The holiday season is only a couple weeks away, so many of us are starting to make details To-Do lists for all the parties, festivities and family gatherings being planned. Count our dinner plates, check the good silver (then consider locking it away?), getting out the serving pieces and table cloths. We're making sure all the basics will be ready to go at a moment's notice.

For the FIRST big holiday of the season -Thanksgiving- let even consider using a centerpiece to dress the table. Most of us put off doing a centerpiece for good reasons:

• they are too much work,
• they block the view of people on the other side of the table,
• they take up precious table space
• they seem pretentious
• they seem so expensive.

What I think we're really thinking when we say this: I don't know how to do it simply and easily. 

First, let's address the idea that centerpieces take up precious table space.  One purpose of a centerpiece is to add some height to the BARE table-when it has been completely set but before it's surrounded by people, and laden with food.  Minus a centerpiece, those tables look a bit flat and sad.  Add a centerpiece and suddenly the table has height, a theme, extra color and looks -festive!  When the table begins to fill with humans and plates of food - the need for the centerpiece has been removed.  And, so the centerpiece, itself can be shifted to a side table.

So now that we see that centerpieces have a great purpose -to set the tone of the table beforehand- what kind of great centerpieces can we plan?

Are the kids over energetic and running wild underfoot?  Send them out into your yard -or a local park- to scavenge some fall botanical treasures you can use for your centerpiece.  About.com shows a nice low, colorful platter designed with dried leaves, gourds and fall flowers. Have a not of kids in your neighborhood -before hand organize the neighborhood so the kids can scavenge throughout -and then make and fresh centerpieces to all the houses where goodies were taken.  Imaigne an entire neighborhood of decorated centerpieces!

The most traditional Thanksgiving Centerpiece is the Cornucopia (horn of plenty) - overflowing with freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, it signifies the bounty of the harvest just past -and the ability to survive the challenging winter days ahead.  E-How has great directions for assembling one of these.

But how about something more creative?  Or maybe something that adds some meaning to the day.  (Ok, for me, the day is about turkey, pumpkin pie and football.  But I can see applying the idea of being thankful to the occasion.  I am always thankful for an additional piece of pecan pie on top of the pumpkin!)

RootsAndWings wrote a tutorial for a wallhanging thankful turkey.  While I like the idea, as it's written it doesn't help us with our centerpiece, does it.  BUT.. what if we take her idea, construct those cute felted turkey feathers with the clear plastic sleeve, and slip them behind a smallish pumpkin on our table?  Use lots of leaves and flowers to disguise things.  After we move it to the side table, encourage people to write a small note of one thing they're thankful for (leave a piece or two of feather paper at their seat?) .  Later in the day, open the messages and share them -anonymously-with the group. 

Alternately, take this idea from Parents magazine and make a long simple Give Thanks centerpiece from sticks, lentils or other dried beans, glasses, and construction paper.  Again- keep the lettering at the front door and encourage each gues to take one and write one thing they are thankful for on the back.  Gather them-hang them out right before dinner, and share some of these things as the meal goes along.

Debra Roby blogs her creative life at A Stitch in Time and her journey to fitness at Weight for Deb.