Hello, friends! I am finally coming up for air after the big One Room Challenge Reveal yesterday! Thank you all for your sweet comments and messages. It feels incredible to have our room refreshed before the holidays! Since Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away, I thought I would share a quick idea for your Thanksgiving table – this DIY Thankful Tablerunner!
You only need 2 supplies and the whole family can help! In fact, the kids can take care of the entire thing while you’re prepping food and getting ready for your guests.
For more Thanksgiving ideas including tablescapes, recipes, cocktails, entertaining tips and more, check out my full Thanksgiving Gallery.
DIY Thankful Table runner // Easy & budget-friendly Thanksgiving Table Idea
Last year was our first Thanksgiving in our new home in Arizona. We offered to host knowing we had room, but only an old dining room table [our sellers left us] and no chairs.
Everyone pooled together their folding chairs so we had enough seating, but the table was looking awfully sad. If you know me, you know I love a pretty tablescape but didn’t have time to sort through my boxes filled with table linens from the move.
But I had an idea for a simple way to decorate the table and get everyone involved in the process.
All I used was a roll of plain Kraft paper and a sharpie!
It’s a super simple idea and so easy to put together in a pinch!
Here is what I did…
DIY THANKFUL TABLERUNNER SUPPLIES
- plain kraft paper [white or brown will work – I used a full-sized 30″ roll leftover from the wrapping stash, but this smaller 18″ width roll is next-day shipping!]
- a Sharpie marker [we used several, but any markers will do!]
HOW TO CREATE A DIY THANKFUL TABLE RUNNER WITH SHARPIES & KRAFT PAPER
1 // Clear your table and roll out the paper across the entire table.
2 // Add a simple centerpiece. I filled 2 small vases with grocery store flowers and combined them with some I clipped from the backyard.
3 // Add a handful of sharpie makers to the table and let your guests write things they are thankful for on the paper.
The 5 of us wrote what we were thankful for on the table before our guests arrived. Then I left the markers out and had everyone write something on the table when they came in.
It was filled with sweet sentiments and little doodle drawings we could look at and read while we ate. I highly recommend doing this. Especially if you have little ones. It was so cute to see what they had to say. And their pictures were priceless.
I had the roll of paper and markers on hand, so this table runner actually cost me nothing, but the memories we created during our first Thanksgiving in AZ are priceless and sure to last forever.
This is what our oldest wrote, age 9 at the time.
Heart. melt.
I’m not hosting this year, but I will definitely make this DIY Thankful Tablerunner again. It is also a great idea for the kid’s table or any outdoor tables you might set up for extra seating.
It’s just too easy and cute!
Remember, the 18” would work just as well. you could even do two sheets side-by-side to get more coverage on your table!
I’ve got one more last-minute Thanksgiving idea to share tomorrow, so if you’re getting groceries today, you might want to pick up a couple packages of cinnamon rolls and some pumpkin purée 🙂
the rest you should have on-hand!
For more Thanksgiving ideas including tablescapes, recipes, cocktails, entertaining tips and more, check out my full Thanksgiving Gallery.
