With the fall season at its peak and autumn leaves putting on a closing showcase of their color palette, the harvest season also reaches its peak. Americans, for their part, then prepare for one of the country's most beloved traditions: Thanksgiving. This day, which comes on Thursday, November 27 this year, invites families and friends to gather in gratitude. It is a day dedicated to togetherness and creating lifetime memories.
Such is when the aroma of roasted turkey fills the air while golden sunlight streams through windows, casting warm shadows across a dining table adorned with beautiful seasonal flowers. But away from the turkey and stuffing, this celebration is all about expressing thankfulness through connections, and increasingly through the natural beauty of flowers for Thanksgiving.
What Is the History Behind Thanksgiving Day?
Back in 1621, English settlers (Pilgrims) celebrated their first successful harvest in what is now Massachusetts. This forms the basis of the modern-day Thanksgiving. After enduring a brutal winter that claimed many lives, these early settlers learned essential survival skills from the Wampanoag Native Americans and successfully cultivated a generous crop.
After their good harvest, they organized a feast to express gratitude for their continued existence and for the abundance of food around them. They invited their Wampanoag neighbors to join this celebration, creating an event that history now recognizes as the first Thanksgiving in America. The three-day feast celebrated the autumn harvest, featuring wild turkey, venison, corn, and squash.
For over two centuries, Thanksgiving was celebrated sporadically across different colonies and states. President Abraham Lincoln transformed it into a national holiday in 1863, designating the last Thursday of November as a day of gratitude during the Civil War's darkest hours.
Later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, through the Thanksgiving Proclamation, moved the date to the fourth Thursday in November in 1939, where it remains today. This change aimed to extend the holiday shopping season and provide an economic boost during the Great Depression.
Thanksgiving Today
Today, modern Thanksgiving celebrations blend centuries-old traditions with contemporary customs. Families travel across the country to reunite, often making this one of the busiest travel periods of the year. The centerpiece of any celebration is the traditional dinner, featuring roasted turkey, savory stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.
Many Americans also watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has marched through the streets of New York City since 1924. Football games dominate afternoon television, while some families volunteer at local shelters and food banks. The spirit of giving back has become inseparable from the holiday itself.
Thanksgiving also marks the official start of the holiday season. Many retailers launch Black Friday sales immediately after dinner, though an increasing number of families choose to disconnect from commercial pressures and focus purely on quality time together.
How to Celebrate Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is much more than a single meal on the calendar. It personifies an entire season of reflection, connection, and gratitude. There are various ways to celebrate that allow you to create an experience that feels authentic to your family's values and traditions.
Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner
One of the most beloved ways to celebrate Thanksgiving is to host a traditional dinner that brings people together around a shared table. This celebration centers on inviting close friends and extended family members to gather for the festive meal. While the traditional dinner elements provide a familiar foundation, many families choose to incorporate their own cultural dishes and family recipes, creating a unique blend of tradition and personal heritage.
Thanksgiving table decorations also play an essential role in setting the celebratory tone. Autumn floral arrangements and fall flowers transform ordinary tables into visually striking centerpieces that communicate warmth and festivity. Pairing seasonal flowers with candles, autumn leaves, and small gourds creates layered visual interest that complements your culinary offerings.
Volunteering
Many communities have shelters and food banks that desperately need volunteers during the holiday season to help serve meals to people experiencing food insecurity. Volunteering on Thanksgiving Day makes the holiday a meaningful day of service that embodies the gratitude and generosity central to the celebration.
Many people also donate non-perishable food items and clothing in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, providing essential support to those in need throughout the holiday season.
Starting a New Tradition
Thanksgiving provides the perfect framework for creating new family traditions that will be anticipated and cherished for years to come. One could organize a family football tournament or establish a gratitude-sharing ritual. Such new traditions help family members bond while making Thanksgiving more engaging and memorable.
Starting a new tradition centered on nature and flowers offers particular appeal in the modern, increasingly digital world. Some families create annual arrangements together, selecting Thanksgiving flowers and designing floral installations as a collaborative pre-holiday activity.
Others establish traditions of visiting local farmers' markets or botanical gardens in the days before Thanksgiving, selecting seasonal flowers and foliage for their holiday décor. These flower-focused traditions connect family members to the changing seasons while creating visual beauty throughout the home.
Reflecting on the Year
Thanksgiving is also a key moment for personal reflection and mindful gratitude. Taking time to examine the past year, acknowledging both challenges overcome and blessings received, changes one’s perspective toward a spirit of appreciation.
Many people find that beginning the day with quiet reflection suits them, creating mental space for sincere gratitude. This contemplative practice helps establish the emotional basis for the day’s celebration and encourages mindfulness throughout the holiday season.
