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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! Wait until you see how to blend fall with Christmas so you can get the best of both worlds.

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

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!

And 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 like me, here’s how to do it.

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Decorating for Christmas Before Thanksgiving: Create a Transitional Theme

My solution is to infuse the two and decorate with 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.

And 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 som Christmas glam.

decorating for fall and christmas before thanksgiving transitional table decor theme with evergreens, gold pumpkins and neutral textures.
Blending neutral and natural elements of both seasons is the perfect solution to decorating before Thanksgiving without losing that fall vibe.

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’ve been doing to decorate my home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas at the same time.

I gathered 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 keeping out.

I started pulling out my winter green bins – not my holiday stuff – just the greens and natural elements.

This includes pinecones, evergreen twigs, small trees, white berry sprigs, and anything else that would work with a 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.

Gold pumpkins on dinner plates with gold napkins, cedar branch placemat chargers and vintage toolbox with textured neutrals of winter greens and gold pumpkins to decorate for fall and christmas before thanksgiiviing -Thanksgiving Table Decor
How gorgeous is this vintage wooden toolbox?

How to Decorate for Thanksgiving and Christmas with a Transitional Theme

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

For this transitional theme table, I designed a beautiful centerpiece that turned out amazing!

Here’s how I did it.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Transitional Theme Centerpiece Idea for the Dining Table

While in Vermont a few weekends ago, I found this cool vintage toolbox in Vermont when I was out thrifting with Shana.

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.

Won’t that look so pretty?

orange pumpkins before painting

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.

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

gold pumpkins and orange pumpkins waiting to be painted on newspaper

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!

pumpkins painted gold to decorate for fall and christmas before thanksgiving

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.

blending fall and christmas before thanksgiving  with neutral table decor, gold pumpkins and winter greens -How to Decorate for Fall and Christmas Before Thanksgiving

Setting the Table for a Thanksgiving and Christmas Transitional Theme

For each table setting, I started with my favorite cedar branch placemat. I originally bought these from Pier 1 but they don’t sell them anymore. So 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. If you have casual dinnerware, that’s fine to use too. Use whatever you have that is budget-friendly and easy to use.

Oh and I will add place cards that will be attached to the small gold pumpkins. I didn’t get a chance to do that yet.

But doesn’t it look so pretty?

I love the centerpiece, don’t you?

blending fall and christmas before thanksgiving with neutral textures, winter greens, and gold pumpkins in vintage toolbox dining table centerpieceHow to Blend Fall with Christmas to Decorate Before Thanksgiving

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.

cozy night in front of roaring fire with transitional decor theme blending fall and christmas -How to Blend Fall with Christmas to Decorate Before Thanksgiving
It’s a Wonderful Life.

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.

Decorating for fall and Christmas -How to Blend Fall With Christmas to Decorate Before Thanksgiving with pinecones, gold pumpkins and winter greens
I love the gold pumpkins mixed in with my winter decor! After Thanksgiving, I will swap these out and add some Christmas decor.

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!

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.

Gorgeous vintage toolbox centerpiece decorated for fall with faux flowers in farmhouse dining room with black china cabinet and hutch with farmhouse table -Simple Fall Table Decor and Thanksgiving Food Ideas

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

Sign up here to get my email and get a discount on my ebook, 15 Easy Ways to Decorate With Fresh Greens for the Holidays that 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 includes 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.

hanging basket of winter greens on the porch

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.

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4 Comments

  1. I have my house decorated for Halloween (cute stuff), then I’ll do Thanksgiving and then Christmas. I still have my Christmas tree up but just decorated for each holiday!