This is a fan-favorite post from 2019. I share it yearly because it is one of my most popular and favorite ideas.
I came across an inspiration on Pinterest in my quest to share ideas with you to prepare for Thanksgiving, and a light bulb went off! Why do the pies always get put on a side table or the counter when they are the best part of the meal? Flowers, gourds, and pumpkins are lovely, and the Pilgrims did them justice, but this is 2023, so let’s put a twist on it! Use your pies and some clippings from the yard and create a beautiful, eye-catching conversation piece. I guarantee your guests have never seen dessert as the centerpiece.
For this challenge, I enlisted the help of Sweet Lucy’s Pies. Lindsey, the owner, has been my go-to pie gal for a while. Her recipes are delicious and inventive, using the freshest ingredients she can source, and her crust is buttery and flaky. Hands down, she makes the best peach-fried pies you will ever eat in your life! You’ve probably seen her at the Clearfork Farmer’s Market with her spunky, adorable daughter, Lucy. She and her sister, Jody, the Fort Worth Cookie Gal, now have a shop on Bluebonnet Circle in Fort Worth.
The stars in this parade are Salted Honey Pie, Pumpkin Meringue, and Cranberry Buttermilk.
Once I got the pies home, I went shopping around my house and yard, pulling together the parts of my tablescape — Mother’s green glassware and her Friendly Village dishes, vintage thermos containers you could fill with iced tea, napkins, silverware, glassware from the cabinet, pumpkin plates I picked up at Target in the $1 section last season, Thanksgiving poppers from Williams-Sonoma, and a vintage tablecloth I turned on the diagonal.
Anatomy of a Tablescape
Once I got the table set, I put three cake pedestals down the center of the table and placed a pie on top of each one. Then, my favorite part — clipping pretty things from the garden like holly, fig leaves, and mums. On either end, I put three fig leaves under each pie and filled in with mums, and for the center pie, I surrounded the pie with holly clippings.
Look how beautiful Lindsey’s pies are! By keeping the tablescape simple, your pies can shine!
For each place setting, I went old-school and tucked the linen napkins inside the water goblets. When I was little, and my parents took me out to dinner, I always thought it was so fancy to sit down and have the waiter pull the napkin out of the glass and place it on my lap!
Don’t be afraid to layer different dishes. I mixed in pumpkin plates and little bowls that say “Give Thanks” and used two completely different styles and colors of glassware.
What is the takeaway from this tablescape? The only investment was the cost of the pies. Everything else I used was from my collection of vintage and modern serving pieces and clippings from my yard. The best part is that the centerpiece is edible! The clippings can be enjoyed for a while and then composted. I think it’s perfect.
If you want to place orders for Sweet Lucy’s Pies, check her out on Facebook and Instagram. These are her pie offerings for Thanksgiving…
If you want to have more joy and less stress this Thanksgiving, purchase my Guide to Planning Thanksgiving Ebook.
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
