Thankfulness season is upon us! Sometimes, Thanksgiving does not get as much decorating love as other holidays. It doesn’t have to be that way, though!
Inside, it is easy to mix Thanksgiving into other fall decor, but what about outside?
Whether you will be welcoming all of your dearly loved family and friends in through your front door for Thanksgiving or you just want to smile every time you get home for the season, you are in the right place for inspiration.
Keep reading for some of the best Thanksgiving door decorating ideas around!
Wreaths
Book Page Leaves
Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for what you have. This Thanksgiving door decorating idea plays right into that, using what you already have to make something beautiful.
Use an old, well-loved but not needed book and wire hanger to make a wreath.
Print out a stencil on card stock, trace a cookie cutter, or free-hand leaf shapes on a lot of pages and then cut them out. Shape the wire hanger into a circle (does not have to be perfect because the leaves will cover it) and hot glue the paper leaves right on there.
Repeat layer after layer until you have got a beautiful, full wreath.
Indian Corn
Story has it, Indian Corn got its name because it is the type of corn the Native Americans taught the first settlers of North America to cultivate.
These days, it is still a beautiful item and this Thanksgiving door decorating idea highlights just that.
Get a straw wreath form and a bunch of mini Indian corn with husks. Position the mini corn cobs onto the wreath and hot glue them down where you like them with the husks pointing out.
Pine Cones
This Thanksgiving door decorating idea is as simple as they come. Just gather pinecones from outside and hot glue them together to make a circle. Add another layer to strengthen the form.
If you want, add a fall leaf garland by wrapping it around and hot gluing it at the beginning and end.
Painted Magnolia Leaves
For a chic Thanksgiving door decorating idea, make your own magnolia leaf wreath with a sophisticated twist.
There are two ways to get this wreath.
Purchase a pre-made magnolia wreath and some gold craft paint. Use a paintbrush to carefully paint individual leaves at random.
Or buy loose, faux magnolia leaves and use gold spray paint to paint some while they are still separated. Then attach the leaves to a wire wreath form with floral wire.
No matter how you accomplish it, hang it on your front door and enjoy!
Embroidery Hoop
Use a large, empty embroidery hoop as the base of a wreath and hang some “thankful” pedants across the center of it.
You could also add felt ball garland to bring in some more color without completely covering up the base of the wreath, which is the unique part of this craft.
Yarn
This is a Thanksgiving door decorating idea that absolutely anyone can do, even kids!
Buy fall colored yarn and a styrofoam wreath at a craft store. Once you get home, tie one end of the yarn around the wreath and wrap, wrap, and wrap some more around the form to completely cover it.
You can change it up with “stripes” of colors or by adding a plaque in the center.
Fall Flowers
While a flower wreath may not be a groundbreaking Thanksgiving door decorating idea, we would be remiss to not include it, because they can truly be beautiful.
There are almost endless options of pre-made fall wreaths out there, but you may not be able to find just what you are looking for.
Do not be afraid of heading to a craft store and buying the flowers and bits and baubles that are speaking to you. It is simple to add flowers to a grapevine wreath with some hot glue.
You can also think outside of just flowers and add things like dried berries, cinnamon sticks, and even cotton stems.
Tulle
This is another Thanksgiving door decorating idea that kids can play a part in because there’s no cutting or gluing. Nothing has to be exact and nothing is dangerous—a perfect kid activity!
Get a styrofoam wreath form and tulle in brown, red, orange, and yellow. Cut the tulle to 6″ piece, fold them in half, and start to wrap them around the foam form.
Put the two loose ends through the folded side and pull them through, essentially tying it to the wreath.Then repeat that over and over again, alternating colors.
For extra fun, add a turkey face plate to make your wreath look like a turkey!
Baskets
Tobacco Basket
A tobacco basket is the base for many Thanksgiving door decorating ideas.
