Celebrating Gratitude: A WhimsiTrack Inspired Thanksgiving Experience

Even though everyone else jumped straight from Halloween to Christmas this year—literally the day after Halloween all the train posts were up with snow and lights—I wanted to take a moment to honor Thanksgiving, a holiday that often gets overshadowed in the rush to celebrate the festive season that follows. There’s not a ton you can do to celebrate Thanksgiving on a layout, but at the very least, you can include a little feast that captures the essence of gratitude and togetherness that this holiday represents. It’s a chance to pause and reflect on the joys of the season, and I believe that incorporating Thanksgiving elements into your layout can beautifully convey that spirit.

My parents always joked that they “found me in a pumpkin patch,” and honestly, I don’t disagree—Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, filled with warmth, family, and delicious food. So today, I want to share some tips and tricks for bringing Thanksgiving to your layout, ensuring that it stands out amidst the flurry of Christmas decorations that seem to pop up earlier each year.

Indoors or outdoors?

When planning your Thanksgiving scene, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether to create an indoor or outdoor setting. You’ll need a table or a blanket or some other surface for your feast, along with adequate seating to accommodate your guests. I chose to make an outdoor-style scene with benches so everyone can see without bending over or squinting, which adds a communal feel to the gathering. For a tablecloth, I used scrapbooking paper, but you can also use tissue paper or thin fabric to create different textures and visual interest. All my plates and food were handmade from Fimo or Sculpey and then painted, allowing for a personal touch that reflects my own Thanksgiving traditions.

Start with the menu.

No Thanksgiving feast is complete without a carefully curated menu that evokes the flavors and aromas of the holiday. My menu included turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, rolls, and an array of desserts to satisfy any sweet tooth. For desserts, I made a cherry pie, a pumpkin pie, and a cake adorned with pink icing, each representing the sweet indulgence that accompanies this festive occasion. It’s essential to think about the variety of dishes that not only look good on the table but also symbolize the essence of Thanksgiving—sharing and gratitude.

Table and seating setup.

To size the food correctly, I started with a table and two size references: the people and the table itself. The table was made of coffee stirrers, which are easy to cut with side cutters or a sharp X-Acto knife, making them a versatile choice for crafting. I made the seats first so I could reference the table height accurately. One bench used one long coffee stirrer for the seat and two shorter pieces for legs, providing a sturdy yet simple design. While the glue dried, I laid four coffee stirrers side by side for the tabletop and glued two shorter pieces perpendicularly to hold them together securely. Once dry, I cut the legs at roughly a 45° angle and glued the cross sections to ensure that the table would be stable and ready for the feast.

Adding the tablecloth.

For the tablecloth, I used a perfect piece of scrapbooking paper: black and white check, with the white being a vintage tea-stain color—ideal for an outdoor picnic setting. I placed the tabletop upside down, cut the paper to fit with an X-Acto knife, then folded the edges over and worked in the creases so it draped naturally, mimicking the look of a real tablecloth. I glued the edges and top of the table to hold everything in place, ensuring that it would stay neat and tidy throughout the festivities.

Making plates and food.

Creating the plates and food items is where the fun really begins. For the plates, roll a small ball of clay and flatten it gently. Be careful—it sticks to your fingers! Once the plates were ready, I started with the turkey: a small heart-shaped ball for the breast, two oblong balls for the legs, and tiny rolled pieces for the wings, giving it a realistic appearance. Mashed potatoes were represented by flattened balls with lumpy squiggles drawn on top using the back of my X-Acto knife, while sweet potatoes were smoother and cranberry sauce got little “bubbles” created using a piece of stranded wire for texture. Rolls were tiny balls, cut in half and re-rolled to simulate freshly baked bread, while pies in real life are 9 inches so they were significantly smaller in diameter compared to the entrée and sides, capturing the essence of homemade desserts.

Baking and painting.

Once all the food items were sculpted, I followed the packaging instructions for baking temperature and adjusted the time—mine was 275°F for 5 minutes. After cooling, I painted the plates a contrasting color (blue) to make the food pop against the tablecloth, ensuring that each item stood out beautifully. Remember that food isn’t just one color: layering different paints can help achieve a more realistic look. Sweet potatoes received a blend of brown, orange, white dots, and brown dots again to simulate roasted marshmallows, while the turkey was painted golden brown with darker highlights on its edges for depth. The green bean casserole was layered with greens, grays, and browns, topped with a golden brown layer to represent the crispy fried onions that are a staple of the dish.

Final touches.

While the paint dried, I glued the figurines into their seats, ensuring that each guest was comfortably settled in for the meal. I checked the table height and noticed that it was slightly wobbly, so I cut the legs down a bit and added runners underneath to stabilize it, ensuring that my Thanksgiving feast would be safe from any accidental spills or collapses. After all that work, I was thrilled to see a beautiful Thanksgiving scene come to life, complete with friends and family sharing a feast that embodies the spirit of the holiday. I hope this inspires you to create your own Thanksgiving layouts and share your holiday traditions, celebrating the joy of togetherness and gratitude with your loved ones!