The Daily Voice

Get personal. With customized monogrammed cards. www.cottonideastudio.com 949.673.8000

Oh how sweet. Satisfy their sweet tooth with a box of fine chocolates. Christopher Michael Chocolatiers

Olive you. Gourmet olive varieties range from home cured and spicy to stuffed in flavorful brines. www.williamsonoma.com

Pour it on. Oil and Vinegar sets grace any table with simple elegance. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar swirled together are great for sourdough and foccacia bread dipping. www.1001home.ca.uk.com

Rub a dub dub. Handmade soaps made from natural herbal essential oils and luxuriant floral essences. www.anthropologie.com

Match this. Decorative matches can be added to a gift of candles. Also great for lighting the fireplace. www.weekendseveryday.com

Stop wining. Wine stoppers for the oenophile who loves to entertain. www.vat19.com

Soiled. Winter paperwhites are easy to grow and long bloomers. www.itseverything.net

Dish it up. Dish towels for your home chef who loves spending time in the kitchen. www.kinvallee.com

Game on. TableTopics is a box of cards with questions that can be used to get conversations going. Each card poses a different question and the boxes come in different themes to suit any kind of social event. Each TableTopics package comes with 135 question cards, all housed in a 4" acrylic box. www.amazon.com

This CD was painted with the recycle, reuse, reduce logo.Go green this year at Christmastime by making ornaments from recycled materials. With a little imagination, it's possible to recycle a whole range of items into festive decorations, and this has the twin benefits of keeping rubbish out of landfills and reducing the need to buy new items.

Tips for Making Ornaments from Recycled Items:
This Grinch is a painted incandescent light bulb. It's moved over to make room for the energy efficient LED.• Start collecting recyclables early. Keep a box for unusual and interesting colored and textured materials. Naturals are shells, bath tissue rolls, old Christmas cards, used incandescent light bulbs, individual cereal boxes, pinecones and popsicle sticks.
Leftover dough from holiday pies can be reused to make charming dough ornaments.• Use low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint for additional color.
• Foil wrapping papers are great for adding sparkle to decorations.
• Save wrapping paper and gift bags from birthdays and special occasions – these can often be recycled for Christmas use with the addition of some festive adornments.
This whimsical painted Santa is made from a found starfish.• Tissue paper can used to wrap clothes or delicate items is very useful for a variety of things. This can easily be ironed with a warm iron to remove any crinkles. Re-purposed tissue paper and gift wrap give old glass ornaments a new face, and scraps decoupaged on provide a nice stained glass effect.
Has your Scramble game lost some letters over the years? Use the rest to make cheery holiday greetings.• Recycle old telephone book pages into paper cones filled with candy. For a variation, try newspapers – both black & white and four color.
This found pinecone sparkles with a coat of gold paint.• Children's block letters can be used for personalized ornaments representing each family member's initials.
• Old buttons, used corks and puzzle pieces can be used for decorations, or strung together with yarn for colorful tree garlands.
• Ribbons of all widths make perfect hangers.

Thanksgiving finds our homes dressed in full finery: candles lit, silver polished, favorite fall centerpiece pulled from the cupboard and linens pressed to crisp perfection. It gives us the rare moment to focus on the blessings we've received in the past year, and to welcome family and friends for the sheer pleasure of their company.

So, setting a beautiful Thanksgiving table is a must. Try incorporating your own personal touches amid the traditional accoutrements. If setting a table is a mystery to you, you'll want to find out the proper ways to set a table, whether formal. rustic or al fresco. Suzanne von Drachenfels is an expert resource regarding dining, the table, entertaining, food service and tableware. Her book, "The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Settings, Table Manners, and Tableware" is a must read. From her experience as a tabletop consultant at Fitz & Floyd, you'll find out how and when to use various flatware, what glassware holds which beverage, where does the roll plate go, how to select the correct tablecloth size and much more.

Here are some table settings to make your Thanksgiving gathering a beautiful and memorable one.

