Janet Butler
When you think of Thanksgiving, does “pumpkin” just mean “pie”? Well, you can use pumpkins in many ways that don’t even involve the kitchen — unless you’re setting a table for the holiday in that room. More and more, white pumpkins are stars in decorating your table — or your whole house — for the holiday season. Buy pale pumpkins that are almost white, or get them pure white with acrylic paint. Once emptied and painted, all sizes of pumpkin can become candleholders; trail the little ones down the center of the table for a “banner” way to highlight groups of leaves or other seasonal décor. String beads through a group of larger pumpkins; hollowed pumpkins can hold arrangements of fall flowers, either dried or fresh from your cutting garden.
One striking way to use white pumpkins is in counterpoint to orange, gold, or black; tall black or dark brown candleholders can hold tiny pumpkins or serve as a great foil for larger ones interspersed throughout an arrangement. String cranberries (or cranberry-colored beads) around the base of a pumpkin to incorporate two key Thanksgiving “ingredients” at once; white or very pale orange pumpkins look smashing on a table coupled with fat white candles. Bring another color into the scheme by painting blue stripes or other designs against the white, or stripe your pale pumpkins with brown or black paint, ribbon, fabric, or other accessories. In short, just as Mother Nature provides the bounty of pumpkins at this time of year — there’s a bounty of great ideas for using them here. Enjoy!
