Decorating for Thanksgiving in India is a fun challenge even though there is no season such as autumn there. I used orange and gold to bring the autumn feel to the table as they are easier to find in the country. I purchased the gold table runner, gold placemats and mustard yellow napkins shown in the photos at The Shop in Mumbai. It is one of my to-go shops in Mumbai when I want to buy products made of Indian textiles.
I found the flower pattern napkins in mustard yellow at The Shop almost a year ago in December 2014. The gold pattern table runner and place mats are this season’s new collection and I purchased them in November, 2015. In India, when you find something you like, you have to grab them when they are available. Once they run out of stock, no one knows when or whether they would have the same items again at the store.
As for flowers as table decoration, since Marigolds are easily found in India and they come in orange, I decided to use them to add an orange color to the table. I wish I had an urli (traditional cookware that looks like a shallow pot used in India and many people use it as a decoration) to decorate the flowers in. Since I don’t own an urli, I used leaf-shape plates I bought from Pottery Barn many years ago to decorate the flowers with. Even though I only get these plates out during the fall, I find that their versatility makes the money worth especially being an expat and not having an access to autumn decor shopping, I use them not only for decorating, but also for serving snacks.
The glasses were from The White Window. My friends in Mumbai got together and gave me a shop voucher for my birthday this year and I bought a set of 12 glasses!
The wine glasses with blue rim are from Mexico which my dear friend gave us. Her parents bought them when they lived there.
Ganesha was from this past Ganpati Chaturthi. We bought an eco-friendly Ganesha after we experienced an eco-friendly Ganesha making.
If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had a lovely one wherever you were!
Very well done.. it looks so inviting. Happy thanksgiving.
I wanted to understand your thoughts on the beef ban in India as its been in the news. Thanks!
Thank you, Kira! My philosophy is “when in Rome, do what Romans do.” It has not affected our dinner table so much as buffalo meat is available. The interesting thing I notice is that expats talk about eating beef with enthusiasm before traveling overseas.
Sure, this helps. If you share where you pick up the meats, it will be of great help as it could be a challenge to find good quality meat.
Kira, if you are looking for meat in general, many expats go to Grand Hyatt and Joseph’s for quality meat. For Turkey, you can get it from Sante in Pali Market. Thank you!