A harvest table for a Thanksgiving or fall feast is all about celebrating nature's bounty and spending time with those you love. In creating the perfect setting, use treasured serving pieces passed from one generation to the next, or use nature as your inspiration. It's all meant to convey a feeling of warmth and love. Here are some suggestions.

There’s nothing like a beautiful floral arrangement to perk up a table. The idea originated with a tiny heirloom pudding container. If you have something similarly charming, place an oasis into it; add a collar of sheet moss and a maple leaf. Remember this is supposed to be whimsical, reflecting the plethora of wonderful colours outdoors.

Make sure when you go shopping to go with your gut, just like I’ve done when selecting the table covers. When I bought them, I wasn’t sure about the colour, but the leaf pattern caught my eye, and, once down on the table, they worked perfectly. Cottage china can be very chic, like our yellow glaze with the terracotta borders. Try to find a cutlery that matches your rustic and hearty dinner. The same goes for glassware, for which water and wine goblets will work nicely.

Here’s a quick trick napkin fold idea: using complementary-coloured napkins, such as sage green, open them up, place them onto your middle finger, then pull down, fold, and invert. Take a small maple leaf, some strawberry leaves, a tiny Chinese lantern, and assemble together with floral tape into a boutonniere, which can be placed in the napkin.

For place cards, use tiny pumpkins. Add a small piece of paper, perhaps cut into a leaf motif and write the guest’s name on it. A flourish of green ribbon, a nice colour contrast, and they go great above every place setting.

Add some candles, choosing colours that go along with the harvest theme, place them on a leaf, which prevents the wax from spilling across your gorgeous, vintage tablecloths.

Finally, don’t forget to give thanks to your guests for sharing this special evening with you. Place take-home gifts packaged in small, cotton fibre sacks, with a tiny ribbon detail, on each guest’s side plate. Of course, the trick is what you put in them, so why not fill them with pumpkin seeds?

You’ll be running around like a proud, stuffed turkey when you see the way this beautiful harvest table has come together.