit of ink because of the chalkboard-type texture so I would use some sort of chalk marker if I were to do it again. Behind the banner, we used clear fishing line to hang some artificial leaves in front of the window. The leaves are one of my favourite parts of fall so I knew I had to incorporate it some how. I feel like this brought a lot of colour and helped bring the outdoors inside.

I know this post is quite late for my Canadian friends but I hope maybe some of my American friends can gather some inspiration for their fall celebrations or you can save some ideas for next year! For my first fall decorating (other than a little bit here and there in the past), I’m really happy with how it turned out and we’ve all been enjoying the warm and cozy vibes it brings to our home. Next year will hopefully be even bigger and better! We hope you enjoy your autumn season and time with your loved ones, xo.