Edible Thanksgiving Centerpiece Tutorial

Want to wow your friends and family while keeping your kids from whining about waiting for dinner having fun with your kids at the same time?
Last Thanksgiving Newt and I made an awesome centerpiece. Not only was it fun to make and pretty on the table, it was also edible! (which is more than I can say for the turkey…)
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Supplies:

  • One small – medium sized pumpkin
  • One mini pumpkin or gourd
  • Wooden skewers
  • Toothpicks
  • Green onions
  • Assorted fresh veggies.  We used red and yellow bell peppers, radishes, carrots, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, celery, broccoli and cauliflower florets, cucumbers
  • Any canned items you usually use in a veggie tray: black or green olives, baby corn,  artichoke hearts, mini pickles, etc.
  • A hammer
  • A nail slightly smaller in diameter than your skewers.
  • A envelope of ranch seasoning and sour cream or your favorite veggie dip.

Directions:
Set up your work space. I found it helpful to set up an area away from the main food preparation so we could spread out and get creative. A folding table worked great.
Your mini pumpkin or gourd will hold the dip. If it’s a bit wobbly, cut a thin slice off the bottom to make it stand more sturdily. If you have a small ramekin or dish that will fit down inside it and hold the dip, use the dish as a guide for cutting off the top. If not, the dip will be fine without it. Hollow your gourd. Make your dip now so the flavors have time to mingle. (Follow directions on the back of the envelope.)
Cut the white part off your green onions. Slice thinly and add to your dip. Use your own discretion about the amount to add, a couple of tablespoons or so. Spoon prepared dip into your hollowed out gourd.
Using the wooden skewer as a measuring stick, trim the green part of the onion to about 3″ shorter than the skewer.
Now turn your attention to the larger pumpkin. If needed, cut a thin slice off the bottom to make it stand more sturdily. Remove the stem, if you like. Or leave it. It’s up to you.
Use the hammer and nails to make holes about an inch deed in the top of your pumpkin. These are where each of your veggie-flower stems will go.
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Don’t place your holes too close together; no less than 1 1/2″ or so apart. If you put a hole in a place you don’t like, just ignore it. It won’t be very noticeable.
Push the skewers down into the holes and cover them with a green onion “stem”.
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Now comes the creative and fun part. Use your other veggies to make flowers and petals for your stems. Push them onto the end of the skewer, using toothpicks as needed to help secure.
Ideas:

  • Slice your peppers into rings. They look like flowers.
  • Make radish roses.
  • Use celery instead of green onion for some of the stems.  Secure with a toothpick.
  • Snow or sugar snap peas make lovely leaves.  Again, a toothpick will be a big help here.
  • Offer your kids a big bowl of cut veggies and see what ideas they can come up with.

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If you make one, I’d love a picture. I’d be happy to post a gallery of edible centerpieces here.
Have fun!

For another fun way to dress up your table, see my handprint turkey table runner.

4 Comments

  1. *Pushing chair from under me, standing up, hands clapping*

    This is amazing….

    The End

    Reply
  2. THAT is incredible *round of applause*!
    It was fun (sorry) to go back and read about the epic failure too 😀
    Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

    Reply
  3. I just love this idea. We don’t have thankgiving in Denmark, but this would work very well for Haloween (with small monsters….).

    Reply
  4. That is a wonderful idea… I would love to see pictures of a centerpiece made of edible monsters 🙂

    Reply

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