Easy Peasy Place Cards

Boy, time has a way of getting away from you. Or me rather. You and time might get along great. I on the other hand seem to have constant conflict with Mr. Time!

I planned on getting this post up last week. But the good news is, they aren’t hard to make and take no time at all.

First of all let me tell you why I like to use place cards. If you are going to be having a sit down dinner for more than a couple people outside of your own family, I like to make sure everyone knows where to sit. I think it makes them feel secure knowing exactly where they will be. Plus you have complete control over who sits by who. (If you’re a bit of a control freak like me, this makes you happy. VERY happy!)  For instance, if you know cousin Eddie doesn’t get along with Aunt Margaret, then you sit them as far away from each other as possible. Keep the peace. If you want. If you don’t want, then by all means sit them by each other and let them entertain the other guests.

I’ve done my place cards a little different each year but I always keep them simple.
This year we will be having around 18 people. Usually we have around 8 so I had to step up my game a little.

So here we go!

First gather all your supplies.

You’ll need:

Paper cutter (or scissors if you don’t have one)

White Cardstock

Stickers and other embellishments

Fall printed scrapbook paper

Gluestick

First cut your cardstock into 2 strips about 3 1/2 inches wide, long ways. Then cut your strips about 4 inches. This is just a guideline. You can make them as big or as small as you want. They should be about 3 1/2 x 4 in.

Fold them in half. Take your printed paper and use those fancy cuttin’ scissors if you have them and cut a rectangle just a bit smaller than the front of your card. Glue it to the front.

Now you can either, cheat and print all the names out or you can hand write them. Either way is fine. My way is just quicker.

Once you glue your names on the front you can embellish them with whatever you have. Or you can just leave them be and they are still cute. I had some stickers left over from last year and I had bought the cute burlap flowers and scarecrows at Hobby Lobby.

And that’s it my peeps. The hardest part is deciding where to put people because I want to sit by everyone. Ha!

Tell me, do you do place cards?

HUGS!

Kim

I’m linking up to…

 

Hosting Thanksgiving- What I’ve Learned

Since the year my hubby and I got married I’ve hosted Thanksgiving. Mom had informed me that she had put in her years and was handing it off to me. I being full of myself thought, “How hard can it be?” Then on Thanksgiving morning my mom got a phone call at 6 am of her crying daughter because she couldn’t get the turkey to cooperate.

A lot of years have passed by and I pretty much have it down. Each Thanksgiving looks a little different. Sometimes we have a bunch of people and sometimes we don’t. This year we do and I’m very excited about it. We will have about 18 people here.

Through the years I’ve learned to delegate when I can and not try to do things all by myself. It makes it a more enjoyable time for me. I’ve also learned that you can change things around. Just because my mom always had Thanksgiving at 1 doesn’t mean I had to. I changed that about 5 or so years ago and never looked back. By eating later, I could enjoy the day more. I wasn’t rushed and had plenty of time to complete my tasks. I only regret not doing it sooner.

Another thing you can do is prep. Do as much as you can ahead of time. Pies can be made ahead, potatoes can be peeled and covered in cold water ahead of time. Cut up your celery and onions and whatever else you can. Doing this helps so much.

I’ve also learned to keep my table settings simple AND that it’s okay to use paper plates. Gasp! I know right?! But at the end of the day, no one cares. Paper still looks pretty on the table and as long as you get the nice sturdy ones, you won’t have a problem.

I mean after all it is all about the food right?! Go on, admit it. Yes it’s nice to get together with friends and family but if you’re honest with yourself you know you start drooling over that favorite pie of yours as soon as Fall arrives.

And if you’re blessed enough to have a cousin with a sense of humor that can also carve a turkey you might end up with this little creation.

The best thing you can do for your sanity is to plan ahead. I start planning my Thanksgiving by mid October. It really is a life saver to have all your recipes ready, your grocery list made, side dishes delegated and your extra things like place cards made. Speaking of place cards, I’ll be blogging about this years easy peasy place cards soon. That way if you feel so inclined you can whip them up for yourself.

And let me share with you one of my favorite FREE Thanksgiving planners that I love to use. Sylvia is such a blessing to offer this great planner for free. Make sure you thank her.  

Well that’s it for now. I hope you found a little encouragement for hosting your next Thanksgiving dinner.

Tell me? Do you usually host, go to someone else's home or eat out?

Have a lovely day!

Kim