How to Decorate for Fall and Christmas Before Thanksgiving

Have you ever wanted to start decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving but don’t want to give up fall? Now you can! Embrace the festive spirit early with these simple tips on blending fall and Christmas decor seamlessly.

When it comes to holiday decorating there are those that decorate before Thanksgiving and those that wait until after.

Which side are you on?

I typically wait until after because I host Thanksgiving and want to maintain that cozy fall vibe for my guests.

But lately, I’ve been wanting to get a jump on Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving because there’s so much to do.

However, I also like to follow nature and what’s happening outside when decorating inside so I’m not always ready to give up my fall foliage to add winter holiday decor.

Since I want to start decorating sooner, how can I balance the two so I don’t leave ALL of my decorating until the day after Thanksgiving?

If you want to decorate your home for the holidays a little sooner than Thanksgiving too, here’s how to do it.

(Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.)

Is November 1st Too Early to Decorate for Christmas?

Ummmm…no.

There are diehard Christmas decorators who will start before Halloween. Now I’m not in favor of doing that per se, but the point is, you can decorate for Christmas whenever you want!

However, I do suggest doing it in such a way, that you blend your decor for Thanksgiving and Christmas and consider it more of a transition between the two holidays.

It’s your home and you can decorate whenever and however you want. And if you decide to leave a Christmas tree up all year round, I say do it.

5 Really Good Reasons to Decorate for Christmas Before Thanksgiving

If you aren’t sure whether it’s OK to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, let me assure you, there are great reasons to just go for it.

• Extended Holiday Joy: One of the most significant advantages of decorating before Thanksgiving is that it extends the holiday season’s joy. Why limit the festive atmosphere to just a few weeks when you can enjoy it for a couple of months? Starting early allows you to savor the holiday spirit just a bit longer.
• Reduced Stress: Waiting until the last minute to decorate can lead to more holiday stress. By getting your Christmas decorations up early, you’ll have more time to enjoy the season without the added pressure of rushing to get everything done in December. To me, that’s reason enough!
• Creative Freedom: Decorating early gives you the freedom to explore unique and creative ideas for your home. You can plan your holiday decor meticulously, try out different themes, and even make some DIY decorations without feeling rushed.
• Christmas Decor Backdrop: Since I host Thanksgiving, guests LOVE to get pics in front of the Christmas tree to use for this year’s Christmas cards.
• Inspiring Fall Transition: When done right, decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving can seamlessly blend fall and winter aesthetics. This transition allows you to enjoy the beauty of both seasons and creates a warm and inviting atmosphere in your home. I’m sharing more about how to do this below!

7 Quick Tips for Decorating for Christmas Before Thanksgiving

If you want to deck the halls before the Turkey, there’s no reason you can’t do it! Here are some quick tips to get you started.

• Think Neutrals: Go with a cozy warm neutral while toning down the glitz is a great way to blend Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Start with the Tree: If you’re eager to put up the tree, I say do it! Opt for a neutral or autumn-themed tree skirt and add ornaments in an autumn color palette like gold, bronze, or rusty red. Then gradually swap them out for Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving.
• Wreaths and Garlands: Hang fall-inspired wreaths and garlands featuring colorful leaves, pinecones, and berries. Keep the glitz and glamour off the tree until after Thanksgiving. Then add small Christmas elements like mini ornaments or lights to gradually transition to a full-fledged Christmas look.
• Dual-Purpose Decor: Invest in decor that can serve for both fall and Christmas. For example, decorative lanterns, cozy throw blankets, and pillows can easily transition into the holiday season with the addition of some festive accents.
• Table Setting Magic: Create an elegant Thanksgiving table setting with a neutral color palette and rustic elements. As you get closer to Christmas, incorporate more reds, greens, and metallics to transform your table into a festive holiday spread.
• Outdoor Lighting: Start by adorning your outdoor spaces with fall-themed lighting like warm string lights and lanterns. As the weeks go by, add more Christmas lights and decorations to make your home shine throughout the holiday season.
• Advent Calendar: Start an Advent wreath or calendar tradition a little earlier this year. You can craft or purchase one that blends fall and Christmas elements to help your family count down to both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas doesn’t mean skipping the essence of fall. Instead, it allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds, celebrating the warmth and gratitude of Thanksgiving while embracing the festive charm of Christmas.

And in my opinion, there’s room for both. Last year I put up my flocked Christmas tree before Thanksgiving and decorated it with an autumn vibe.

I included foliage picks, warm neutral ornaments, and tucked in lots of gold and it looked great for Thanksgiving!

Since it was flocked I thought some family members might shake their head and laugh because it seemed a little early for snow here in my gardening zone 6a, but you know what?

They were all taking pictures in front of it getting this year’s Christmas card photo! So, believe me, it’s OK to decorate early.

Even if you are hosting Thanksgiving.

