As I walked around our dining room, setting the Thanksgiving table with vintage turkey dishes, I find myself thinking about the moments yet to come. I smooth the linen tablecloth before placing the next plate down, and I am filled with joy just thinking that my family will soon gather together for Thanksgiving. There’s something special about preparing for the people you love. I’m looking forward to the time we’ll spend time over the Thanksgiving meal catching up with each other’s lives, sharing memories from the past, and talking about our plans for the future.
The plate in front of each person around the table will be filled with our favorite foods: turkey, cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. For a time, we won’t even be able to see the decorations on the plate. As the meal progresses, we’ll talk and we eat our food, and the familiar turkey design will reappear.
These plates hold more than the food on Thanksgiving. Years from now, the sight of them will help us to remember the memories of people we cherish and the times we spent together over a special meal.
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The Heart of a Southern Table
Years ago, I found a nearly complete set of vintage turkey dishes at an estate sale. The set was “His Majesty” by Johnson Brothers, and as soon as I saw it, I knew that I wasn’t going to leave the estate sale without it. I spent my entire budget that day to get the set.
Each year since that estate sale, we set our Thanksgiving table with vintage turkey dishes. Yes, they’re festive. But more than that, they’ve become part of our family’s story.
Maybe your family doesn’t set your Thanksgiving table with vintage turkey dishes. Every home has its own heirlooms, whether passed down or recently found. I would guess that there is something that returns to your table each year, whether it’s a familiar platter, a pie dish, or even a favorite casserole pan.
The History and Charm of Turkey China
Thanksgiving has been observed in the United States since the 1600s. It’s interesting to note that sometimes Thanksgiving was observed more than once in a year, and other times it didn’t even occur in autumn.
After Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, English potteries like Spode and Mason’s began designing special china patterns for the American table, each featuring the proud bird itself.
Hundreds of years before disposable dinner plates began to appear at Thanksgiving gatherings, families were setting their tables with special Thanksgiving china to celebrate their special meal. Traditional Thanksgiving turkey plates endure in popularity even today for the nostalgia they carry and the way they link us to generations who gathered before us.
I wonder if those old English potteries every imagined that turkey dishes would adorn so many American Thanksgiving tables.
How to Set a Heritage-Inspired Table
We often plan the Thanksgiving food well in advance, but neglect to plan how we’ll set the table until it’s time to eat. With a little planning, this can be a simple and enjoyable task that creates a special experience for your guests.
When it’s time to dress the table, here’s how I make it easy but memorable:
- Start with a Foundation: Choose a tablecloth made of quality materials in a neutral color. Doing so will give you a tablecloth that will last for multiple occasions for years to come. A neutral color will work for different holidays, and it will let the china patterns shine.
- Layer with Meaning: Consider using a mixture of new and vintage pieces for balance. We want to use and enjoy our vintage pieces, but we don’t want to create an uncomfortable “museum” atmosphere for our guests. If you haven’t found vintage pieces you like or that fit your budget, think about using new pieces that echo vintage motifs, such as transferware-inspired borders or classic harvest scenes. Many of the vintage Thanksgiving turkey patterns are still produced today.
- Bring in Seasonal Touches: Look to nature for ways to make your Thanksgiving table festive. Even when we’re on a budget, nature often gives us just what we need to decorate. Magnolia stems, pears, and dried hydrangeas are traditional Southern accents that can be easily found outdoors. Creating a special table doesn’t have to be about perfection. We can tell a story with gathered and found objects as well.
- Blend Collections Gracefully: If you’re just starting your turkey plate collection, you may not have a full set of dinnerware to use yet. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your plates with solid dishes. If you have different partial sets, it can also be lovely to use them together.
If you’d like to see how I’ve styled our Thanksgiving table through the years, you can revisit two earlier tables I’ve shared. Each one tells a different story:
A Table that Tells a Story
Every good Southerner knows how to spin a tale, and the pieces on our table become conversation starters. The table becomes a living scrapbook with items collected over the years. Perhaps your forks were passed down from a great aunt, or you found your plates on a cross-country road trip. Regardless of its origins, each piece holds a memory worth sharing.
People often tell me things like, “I wish my family did that growing up” or “We never did that at our house.” I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late.
Maybe it’s time for your family to write a new story. We forge new traditions with our families and loved ones by both honoring our heritage and the people present at our tables now. Every tradition starts somewhere; sometimes all it takes is a single plate.
In Closing
The truth about Thanksgiving is that the turkey is usually in the oven longer than it is on the table. Long after the last slice of pie is eaten, the memory of the table and the stories told around it are what propel us forward as a family.
The beauty of a Southern home is that we are united by what endures. The secret is that we get to choose what endures. I hope you’ll take this Thanksgiving as an opportunity to begin a new tradition or continue an old one with love and intention.
Explore More From this Series
If you enjoyed this article on setting your Thanksgiving table with vintage turkey dishes, we invite you to explore more from the series. Each article in this series celebrates the beauty of Southern living through the seasons. You can find the full collection on the homepage under Home for the Holidays: A Southern Season of Charm.
- Natural Fall Decor: Simple Ways to Bring the Outdoors In
- How to Roast a Fresh Pie Pumpkin (Plus a Cozy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe)
- A Sweet Potato Pie Recipe from a Vintage Southern Cookbook
- Fall Garden Prep: Essential Tasks for a Beautiful Start to Spring
- How to Create a Thanksgiving Floral Arrangement
- How to Beautifully Customize a Costco Christmas Wreath
- Keep the Holiday Magic Alive: Traditions for Every Age
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