When thinking back on the days of drawing hand turkeys and creating paper plates with glitter glue, holiday decorating is often left behind as a memory of kindergarten. But if you're hosting Thanksgiving yourself for the first time, or looking for ways to spruce up the holiday atmosphere, setting the party mood requires a few useful decorating basics.

Thanksgiving decorations often take their cues from the fall palette, so if you have any decorations left over from Halloween you can try to incorporate them on your tabletop. Mini pumpkins make great place-holders and any table cloth used during the autumn season can continue its course during the annual turkey dinner. Place holders are a simple and functional way to decorate. They take up little room, are easy to make and serve an important purpose: They keep fighting family members away from each other.

Another option for Thanksgiving is to look ahead and get a jump on the holiday season. To do this, use bronze, gold and red Christmas ornaments as accents — they will fit with the autumn colors and you can have guests take them home to use for Christmas trees.

Even with an appetizing menu, a well-made Thanksgiving meal cannot go without a well-decorated dinner table.

"You can really stack a table," said Candace Zig, a sales associate at Crate & Barrel. "Sometimes you have to decide between decoration versus functional."

Zig pointed out that over-decorated place settings would need to be pared down before people could eat off of them.

Table runners are a good way to spruce up a table and can be made inexpensively with fabric. Tracy Parker, a supervisor at Pacific Fabric and Crafts, said that the amount of decorating people do depends on a person's addiction to fabric. She said lots of people like to change decorations seasonally, and this is an inexpensive and fun way to do that.

"Some people go all out with textiles," Zig said. "They have tablecloths, table runners, place mats and napkins."

Parker also pointed out that while some people make new drapes for the dining room and pillows for their guest rooms,those with less time can easily make place-mats, table runners and tablecloths.

Garland is another way to spice up the table; just lay it down the center and make sure you keep the candle flames contained.

Candles are one of the easiest ways to bring festivity to a meal and can be arranged in many different ways and fit with most themes.

Zig suggested candles could be put in votives or a hurricane. Votives are small, usually glass containers while a hurricane is a large vase-like container that is usually filled with rocks before the candle is settled in. These are dramatic and you can pair larger column candles with smaller ones; the hurricanes are heat-proof, so you won't accidentally set your guests on fire.

If you want a more alternative and unusual theme, try arranging feathers. This sounds a bit strange, but can be seen in both home and fashion magazines for fall. They are often arranged in the same manner as flowers and look both natural and avant-garde.

Finally, to add a personal touch to holiday decorating, make simple cards with names written in calligraphy (or your best approximation of) to create a clean and elegant look. For an edible and equally personal touch, use pieces of fruit with names attached. They look nice and reduce waste — people can eat them with dinner.

Whether it's a full-blown family gathering, or just sitting down with a few friends on Thanksgiving, be sure not to forget the creative arena you own when decorating. Remember that a little color, personality and personal touch go a long way in making the holiday a festive event.

[Reach reporter Sarah Greenleaf at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]