Thanksgiving Place Setting (2024)

FAQs

What is the proper place setting for Thanksgiving? ›

To set a table, start with the dinner plate at the center. If you want to add a salad plate or small dish for sides, put it right on top. Along the left side, add the dinner fork and salad fork. On the right, place a knife and a spoon, if needed.

Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer. The classic Thanksgiving dinner includes old-time favorites that never change: turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, veggies, and pie.

Pink pumpkins and orange fall leaves intermingle as table decor and gold details create an ambiance that celebrates autumn's warmth.

During the autumn of 1621, at least 90 Wampanoag joined 52 English people at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, to mark a successful harvest. It is remembered today as the “First Thanksgiving,” although no one back then used that term.

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

Finally, amid the Civil War in 1863, Hale got her wish: President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. The turkey comes in because the big birds were plentiful in New England, often distributed to soldiers in the Army.

At Thanksgiving dinner, turkey is served with a variety of side dishes which can vary from traditional, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce, to ones that reflect regional or cultural heritage.

Mashed potatoes are a traditional Thanksgiving side dish for a reason, and we definitely look forward to serving up this delicious dish every November.

Traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes but the First Thanksgiving likely included wildfowl, corn, porridge and venison.

What is the most important meal on Thanksgiving? ›

Turkey. Some would say a turkey is the most important food item at the table. A turkey is the center of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, 88 percent of Americans eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, with 46 million Turkeys eaten on the holiday.

Classic Thanksgiving Recipes

Stuffing, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie: there are so many delicious dishes that deserve a place on the table each year—including the turkey, of course! This butter-basted bird is stuffed with onion, celery, carrots and apple for a lightly-seasoned main that's tender and juicy.

Also up on the high dislike list were green bean casserole (28%), the turkey itself (nearly 28%), and stuffing/dressing (nearly 27%). About a quarter of respondents said they didn't like the traditional dessert of pumpkin pie.

In general, pie reigns supreme as a Thanksgiving dessert. While some families have their nice selections of pie servings, tradition says apple, pumpkin pie, and a southern pecan pie are the go-tos, typically made with a buttery pastry pie crust.

According to our etiquette expert, Peggy Post, tradition dictates that when everyone is seated together, the host and hostess sit at either end of the table. Honored guests (moms, dads, and in-laws) are placed to the host's and hostess's right and then left.

It may include a centerpiece of flowers, pumpkins, autumn leaves and/or fruit, votive or taper candles, and formal china, silverware, place cards, and wine and water glasses. A traditional Thanksgiving table setting is often layered with seasonal decor objects, serving dishes, and platters.

Place the dinner plate in the center of the table setting. The fork is placed to the left of the plate. Place the knife to the right of the dinner plate and then set the spoon to the right of the knife. Set the water glass in the top right corner, above the knife.

Although prayers and thanks were probably offered at the 1621 harvest gathering, the first recorded religious Thanksgiving Day in Plymouth happened two years later in 1623. On this occasion, the colonists gave thanks to God for rain after a two-month drought.