Decorating for Thanksgiving and Christmas: Create a Transitional Theme

The first year, I decorated for fall and Christmas, I infused the two creating a transitional theme I’m calling “Fristmas.” 

Fristmas is that time of the year when you want to decorate for the holidays but want to keep fall around for a little bit longer.

So it is perfect for those years when Thanksgiving arrives in late November but you want to hit the ground running with your holiday decor.

Blending both means we can decorate earlier while still keeping the fall vibe going through Thanksgiving.

The best way to achieve this is to tone down the autumn color palette and fall colors while adding winter greens and other natural, textured neutral elements to your decor.

Then after Thanksgiving, the neutral fall items get swapped out for some Christmas glam.

Decorating for the holidays will go much quicker this way and we can have the best of both worlds through Thanksgiving. It’s a win-win!

So here’s what I do to decorate my home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas at the same time.

I gather all of my fall bins and started putting away any pumpkins or faux florals that are orange or rust-colored.

Anything that is green, white, or neutral, I am kept out.

I pulled out my winter greenery bins – not my holiday stuff – just the greens and natural elements.

This includes pinecones, evergreen branches, small trees, white berry sprigs, and anything else that would work with a Christmas before Thanksgiving transitional theme.

Oh, and you can add some white twinkle lights too. Cozy battery-operated candles and twinkle lights are a must to create a warm, festive glow.

How to Decorate for Thanksgiving and Christmas with a Transitional Theme

If you are hosting Thanksgiving, it all comes down to the table decor. Set a beautiful table with a gorgeous centerpiece and you’ve got a theme.

For this Christmas before Thanksgiving theme table, I designed a beautiful centerpiece that turned out amazing! It was the perfect blend of fall and holiday all in one.

Here’s how I did it.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Transitional Theme Centerpiece Idea for the Dining Table

While thrifting in Vermont, I found this cool vintage toolbox. From the the moment I saw this toolbox, I knew it would be perfect to house a centerpiece on my dining room table for Thanksgiving.

I immediately envisioned small evergreen trees, greens, gold pumpkins, pinecones, and fairy lights stuffed inside. So that’s the look I went for when making this dining table centerpiece.

Won’t that look so pretty?

Because I don’t want autumnal colors in this arrangement, I painted some pumpkins gold. Gold is glitzy enough for winter decor, yet still looks like a neutral fall so you can get away with it.

I saved myself a trip to the craft store because I had two faux pumpkins laying around that I did not mind painting.

I had gold chalk paint on hand so I applied two coats of paint on each. After they were dry, I added a coat of clear wax to protect the color.

While painting these, I remembered having some real pumpkins that I didn’t need anymore from another area in my home.

So instead of throwing them out, I painted them to use at each place setting.

Don’t they look so cute? I kind of like them all gold and may need to do this moving forward!

Once the pumpkins were dry, I started designing my Thanksgiving toolbox centerpiece. I started with three small evergreen trees then tucked in the two larger gold pumpkins.

As filler, I then added faux evergreen sprigs, pinecones, and a few small gold pumpkins.

When finished, I wrapped battery operated fairy lights around the toolbox handle and winter greens.

Setting the Table for a Thanksgiving and Christmas Transitional Theme

For each table setting, I started with my favorite cedar branch placemat. If you can’t find them, you can also try using a small boxwood wreath.

On top, I added this gorgeous antique melamine charger, then topped it off with a Lenox dinner plate, gold napkin, Lenox salad plate, and small gold pumpkins.

I pretty much used what I had in terms of dinnerware, but you can use whatever you want. If you have fine china, use that. And if you have casual dinnerware, that’s fine to use too. Use whatever you have that is budget-friendly and simple to assemble.

Oh, and I added place cards that were attached to the small gold pumpkins. But I forgot to snag a pic of that – sorry!

But doesn’t it look so pretty?

I love the dining room table centerpiece, don’t you?

Shop this Post

Click on any image below to shop ideas from this post.

More About Decorating for Christmas Before Thanksgiving

Do you decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving or wait? Do you have any decorating tips you’d like to share? I would love to know more in the comments below.

And don’t miss joining my Gardening DIY and Decorating Community on Facebook for more chatter. And follow along there and on Instagram as well. There are behind-the-scenes daily things that I share on Instagram that don’t make it to the blog. Would love to see you there too!

If you prefer to binge-watch Bricks ’n Blooms on TV, we go more in-depth with tours and posts on my YouTube channel. Would love to hang out with you there!

And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.

Want to Learn How to Grow Flowers With Ease?

If you’ve always wanted to grow flowers but struggled with where to start or how to create something beautiful, I got you. I wrote a book that shares all the things you need to know to grow a beautiful and easy-care flower garden.

• Have you never met a plant you couldn’t kill?
• Have you dug around in the dirt with nothing to show for it except a sunburn and a sore back?
• Do you currently enjoy growing flowers, but are looking for more tips and ideas to level up your gardening game?

