Eight Decorating Tips to Spice Up Your Fall Harvest Festival

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Celebrate the autumn harvest with a festival!  The cool, crisp air of fall has arrived.  This is the time of year to gather with family and friends, and give thanks for nature’s extraordinary bounty.  Fall foliage offers a beautiful backdrop, creating the perfect setting for Thanksgiving and other fall harvest festival traditions.

Here are some simple, thoughtful, and delightfully affordable suggestions to serve as inspiration for your next autumn gathering.

1. Set an inviting tone for your celebration with a pile of pumpkins in a rainbow of fall colors. Pick the largest, most attractive pumpkin to greet guests and paint a “welcome” message on its side using craft paint and a small artist's brush.
2. Take decorating cues from the fall landscape. Use leaves, branches, and fall vegetation and blooms to stage a foliage-filled setting. A warm, cozy environment invites guests to stay awhile.
3. Use unique, rustic items such as mason jars, baskets, and terra-cotta flowerpots wrapped in burlap and ribbon in hues of orange, red, and yellow to hold cutlery and snacks like pretzels, popcorn, and peanuts.
4. Clean up a rustic wheelbarrow or tin container, fill it with ice, and stock it with your favorite beverages. Place clusters of Indian corn and red apples at the top corners to add a fun, decorative element.
5. Set out clusters of large hay bales to serve as extra seating. Layer blankets (or cut squares of fleece from the local fabric store) to add an element of comfort. Baskets of mums clustered together provide another thoughtful touch.
6. Allow a carved-out pumpkin to double as an efficient punch bowl. Clean it out thoroughly; fill it with warm apple cider, and layer in orange slices and cinnamon sticks for a tasty, decorative touch.
7. Save those pumpkin seeds!  Rinse the seeds, pat them dry, toss them with olive oil and sea salt, and roast them in oven for a delicious treat.
8. Whether your fall festival is an indoor gathering or an alfresco feast, nothing welcomes the cool weather like beautiful linens for your serving tables and extra seating tables Dress up your Lifetime folding tables with coordinating table covers like the ones from tablevogue.  These affordable table covers are stain resistant, wash well, and are available in natural tones, providing the perfect complement to the autumnal setting. And for your serving tables, the snug, to-the-floor fit is great for concealing boxes and supplies.

For more party tips and creative inspiration, visit www.tablevogue.com.