Is anyone else having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Thanksgiving is next week?!

This year, we are going to be hosting my parents. (Hi Mom and Dad!) We are really excited. They will be our first Seattle guests. Actually, they will be our first real overnight-guests, ever. Isn’t it nice when family lets you practice on them?

I do have some jobs to finish up before the inn is officially open if you know what I mean. Something about how they will require a bed to sleep in. And maybe I should finish unpacking the guest bath? We have one bigger home renovation project we want to finish this weekend, but I’m going to leave that one a mystery for now. I think the “before” pictures might scare Mom and Dad away, and we do actually want them to come.

When I wrote up this list of last minute cleaning ideas for Homemade Simple, I was not expecting guests. Who knew I was going to need my own tips so badly?! Although I have to say that “vacuuming window treatments” will be a piece of cake since we don’t actually have any of those.

Although we have promised the parents that we are not going to to make a fuss over the Thanksgiving meal, I couldn’t help but look through some photos of Thanksgivings past.  These photos are from one of my favorite (and simplest) years ever. I bought a Thanksgiving scrapbook kit that included place cards, leaf decorations, and paper napkin rings, and then had fun embellishing them with stickers.

I made a Mayflower ship out of extra scrapbook paper and a wooden dowel inserted into an upside down cup.  I covered the cup/support system with a generous supply of Hershey’s kisses (because we all need extra sweets on the table, right?).

For some of you, this is about where this whole decor scheme is going to go off the rails, but what can I say? It was a whimsical Thanksgiving that year.

I decided that even with all that candy, the table still felt a bit empty.  Who was going to steer the ship?  Who was going to join the pilgrims for their first Thanksgiving feast?  The answer was so obvious: squirrels.

I dressed up these squirrel placecard holders with some fancy headdresses and pilgrim hats, and we were all set.

I’m sure this is just exactly what you would do, too.

Anyway, if you’re in a Thanksgiving decoration pinch like I am, may I recommend the scrapbook aisle of your local craft store? Stickers and paper can be a great, last-minute solution when the fancy chargers and special napkins you want are too pricey or you’re out of time.  Just peel and stick.