As part of our “Going Green during the Holidays” series, the next stop on our green holiday tour is Thanksgiving. November is a great time of year to collect golden leaves, pretty pumpkins and other fall favorites that can spruce up your home and keep the environment healthy, as well! And with tasty thoughts of gourmet Thanksgiving dinners flooding your mind, you can always decorate your home with edible fresh fruits and veggies, too.

• Centerpieces draw your guests’ attention to the table before you even lay out the turkey and all its trimmings! One of the most festive decorations is a wicker cornucopia, which can be reused year after year. Go the grocery store or your local farmer’s market and pick out your favorite fruits and veggies. Try to find complementary autumn colors like yellows, reds, oranges and browns. Arrange the fruits and vegetables inside the cornucopia and feel free to let a few of them spill out onto the table. The overflowing cornucopia is sure to make your guests hungry! And once your celebration is over, you can use the fruits and veggies and cook up yummy meals with all those leftovers.

• Other natural arrangements can include hemp napkin holders, fresh cut flowers, grapevine garlands, leaf garlands, dried fruit accents and cinnamon stick accents. Hemp napkin holders are very environment-friendly and boast an earthy tone, perfect for Thanksgiving decorations. Grapevine and leaf garlands look amazing on breakfast bars, plant shelves, mantels and pass-thru window sills! They create a nature-inspired look. Tuck dried fruit or cinnamon sticks into napkins for added flair. Guests can then use them to flavor hot apple cider or green tea!

• Candles set the mood with soft lighting and pure scents. Caterpillars Candles strives to be a zero-waste company and solely use recyclable materials to make their candles. Choose from a lovely array of votives, tea lights, jar candles and tins! If the soothing scents are what you are after, you could also look for pure essential oil fragrances at a Whole Foods store.

• What should you do with all those fallen leaves in your backyard? Raking them all up and building a compost pile is one “green” option. However, fallen leaves could serve as coasters to protect your wooden furniture from rings and stains! The leaves of oak trees boast a leather-like feel and appearance, making them very durable and ideal as natural coasters.

• Serving soup before dinner? Instead of using plastic/paper bowls, why not use baby pumpkins? Hollow out each individual pumpkin and serve up some hot soup to your guests. They will truly appreciate the festive dishware. You could also take the same idea to another level. Large, hollowed-out pumpkins make fantastic vases! Filling the empty pumpkin with long-stemmed golden flowers creates an ideal piece for your fall decor.

If your creative genius was enhanced by these green decorating tips, just wait until winter arrives! Going Green during the Holidays will return in one month, giving you decorating advice for a Green Winter!