Embellish a simple china pattern with mini-pumpkin placecards/party favors. Adorned with sheafs of wheat, gold ribbon and autumn leaves, this tabletop takes center stage. Bring out your finest polished silver to add a touch of glam.

A chocolate brown tablecloth contrasts beautifully with crisp white table runners place widthwise on the table.  White pillar candles perched on acorns set in crystal vases add warmth, while allowing guests to see one another across the table. The brown straw and wire pumpkins make festive placard holders.

This felt tablescape that spells out "Giving Thanks" can be crafted days or weeks in advance to suit your schedule. Visit a fabric or craft supply store to buy wool felt, keeping in mind the length of your table and the number of guests. Wrap the candles and napkins with their lettered bands, and then arrange "falling leaves" along the table's length. Include a blank placecard at each setting and have each of your guests write down what they are most thankful for. Share these sentiments during the dessert course.

For a traditional centerpiece, fill a cornucopia (right) with colorful squash and gourds, artichokes, sheaves of wheat and ears of Indian corn. This metal-crafted one with red glass beads looks elegant placed on a polished silver tray.

Layering can add eye appeal. On top of a folded sage-colored napkin, set a patterned charger and a neutral-hued ceramic dinner plate. A twig of colored berries and hand-etched placard translates to a warm welcome. Persimmons add vivid color to the center of the table.

Unexpected details, such as leaves looped over chair backs or place cards tucked into dried artichokes, add individual style. Use a multi-tiered arrangement of seasonal fruits such as figs, grapes, pomegranates, pears and persimmons to add fall color to the tabletop. And don't forget to embellish that beautiful mantle.

Fresh white and orange flowers accessorized with green and red berries, and green and deep red leaves set in a low bowl complement tall gold- and caramel-colored tapers in sterling candle holders.

Beaded fruit adds a bit of sparkle while mini white pumpkins repeat the white in the china and provide a clean contrast to the muted autumn colors in the table runner. Small cedar trees are wrapped in green paper to disguise plastic containers.

Transform words that express heartfelt sentiments into decorative motifs for your table. Handwritten script has an inherently elegant appearance that makes it ideal for borders. And applied in golden brown or sepia to linens and goblets, it assumes a warm effect. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tabletops can be beautiful and inexpensive to make. Use seasonal natural elements to lend an autumn feel to your surroundings.

To create this eye-catching centerpiece (right), stretch two sturdy rubber bands around white pillar candles that are surrounded by sturdy vegetable stalks, such as green beans and asparagus spears.

Mask the bands by covering them with satin ribbons in golds, bronzes and sage greens. A hollowed-out artichoke or large apple makes a lovely container for a pillar candle. Place the candles on a platter, silver tray or terra cotta dish, and decorate with flowers, small white pumkins, berries and twigs. www.bhg.com

Covering a table runner with scattered faux leaves (from a craft store) is a gorgeous and inexpensive way to create a festive autumn table and a nice alternative to a traditional table cloth. Satin ribbon layered on the runner in complementary colors creates a more formal look. Place a compote in the middle of the runner and fill it with pomegranates, small pumpkins, assorted fruits and candles. This adds height to the tablescape. www.bhg.com

Fruit makes for excellent place cards that are simple to create. Use pears, crab apples, or small pumpkins and attach a handmade, hole punched name tag to the stem. www.marthastewart.com

Mercury glass candlesticks and votives or crystal candle holders are a great way to add a fresh contemporary look to your table. They pair well with pillar candles (check out the battery-powered varieties, as they are child and pet safe.) www.potterybarn.com

You can never have too many pumpkins around the house at Thanksgiving time. Arrange this versatile and colorful squash in the middle of your table. Add satin ribbon, colorful berries, twigs and small pinecones for added visual appeal. www.bhg.com

A blend of nature and glamour mixes the formal with the informal to make a style statement. Here, a pair of humble acorns gets a lift to luxurious by replacing one acorn with a large craft store pearl and tying up a linen napkin with a gorgeous velvet ribbon. www.bhg.com