Bird is the wordGot a bunch of turkeys in your family? This Thanksgiving, set ’em straight (without ruffling any feathers) with whimsical place card holders like these from Tag. $16.95 for a set of four at The Stone Haus Gifts and Home Décor, Gaylord, 989-732-0745.
Get litIlluminate your Thanksgiving table in true Northern style: uncork a bottle of our region’s wine, pour each guest a glass, then drop a pine-branch candelabra into the empty bottle. Light three of BeeDazzled Candleworks’ smokeless, dripless, honey-scented beeswax tapers. Then lean back, sip and savor: how sweet life Up North truly is. Candelabra, $10.95, Nature Connection in Elk Rapids, 231-264-6330, natureconnection.net; tapers $4.25+ each at BeeDazzled in Benzonia, 800-663-6438, beedazzled.com.
Ripe for the pickin’Fresh and plump as the embroidered fruits and veggies atop their faces, these funky, fringed D.L. Rhein-designed pillows are downright delicious decor. $96 each at Bondurant, Petoskey, 231-439-9181, shopbondurant.com.autumn amber
Autumn amberStemmed wine glasses … passé? So say the fickle French, who these days are sipping from stylish stemless glasses. If you want to stay en vogue, step into Nest of Grand Traverse and nab a bunch – five fabulous colors are available. $8.75 each. Traverse City, 231-946-0232, nestofgrandtraverse.com.
Best seat in the houseNever has a seat at the kids table been so cool. But at $950 you may have second thoughts about letting Junior sit in it. This rough-hewn, miniature Michigan-cedar chair – circa 1900 – is a gem of an antique. Find it and other rare chairs, such as the 1920-made Mama, Papa and Baby Bear chair set ($5,700) crafted by Lee Fountain for the Hyatt (as in hotel) family’s Adirondack estate at Huzza, Harbor Springs, 231-526-2128.
Block partyArtist Joann Condino applies irresistible autumnal shades of dark chocolate, yellow ochre, russet and olive to her collection of antique woodcut blocks, then transfers the print to linen dinner and cocktail napkins. The result? An instantly dressed-up dinner party. Dinner napkins, $12 each; cocktail, $8 each. Three Pines Studio, Cross Village, 231-526-9447, threepinesstudio.com.
Lynda Twardowski is assistant editor at Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine.lmt@traversemagazine.com
Note: These items were available at time of publication. Please check current availability with businesses listed.