There’s no need to debate the fact that autumn is a
glorious time of year. It’s a time when the world seems to
slow down and speed up simultaneously. Leaves carpet the
ground in shades of burnished orange and gold, apples
decorate bare limbs in vivid orbs of red and green, pumpkins
puff out to their finest, market stalls groan with the weight
of harvested fare, spiders cover the world in lace, and
candles flicker in the windows once more.
As we welcome the season, there’s an urge to gather,
whether it’s at football games, pumpkin patches or the
family dinner table.
Our Autumn Harvest menus reflect this desire to come
together and celebrate the goodness and bounty of life.
Meals in this section include a Harvest Dinner cornucopia,
a Family Night filled with comfort food, and two surprisingly
easy party creations, the Drop-In Open House and Tailgate
Party. We end with the theatrics of Halloween and the
fellowship of Thanksgiving.
Layered Table Elegance
Not many of us have the time, wherewithal or
patience to constantly change decorations to fit
the moment’s mood. We suggest that instead of
ignoring decorating altogether, you start with
objects that echo the fall season and slowly build
on them, so that by the time the holidays arrive,
your table and home reverberate with the lavishness of the holiday season.
First step, consider autumn’s local bounty, such
as pinecones, nuts, gourds, vegetables, branches,
corn stalks, wheat sheaves, pumpkins, vines, fallen
leaves, pods, cattails and green boughs. Target
those items that will have the longest indoor
survival rate, can easily be restocked or have the
potential to be enhanced later on with gilding,
ribbons or fresh flowers.
Next, look at the items in your home with
new eyes. The basket that stores guest towels may
be a perfect container for pinecones, the footed
vase a wonderful stand for a pumpkin, or how
about a row of candleholders in the center of the
table holding decorative corn instead of candles?
For the most impact, decorate the dining
room table first, and then as time allows, move
on to the front door, living room and beyond.
