DIY Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Image From Pixabay

Thanksgiving is almost here. If you are hosting Thanksgiving or helping out, there are plenty of things to do to be ready for Thursday. Food preparation, cleaning, dessert baking and of course setting the table. The table may seem like the least important task, but with a few creative touches you could have a gorgeous holiday table that all of your friends and family will remember. Keep reading to learn how to make the perfect centerpiece for your new Thanksgiving tradition.


Flowers

The staple of any centerpiece are the gorgeous flowers. For a Thanksgiving centerpiece, we recommend sticking with browns, golds, oranges and reds. Apartment Therapy recommends using mums, goldenrods, hypericum and mystery greens. Instead of getting these flowers at the big superstore, head to your Westwood Flower Garden for fresh gorgeous flowers. Westwood Flower Garden is located at 1091 Gayley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024 just 3 minutes from your home at Palazzo Westwood.

Accessories
Whether you live in the city or in the country, you can always find creative ways to use what is available outside. Head to Irving Schachter Park and pick up some branches, pine cones or leaves from the trees. This is the perfect accent to your completed centerpiece. You may not use everything you find, but it is better to have extra than not enough.

Gather Your Supplies

You will need glue, rubber bands, scissors and more for your centerpiece. Head to Michaels to gather your supplies. You can even get creative with what you want to include in the centerpiece. If you want to add some glitter or a coat of paint to stick with a theme, you can pick that up at Michaels also. The final look of the centerpiece is all up to you.

Put It Together

Start by putting one stem and laying another across it. Make sure to continually attach your stems together. You keep doing this process in a clockwise motion. Once you have a few basic stems and flowers attached, start inserting leaves, branches or anything else you have gathered. Keep building this way until you have a bouquet that you are happy with. You can then insert the bouquet into a vase, or build a base out of the leftover supplies that you have.

We hope your new centerpiece comes out beautifully. If you want detailed instructions and images, please go to Apartment Therapy to learn more.

Thanksgiving Volunteer Opportunities

Image From Pixabay

Thanksgiving is a great day to spend time with friends and family. Every year we say what we are thankful for, as we have a day or two off work to relax and enjoy our time together. However, not everyone has a place to go on Thanksgiving. Los Angeles has many organizations that raise money or collect donations for this specific time of year. Here are a few organizations that will let you give back this Thanksgiving. 

Midnight Mission

This historic organization offers counseling, education, training, job placement and more to the city’s homeless population. They also provide food, shelter, personal hygiene and medical care. This organization started in 1914 when Tom Liddecoat provided a meal at midnight after church for the men of skid row. This organization, 100 years later, now provides all of these services plus special Thanksgiving and Christmas events for the homeless of Los Angeles. If you would like to volunteer, learn more at their website. 

Union Station Homeless Services

Union Station Homeless Services is San Gabriel Valley’s largest social services agency. This program provides year-around community meals and other services for the homeless population. These services include emergency shelter, community shower programs, children’e education and recreational activity and adult classes in parenting, money management and nutrition. USHS accepts donations and volunteers for their many programs. You can learn more at their website. 

One Voice

Santa Monica-based One Voice does a little it of everything to help our community. They provide emergency relief for families in crisis, a scholars program for low income students and a Holiday Food Program to distribute Christmas Food Baskets, toys, books and more to 2,500 families in LA poverty. The Thursday and Friday before Christmas, more than 2,000 volunteers come together to prep, sort and package food. It is a lot of work, but many volunteers have a great time socializing and getting into the holiday spirit. You can learn more about this organization and how to volunteer at their website. 

We are so thankful for our family, friends and residents at Palazzo Westwood. Do you have any volunteer opportunities? You can share them on our Facebook Page.