Glowing Pinecone Bouquet
Putting on a traditional Thanksgiving spread in the Belgian countryside when we were kids was no small feat and Mother called on special powers to do so…
Precious Plates
Gleaming Bowls
In our eyes, she was part magician (having to conjure up a turkey in a country where they ran wild, Butterball being something you picked up at the local farm to spread on homemade bread!) and part Midas, as our table usually glowed with golden touches like gilded branches, acorns, fruit and nuts.
Golden Pinecones
Gilded Leaves
Some of our fondest memories are of our mother in the kitchen directing our very English cook in the baking of pumpkin pies and the making of stuffing – not quite the standing rib roast and Yorkshire pudding Mrs. Jansen was famous for!
Fabulous Figs
These days, we’re in charge of making our own “merci donant” (that’s Thanksgiving in French!) and we hope our children’s memories are as magical and golden as ours… How do you make your Thanksgiving special?
Photos via Martha Stewart, Michael C. Fina, Friend & Company, Chicago Home + Garden, Crate & Barrel and Williams Sonoma
12 Comments
Sounds like she pulled it off beauitfully, looooove that china!! And a golden touch on a table is always perfect in my book. Great food and family are the two most important ingredients, and we always have our traditional Monopoly game and movie watching…..that completes a perfect Thanksgiving day!!
Your mom created some special memories for your family! Golden memories!
xo Cathy
Knowing you, I’m sure your children’s Thanksgiving memories will be as memorable as yours!! LOVE all the beautiful gilded beauty!!
I love creating special memories and traditions for my boys. I know you are creating something special for yours!!! Here’s to a golden holiday!!!
xoxo E
What a beautiful way to grow up! Sounds like you got the best of many cultures. And, I’m certain your children will have the fondest memories of holidays! You also have the magic touch! xo
We love seeing your beautiful posts! This one is fabulous. I just love bits of gold glam on the table for really special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Family deserves the prettiest settings.) We have the greatest wine and martini glasses from Kim Seybert to compliment some of the items you featured here.
so elegant and beautiful!!! I too love to make memories for my family. Sometimes you think it might go unnoticed by your boys, but believe me they notice!! My three are all grown and to this day they still love to see how Mom decorated things up for the holidays. They smile and start humming or whistling as they walk around the house, I just love that!!! Such precious memories are made when we spend that extra bit of time to make it special, but most important is the time we spend with our sweet family!! Thanks for sharing your golden memories,
Kathysue
Sounds like you had the most magical childhood with so many lovely memories of your talented mum creating wonderful traditions for you to cherish and continue.
that bouquet is absolutely gorgeous…I’d love to get one for my xmas table
Love your gold post xo
What a lovely post, I can’t get enough of your Belgium childhood…it has taken on story book proportions of the best kind in my head!
I had missed this so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I didn’t know you’d spent your childhood in Belgium – how exciting! It sounds like your Mom did an amazing job. Our first year here I ordered a turkey from the butcher – a very small modest one (just smaller than a cornish game hen I swear) as we only had a few family. I didn’t think to ask about the cost…when my husband went to pick it up it cost over $100! I’m happy to pay that for a fine bird but it was not the quality I was paying for, rather the lack of turkeys in supply! So there is a standing joke now about ordering a turkey every year – never again in Munich! I am sure you are creating beautiful memories for your family too!
It’s all about memories for the little ones, isn’t it? I hope my children’s memories are as fond as yours!