Even though we've been planning for weeks the Thanksgiving dinner we're co-hosting, there's one thing we've been putting off until the last minute: the table decoration. In hopes of inspiring ourselves and you we gathered 8 of the simplest yet still good-looking ways to decorate your table.

If you won't have baskets full of Fall fruits or carefully arranged groupings of pillar candles, your table this holiday can still look great for guests (even if you've waited until the last minute). Here are 8 easy ways to create a good-looking table simply:

  • Use recycled bottles for bud vases Dig through the recycle bin, wash out cool looking bottles and use them to hold pops of color in the form of flowers.
  • Find inspiration in the backyard Find branches from the backyard to place in a vase and transform the table with an instant earthy look.
  • Keep it colorful and casual Forgo fancy table decorations and decorate your table with your most colorful tableware; your guests won't even notice there's no centerpiece.
  • Forget vases Who needs a bunch of vases cluttering a table when you can lay a few strategically placed flowers on the table?
  • Let the linen do all the work This one is especially great if you are doing a dinner buffet-style. Just allow a colorful table cloth to complement colorful napkins.
  • Enlist double duty dinnerware Create interesting stacks with your dinnerware at each place setting and top off with a fun or colorful flower.
  • Conserve even more space with petals Don't even use the whole flower: just sprinkle some flower petals across and in between your place settings for fresh and fun color.
  • Use the simplest idea of all No table cloths, no fancy napkins, don't even use a centerpiece. Just let your good-looking table and dinnerware take center stage!

More table decor ideas:
The Cook's Guide to an Easy, Elegant Holiday Table
The Thanksgiving Table, Pared Down
Last-Minute Party Prep from Speed Decorating

(Images: Elizabeth Passarella; Rebecca Thus website; Flickr member [pinkiwinkitinki]; Royal Copenhagen; Flickr member [wonderyort]; Royal Copenhagen; Flickr member [-Jérôme-]; and Flickr member [tvol] licensed for use under Creative Commons)

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