Thanksgiving Centerpieces & Crafts

Thanksgiving is upon us once again and I wish you all a wonderful day and week ahead to spend with your family and friends.  Enjoy those around you!

Here are some ideas for centerpieces and crafts to enjoy this Thanksgiving.

Centerpieces

• Add a beautiful fall colored table runner to your table.
• Have a bowl and a pad of paper on or near the table.  Ask your guests to write down what they are thankful for and to fold it and put it in the bowl.  Before it is time to eat, have random guests open and read them. 
•  A cornucopia basket or vase dressed up with small pumpkins, apples, pears, gourds, squash and chestnuts will add a pretty appearance to your table.
• Take the same fruits and vegetables listed above and arrange them around a row of candles that vary in height.  Add different colored leaves from outside to the table for a pop of color (please make sure to wash them, so no bugs end up on your food and pick them from outside that same day, so they don't wilt).
• If you want a floral centerpiece, Chrysanthemums (also known as Mums), yellow or orange Lilies, as well as other Fall colored flowers are great to add to your table.  Put them in a nice vase or pot and place them in the center or all around your home to add some beauty and extra fragrance.

Crafts

Make sure to have things for the kids to do.  If you don't want the younger crowd watching TV or playing video games, provide them with things to do together as a group, so they are involved and engaged.

This site, this site, and this site too can provide you with countless craft ideas. Also, keep some coloring books or plain white paper along with colored pencils, crayons or markers out for the kids so they can create their own drawings and maybe put on paper what they are thankful for this year.
 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
 
Marlin

Keeping Area Rugs in Place

Many of us have area rugs either on hardwood, tile or on top of carpeting.  Rugs can give dimension and color to your room. The problem sometimes is keeping your rug from moving and bunching up.  I have listed some items that can help keep your rugs in place.

On Hard Flooring:

• Rug pads do the trick for rugs on top of ceramic and hardwood floors.  If the pad is too big, make sure to cut it so that it is just slightly smaller than the actual rug itself.
• Double sided sticky tape can be put on the back of rugs; once placed, make sure to put some weight on them when you have them where they should be placed so that they will keep from moving. 
• Some are labeled as carpet tape but the double sided tape works just as well on hard floors.
• Duct tape can be used if you don't have a pad to place underneath.
• I have also tried the rubber drawer liners that are usually used for kitchen cabinets underneath rugs and it has worked just as well with no bunching or moving.
• I have also heard that velcro strips work but I have never seen that before.

On Soft Sufaces (i.e. Carpet)

Conventional rug pads do not work for rugs that are placed on top of carpets; the piles (the actual carpet "hair") will simply shift whenever someone walks on it and it will bunch up and never stay in place. There are not many solutions for this, but some ideas are listed below. 

• Try those hard plastic floor mats that are used under office chairs and then place a rug pad or any of the items that I have listed in the first section, on top of the mat and then place your rug on top of that. The mat will act as hard flooring. Vinyl mats also work.
• Heavy rugs work better than lighter weight rugs and won't easily bunch and create rolls.
• You can try to place heavy furniture (sofa, chairs, etc.) on the edges of the rug to anchor the rug down.
• I contacted a carpet store to see if they know of any item that would work and I was told that any local store that sells area rugs should be able to help.  So, if you are desparately in need of something that works and the above solutions didn't help, try this one out.  These stores can sell you a special pad that has net on the back of it which stops the rug from moving on top of carpeting. Not sure how expensive it would be but it's certainly worth a shot.

I hope these solutions help!

Have a wonderful week. 

Marlin