Then the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy Care Garden Book is for YOU!

What’s in the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide?

• Gardening basics to set you up for success
• Great garden design ideas with ready-made plans for you to follow
• Easy-care instructions for a wide variety of flowering annuals, perennials, and shrubs
• Helpful how-tos for container and cut flower gardening
• Graphs, charts, and lists to help you stay organized

My book publishes on February 6, 2024, but you can preorder now and get a special pre-order bonus chapter you can’t get when the preorder period closes.

Preorder your copy here and get a free, downloadable guide that shares bonus information with tips and unique garden designs to get year-round color in your landscape. Offer ends 2/5/24.

More Thanksgiving Ideas

If you are looking for more Thanksgiving Day ideas and inspiration, check out these posts.

From hosting gifts to table decor, food, and menu ideas, I’ve got you covered.

• 101 Ideas for Thanksgiving
• Creating Stunning Pumpkin Centerpieces with Fall Flowers
• The Best Thanksgiving Food and Fall Table Decor Ideas
• How to Set a Cozy Harvest Table
• Mouthwatering Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe You Can’t Resist
• The Best Recipe for Easy Apple Crisp
• The Best Fall Pumpkin Spice Cocktail
• Thanksgiving Tablescape Idea
• How to Decorate for Fall and Christmas Before Thanksgiving
• How to Set a Thanksgiving Table
• Simple Centerpiece Idea For Your Thanksgiving Aesthetic
• Friendsgiving Decor: Creative Ideas for a Festive Home Gathering
• Insanely Good Friendsgiving Food Ideas for Brunch

Want to Learn How to Decorate With Fresh Greens for the Holidays?

Sign up here to get a discount on my ebook, 15 Easy Ways to Decorate With Fresh Greens for the Holidays which offers beautiful, budget-friendly, and sustainable holiday decorating inspiration using fresh greens from the landscape.

This 40-page guide is full of simple DIY holiday decorating ideas that include how to cut, care for, and design with fresh greens, as well as tips to purchase and incorporate faux greens with your holiday decorating style to create a cozy, beautiful, and organic vibe.

From porch styling to cozy centerpiece and tablescape inspiration, wait until you try these budget-friendly holiday decorating ideas using fresh greens for every room in your home.

Looking For More Christmas Decorating Ideas?

I love looking through festive holiday inspiration to get ideas for this year’s decorating aesthetic, don’t you?

Wait until you see these holiday decorating, entertaining, and food ideas to create a cozy home for Christmas.

• 23 Inspiring Christmas Aesthetics for 2022
• Vintage Farmhouse Christmas 2022 Home Tour
• Flocked Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas and More
• How to Make a Christmas Kissing Ball
• How to Make Scented Gift Tags
• First Christmas in Our New Home Tour
• Last Christmas in Our Home Tour
• Christmas Tree Ornament Storage Hack (Tiktok Made Me Do It)
• 6 Clever Christmas Dinner Easy Table Decorating Ideas
• 13 Simple Christmas Decorating Ideas for Your Home
• How to Make an Advent Wreath
• Winter Gardening With Outdoor Planters
• 5 Clever Ideas for the Prettiest Christmas Table Settings
• 17 Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas
• Rustic Farmhouse Christmas Decorating Ideas
• Easy Outdoor Planters for Winter
• Budget-Friendly Winter Outdoor Planters

Sign Me Up!

Sign up for my free newsletter to get blog posts, seasonal tips, recipes, and more delivered straight to your inbox!

Plus, get free VIP access to my Resource Library where you’ll find insider freebies not readily available to the public.

Thank you so much for following along.

Enjoy a beautiful day! xo

Let’s Connect!

If you like this post, please follow me @bricksnblooms on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Or join my Facebook Group.

Sneak Peak of My Fireplace Mantel

So I just started decorating my mantel and incorporated some gold pumpkins with my winter greens.

I’m giving you a little sneak peek because my fireplace decor is not completely done yet.

But I wanted to show you where it is going in case you want to try a transitional theme too.

For the greens, I bought a gorgeous faux garland, tucked in a few extra branches, added two small trees, five oversized pine cones, white berry sprigs, gold pumpkins, and fairy lights.

What do you think so far?

I love how cozy and natural it feels!

When we are done hosting Thanksgiving, I’ll swap out all of the gold pumpkin decor for holiday glitz.

The change will be quick and simple. I am also starting to work on my stair garland but will keep it to simple greens and lights until after Thanksgiving.

What Do You Think?

While I was playing around with different tablescapes, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to decorate my Thanksgiving table this year. I am really glad that thrifty vintage find inspired me because I love my Fristmas theme!

While I’ve been using that vintage metal planter centerpiece you’ve seen in my blogs lately, I wanted to change it up this Thanksgiving and do something different.

That vintage toolbox looks so cool with the small trees and gold pumpkins – I may need to replicate this one next year!