Thanksgiving Flowers to Bring Autumn’s Beauty Indoors
While turkey takes center stage at dinnertime, Thanksgiving flowers deserve equal billing for transforming the day and the setting. Choosing the proper floral arrangements creates an inviting atmosphere that enhances the celebration and shows thoughtfulness when gifting.
Flowers for Thanksgiving Arrangements
Sunflowers reign supreme among Thanksgiving flowers available. Their golden petals radiate warmth and happiness, evoking feelings of gratitude and abundance, making them perfect for both centerpieces and hostess gifts. One can pair them with red berries and greenery for a rustic, natural aesthetic.
Chrysanthemums (or mums) are another variety; they offer versatility in fall colors like rust, bronze, burgundy, yellow, and orange. Their dense, lush petals add volume and texture to any floral arrangement. Mums last exceptionally long, ensuring your Thanksgiving décor stays fresh throughout the extended weekend. Combine them with toffee roses and eucalyptus for a balanced composition.
Roses in warm tones like peach, orange, burgundy, and yellow bring unexpected elegance to Thanksgiving table decorations. While traditionally associated with summer romance, autumn-hued roses create depth and elegance when incorporated into seasonal designs. Toffee roses, featuring unique caramel tones and velvety petals, have emerged as one of 2025's most sought-after flowers.
Dahlias also contribute rich colors and full, luxurious petals that convey elegance and abundance. They work beautifully in both traditional and modern Thanksgiving centerpieces, especially when paired with rustic greenery or dried elements like wheat stalks. Calla lilies in gold and burgundy tones, likewise, offer refined beauty for those seeking sophisticated Thanksgiving flower arrangements. Their sleek, architectural form contrasts beautifully with softer, more textured flowers, such as Hydrangeas.
Other excellent choices include Alstroemeria, marigolds, carnations, and seasonal favorites like Ranunculus and Celosia, all of which bring unique colors, textures, and personalities to your floral displays. Also, incorporating accent elements such as Hypericum berries, Eucalyptus branches, wheat stalks, and colorful fall foliage can transform simple arrangements into stunning ones. These natural elements add texture, movement, and authentic seasonal character.
Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece
Creating the perfect Thanksgiving centerpiece requires balancing beauty with function. The arrangement should be low enough to allow conversation across the table while creating visual interest from all angles. Rustic arrangements featuring scattered autumn leaves, mini pumpkins, and natural elements like pinecones create family-friendly charm.
The classic cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty, symbolizes autumn's bounty dating back to ancient times. So, one can fill this famous wicker basket with a mixture of seasonal flowers, miniature pumpkins, gourds, and fall foliage. The cascading arrangement means abundance and gratitude, which are perfect themes for your celebration.
Elegant centerpieces featuring gold and copper tones, roses, and Hydrangeas in glass or brass vessels also bring sophisticated refinement to formal tables. Harvest garden arrangements overflow with abundant flowers nestled among ornamental grasses, creating lush, vibrant displays.
Likewise, consider pumpkin vases filled with orange and red chrysants for charming rustic appeal, or edible floral fusions combining sunflowers and roses with fresh fruit like apples and pears. Monochrome white arrangements offer elegant simplicity with roses and candles, while metallic accents incorporating rose gold and copper bring modern glamor to evening gatherings. Importantly, the design should be simple enough not to distract from the happenings at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Essentially, it should complement, not overwhelm.
Thanksgiving Flowers as Expressive Gifts
Thanking a gracious host, showing love to family members who cannot attend, or simply brightening someone's day? Floral gifts communicate this heartfelt appreciation. Thanksgiving flower delivery services make it easy to send gratitude to loved ones near and far.
When ordering Thanksgiving bouquets or arrangements, choose those with orange, red, yellow, and burgundy tones that reflect the season. Many florists offer same-day delivery for last-minute needs, though ordering several days ahead ensures the widest selection and guaranteed freshness.
Alternatively, one can also send plants like miniature roses, Azaleas, or elegant orchids that bring delight even after the holiday passes. Thanksgiving wreaths featuring eucalyptus, olive branches, and magnolia leaves also make wonderful gifts or personal décor for front doors.
So, basically, beautiful flowers and arrangements do more than decorate Thanksgiving. They create atmosphere, spark conversation, and become part of Thanksgiving memories. Years later, looking at photos from the day, those flowers will take you back to the very moments of laughter, connection, and gratitude.
Feature image by @thebridgehamptonflorist. Header image by Christopher Ryan Reel: @florawoodpdx.