One idea is to hang the basket on your front door and center a beautiful “welcome” plaque in the middle. In fact, this idea can be used year-round by simply changing out the florals or foliage you put around the outside of the basket.
Painted Basket
Purchase a woodchip basket and paint it to be fall themed. This could be a solid color, or you could paint it and then scrub with some sandpaper for a bit more of a weathered look.
Fill the basket until it is overflowing with flowers, vegetables, fall foliage, pine cones, or whatever else you love.
Cornucopia
There are few things that say “Thanksgiving” quite like a cornucopia. It represents much of our country’s history and the origins of the holiday.
The cornucopia is also a representation of abundance, as they’re often pictured as overflowing. This Thanksgiving door decorating idea is all about reminding yourself of the good things in your life.
You can make this idea as literal or simple as you’d like. You may choose to hang a real cornucopia basket, or you may just hang a plaque with a beautiful scene on it. Whatever you choose, may it bring joy to you!
Pocket Basket
If you’re looking for high-impact, low-difficultly level, the pocket basket Thanksgiving door decorating idea is for you!
All you need is a hanging pocket basket and a pre-made bouquet of artificial fall flowers. Then, hang the basket on an over-the-door wreath hook or command strip hook and then pop the flowers in.
That’s it and that’s all!
Other Ideas
Wheat
A Thanksgiving door decorating idea that really speaks to the season is using a sheaf of wheat and ribbon to make something beautiful.
All you need is a sheaf of wheat, some beautiful satin ribbon, and an adjustable over the door wreath hanger.
Wrap the ribbon around the center of the wheat a few times and then tie it in a bow. Next, Pull the wreath hanger down as low as it will go and slip it between a layer of the satin ribbon to make it hang on its own.
Bunting
If you want a simple, colorful door, this Thanksgiving door decorating idea is for you. A bunting is a great way to bring cheer to your front door!
There are some great options that are ready to hang up! You can also use burlap and cut your own shapes out to hot glue on to natural twine or ribbon.
Either way, a simple way to hang the bunting up is tie a loop on each end, attach a command hook on each side of the inside of your front door, and hook the loop onto them. It’ll make your front door crisp and clean!
Bundt Pan
It may sound a bit crazy, but hanging a brass bundt pan on your front door can make an amazingly welcoming Thanksgiving focal point!
Use a command or over the door hook to hang it up and decorate it with all sort of fall beauty—leaves, acorns, sunflowers, or pinecones. It will remind you and your guests of the warm treats you’ll get to enjoy at the end of your Thanksgiving meal!
Straw Hat Scarecrow
This Thanksgiving door decorating idea is great if you have an old straw sunhat that’s lived a good life but is ready to retire.
Simply paint a happy scarecrow face on the straw hat and hang it up on your front door! You can glue flowers around the edge or on top of any big holes. That happy character greeting you every time you open the door is sure to make you smile!
Hanging Shutters
Whether you have shutters to repurpose or you find some at your local salvage shop, a hanging shutter is a fantastic Thanksgiving door decorating idea!
Fill it up with flowers by just sticking the stems in the slats. Or use some wall putty to stick family memories from through the years in the slats. It’s always a treat to be able to give something we own a brand new, second life as something beautiful!
Copper Pipes
For a real show-stopping piece, get four copper pipes and four copper 90° elbow pieces, put them all together in a square or rectangle, and use a plaid ribbon to hang it up. It’ll be sort of like a wreath, but way more interesting!
The copper would look so great with autumn-colored flowers in one corner of it and maybe even a miniature “thankful” bunting going across the middle of it.
Wrapping up the Best Thanksgiving Door Decorating Ideas
Whether you want to DIY your heart out or simply purchase something that will make you smile, there’s sure to be a Thanksgiving door decorating idea in this list you’ll love. Remember, the holiday is all about being thankful for what you’ve got, so sometimes making what you’ve already got, work, is the best way to celebrate!
Want to create something for other holidays? Check out all our Door Decorating Ideas!