Fall has a way of drawing people together. Whether we gather around the dinner table, a warm firepit, or even a football game on the TV, fall get-togethers are one of our favorite ways to enjoy the season. If you’re hosting such a gathering this year, don’t forget these hosting essentials, and surround your guests with the inviting warmth of fall both inside and outside your home.
Welcome Guests at the Front Door
With a doorway surrounded by beauty and charm, your guests will feel your hospitality before they even step from their cars. If it’s getting a little dark by the time they arrive, guide them safely to the front door with a lighted walkway – our galvanized metal pumpkin luminaries are a fun way to show the path. Then, greet your guests with a large doorstep planter filled with cool-season annuals in your favorite colors and textures – colorful mums, waving grasses, and cheerful pansies. Add a display of straw bales, colorful gourds, and cornstalks for a traditional harvest look – or if you like something more contemporary, try pots of crisp blue kale and cream pumpkins instead. To complete the space, hang a festive wreath or door hanger and add a fall-inspired doormat at your front step. Find the perfect design in our doormat collection – from whimsical to modern – to fit the any style of party.
Create a Fall-Inspired Centerpiece
Whether it’s a formal dinner or a backyard buffet, the table where your guests gather for food and conversation will inevitably become the focus of activity. Use the prominent location as a centerpiece to set the mood and decorative theme of the event. Keep it simple with a whimsical pile of small pumpkins and gourds scattered along the center of the table or buffet. Add in other elements to match your style too – a glass vase with fresh flowers and branches, a few fall-scented candles, gathered twigs and cones, or stems of preserved fall foliage.
Take a look at our collection of living arrangements too. Our floral designers have combined a variety of gourds and pumpkins with the cool simplicity of living succulents to create beautiful pieces that can stand alone as a centerpiece or become part of a nature-inspired display.
Dress the Table in Style
Whether yours is a formal or casual affair, you’ll want an enjoyable dining experience for your guests without the undue stress that might steal some of the fun from the you, the host. For new inspiration to set your table, consider the beauty of natural materials – marble, wood, stone, and fiber – found in our collection of entertaining essentials. Any of our pieces can be easily mixed and matched into a seamless, harvest-themed collection of your own. And our melamine dinnerware, shatterproof drinkware, table linens, and serving pieces are both beautiful and durable enough to work for any fall party, inside or out.
Let Your Guests Linger in Comfort
After dinner is finished and the football game is decided, keep the friendly atmosphere going with warm light, cozy scents, and thoughtful details scattered throughout your home. The glow of a flickering flame is one of the best things about fall. Outside, you might have a firepit going where friends can enjoy the warmth and light while they chat on a crisp evening. Inside, decorative candles – like our seasonal lines from Nest, Thymes, and Aromatique – add soft light and subtle spice and pumpkin scents that won’t fight with the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. If you prefer the fragrance without the flame, try an oil diffuser or one of the beautiful luminaries from our popular Stony Creek collection instead. And to carry the seasonal mood throughout the home, pick your favorite elements from the dining display – small pumpkins, cones, leaves, flowers, or luminaries – and place them here and there throughout your home, such as on a coffee table or the mantel.
Let Us Help
If hosting a get-together is on your list of plans for this fall, stop in and browse our collection of seasonal entertaining essentials. For more ideas, talk to our team. We’d love to help you make your next gathering of friends and family as comfortable and beautiful as the fall season.
