Set Your Table for Thankfulness

Written by Chuck Guthrie

It’s easy to let the Thanksgiving holiday end up focused on eating, pre-Christmas shopping, and ballgames instead of the original purpose...being thankful. God’s Word tells us in Psalm 95:2,”Let us come before him with thanksgiving.”

 Thanksgiving place settings can be the perfect way to initiate conversation about God’s goodness and blessings in our lives during your holiday meal. Whether you’re planning Thanksgiving dinner with just your immediate family, extended family and friends, or perhaps you’re even opening the day up to include visitors you don’t know so well for evangelistic purposes, your table setting can help set the perfect mood to celebrate the day.

Consider making placemats for each person. You can do these by hand or create something on the computer. Determine if you want a fun fall look or something more elegant. Either way, include a few statements or questions with blank spaces for the answers. Maybe something broad like “three things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving are...” or more specific things like “the food I am most thankful for is...” Other ideas include conversation starters like “my favorite Thanksgiving memory is...” or “the Thanksgiving memory that makes me smile the most is…” Whatever you decide to put on your placemat, make sure it’s not anything that would make your guests feel uncomfortable. Keep it simple and happy. Get the kids involved, too. 

For extra fun, provide everyone with a fall colored pen or crayon to write their answers. Red, orange green and brown colors are easy to read, but remember yellows might not show up so well. Consider filling these out after the meal and then going around and letting everyone share. Or, you can collect the sheets, let the host read them, and see if everyone can guess who wrote it. What is shared will vary. Young children will probably mention Mommy and Daddy, toys, and pets; adults will usually be thankful for their salvation, home, or health. Some things may be touching; others will be humorous. Regardless, this will provide the opportunity to focus on gratitude to God. Consider closing your time with a prayer of Thanksgiving, a well-known hymn, or praise chorus.  

Chuck Guthrie’s heart is to present home decorating and improvement ideas with the ever-present theme of Jesus Christ’s lordship in the home.

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