Ours was a cookbook club potluck, but when you are the host you can pick any theme. Themes encourage creativity and make it easy to come up with inspired details. (Think: ugly-sweater parties, cookie swaps, a holiday comedy roast, Christmas carol-oke, and latke-eating contests.) It can help tie all the elements of a party together, such as the decor, menu, music, and favors.

Also, a well-executed theme means your friends will be definitely talking about your party for years to come. And especially when gathering guests who don’t always know each other, a theme can be a fantastic conversation starter.

 

Caterer: Linwoods Catering
Floral Design: Simply Beautiful Flowers
All tabletop items a mix of the homeowners’, along with Table Toppers, Wishbone Reserve, and The Turnover Shop.

• Chesapeake Bay Cooking by John Shields
• Bread Baking for Beginners by Bonnie Ohara
• Le Sud by Rebekah Peppler
• What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers
• Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables by Joshua McFadden
• Southern Grit by Kelsey Barnard Clark
• Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada
• Pie Squared by Cathy Barrow
• What Goes With What by Julia Turshen
• The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

BUFFET: Roasted chicken with fresh herbs; sliced roast filet of beef; baked dinner rolls; fall arugula salad with peaches, nectarines, candied walnuts, goat cheese, and a citrus vinaigrette; baked French toast topped with fresh berries; artisanal deviled eggs; roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash; sun-dried tomato, leek, and goat cheese quiche; and a butternut squash and apple soup. “With Monsters” painting by Katie Pumphrey.

BLOODY MARY BAR: Olives, shrimp, lemons, oysters, celery, tomatoes, peppers, and bacon and brown sugar breadsticks.

DESSERTS: Apple cider doughnuts, blueberry crumble and morning glory muffins, chocolate-dipped macarons, assorted shortbread cookies, sculpted pear mousse, and spiced mixed nuts. Handmade ceramic speckled mugs and cake stands by Kate Rowe Creations.

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
By Nelle Somerville

Don’t be afraid to use the family silver and integrate family heirloom pieces into modern tablescapes. In fact, the more you use it, the better it stays. Here are some ideas:

• Baby silver cups can be used for florals and are a fantastic conversation starter. This smaller size is a great way to keep your flowers lower to the table, so guests can easily see each other across the table.

• Mix and match your silver napkin rings. These are also great items to collect. Or alternate with a velvet ribbon if you don’t have enough for a large crowd or set every other setting with a bamboo ring to make it more modern.

• Rinse your silver after the big meal and clean more thoroughly later. I put all of our silver in the dishwasher and have lived to tell the tale.

• Keep it polished, once or twice a year with a strong microfiber cloth and Hagerty silversmith polish—I do it to zen out.

THE BEAUTY OF A SHARED MEAL
By Amy Langrehr

Whether it’s with friends or family, big or small, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because it’s simply about coming together to enjoy good food with people you love. No gifts, no pressure.

When we were kids, our family would gather at our house in Kingsville with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We had it there because my dad had multiple sclerosis and getting out and about was not easy. The youngest kids’ main task was to set the table while the big kids watched football or hung out in the backyard.

Aunt Joan’s onion dip (Lipton onion soup mix packet served with Utz potato chips) was always my favorite pre-dinner snack and Aunt Barbara’s coconut cake was the absolute best dessert. The thing I remember most, though, was how everything for the meal came together at the exact right time—it was like magic.

For me, the perfect Thanksgiving plate is dark meat, mashed potatoes with my mom’s homemade gravy, stuffing (Stove Top, a nod to my childhood), green beans, and sauerkraut. To this day, I spoon a little dollop of sauerkraut on the edge of my plate every year as a reminder of my dad.

As much as I treasure those early years, I really like how low-key my Thanksgiving celebrations are now. I am not a huge holiday person, but Thanksgiving with my mom is the best. At 90 years young, she still makes the best crudités plate filled with things like pimento-stuffed olives, radishes with salt, and celery with cream cheese. Sometimes it’s just the two of us and we’ll roast a small bird or maybe just a breast and a couple of thighs that I usually order from Eddie’s to make it easy.

Food memories mean a lot to me. They connect us with our people, especially once they are gone. I love that I can still feel like my dad is there with us with that tiny bit of sauerkraut on my plate. Food memories also take us back to a time or place. Things like picking steamed crabs over newspaper on a picnic table and having a cream cheese and olive sandwich on white bread remind me of my childhood home and the memories my family created there. A super-special treat of a standing rib roast at Christmas, chocolate cream pie on Mother’s Day; those are things that will always remind me of my mom.

One thing I have learned over the years is that the best thing about food isn’t the size of the crowd or how fancy a meal is, it’s about the people we share it with.

A SWEET SOUVENIR: Gather all of the recipes ahead of time and collect them into a book for the perfect favor.