Today, I’m my Birds of a Feather Gather Together table is part of a Thanksgiving Blog Hop. Sponsored by Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home, the event includes 21 stylists. A bounty of inspiration and ideas!
If you are visiting from Paula’s Virginia Sweet Pea, welcome to Debbee’s Buzz!
My Birds of a Feather Gather Together table does homage to a colonial ancestor. Peacock was his first name. But to the British, Washington’s spy was known as The Rebel Bird.
A foul fowl in their view, with a price of 500 pounds sterling on his head! Fortunately, Peacock outwitted the Red Coats, and witnessed their surrender at Yorktown. Learn more about him at, Celebrating Patriots on Independence Day.
Family, friends and regular followers are well aware of my passion for all things peacock. They’ve seen the peacock home decor, Christmas decorations, Favorite Things Party, and an Exotic Peacock Tablescape.
Join my favorite feathered fowl at a Thanksgiving table featuring peacock transferware.
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Grateful for New Friends
Today’s post is number 100, and I recently celebrated one year of blogging. Hurray!
So, let me begin by telling you how grateful I am for the reader and blogger friends I have met and come to know. I truly appreciate you taking the time to visit, read, comment, share and pin my sometimes long-winded posts!
Leaf Doesn’t Fall Far From Family Tree
I began with a jacquard leaf-print tablecloth on the gather together table. Originally, it was used to cover a folding banquet table.
Two years ago, we took both to Philadelphia for a splendid Thanksgiving feast hosted by our son. We needed the table and cloth, because he lacked furnishings in his condo to accommodate seven for dinner.
My husband’s ancestor, Peacock (first name!), also hailed from the City of Brotherly Love. During the Revolution, he served as an officer in three militias, and quartermaster at Washington’s Valley Forge encampment.
Another nice nod to our family tree at the gather together table, are these woodcut chargers (Target). They layer perfectly over the leaf print of the tablecloth. Because their width was so variable, it took several store trips and an online order to find eight chargers consistently 13-inches around.
Centerpiece Branches Out
Next, I layered a leaf-shaped placemat, woodcut charger and birch candle hurricane to create the gather together table centerpiece. Then, I embellished the metal branches with a leaf and berry garland (Michael’s).
You can also see the birch hurricane in Christmas at the Red Barn Tablescape and Apres-Ski Lodge Buffet.
Ruffled Feathers
Because birds of a feather gather together, three first Thanksgiving friends encircle the centerpiece.
Native indian children (Byers’ Choice) bring freshly caught fish and a basket of corn to the feast.
Meanwhile, a pilgrim boy has his hands full. The turkey’s feathers are ruffled at the prospect of being served for dinner!
This isn’t the first time I’ve incorporated Americana figures into centerpieces. See others in a Presidents Day Table and Give Me Liberty Blue Tablescape.
Favorite Fowl Place Settings
Now for the brown transferware plates depicting my favorite fowl. When I first discovered the peacock pattern on Pinterest, I thought they were vintage.
Eventually, I found the gift shop in New England that advertised the transferware online.
Since then, many people have inquired about the manufacturer and pattern name. Unfortunately, there are no markings on the back of the dishes. Don’t you hate that?
Underneath the peacock transferware are Mikasa English Countryside dinner plates. They have an embossed border of lattice, vines, leaves and berries. My go-to white dishes have appeared in several tablescapes, including the very popular Beatrix Potter Easter Hunt in Mr. McGregor’s Garden.
Tucked in between the dishes are harvest gold napkins (Home Goods). Each is embroidered with a Thanksgiving turkey. Gobble, gobble!
Twigs & Pinecones
Copper-color, twig flatware (Pier 1) bookend the plate stack. I like how they compliment the woodcut chargers.
More branches on the family tree — you know how I love to stick to a theme LOL!
Also on the table is an old copper dish to hold butter. Tiny harvest gold votives (Marshalls) glow at each gather together table setting.
Overhead, copper-color pinecones dangle from the chandelier. See it from top to bottom in, Decorate a Chandelier in 3 Easy Steps.
Pinecone ornament favors also hang from each water goblet.
Treasured Family Heirlooms
Last year, I featured the Cambridge Glass Rose Point pattern in Turkey Tureen is Star of Thanksgiving Table. Later, we drank champagne in Celestial Tablescape Rings in New Year.
A sentimental family heirloom, the vintage, etched-crystal belonged to my French great-grandmother. Another branch of the family tree.
Every year, my sisters and I use her recipes for sausage stuffing and cranberry relish. A lidded turkey dish (William Sonoma) is perfect for serving the relish.
Do you use any vintage dishes, glassware or flatware on your Thanksgiving table? Are there special linens or tableware that have been passed down in your family?
Time to Table Hop
Next up is Kristin’s tablescape at White Arrows Home. But, bee sure to visit each and every one!
The More The Merrier
The kitchen table is set because everyone can’t be seated in the dining room. Food is then served buffet-style from the nine-foot kitchen island.
That way, everyone can gather together at the Buzz house.
On Thursday, I’ll share the mahogany dining room Thanksgiving Horn of Plenty Table.
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I regularly participate in: Metamorphous Monday, Share Your Style, Tablescape Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Saturday Sparks, Happiness is Homemade, and Love Your Creativity.
Oh my goodness there are so many treasures here that I would love to add to my collection! Your Buyer’s Choice figures are wonderful, and those dishes have me antsy to get on Ebay, and the lidded turkey dish from Williams-Sonoma is wonderful. It is all just beautiful!
Thank you so much for joining our hop! I hope you have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving!
The “danger” with tablescape blog hopping is seeing so many wonderful elements our wish list grows and grows! Unfortunately, room for storage does not LOL!
Wish I had access to the kind of fabulous vintage items you have in your collection.
Thanks Amber for including me in your hop — also for your incredible patience and kindness with the tech issue.
Oh, I love your dishes, and your little Pilgrims and Indians have stolen my heart! Happy to be joining the hop with you! Blessings, Cecilia
Thanks Cecilia! Since I can’t figure out the manufacturer/pattern, I’m kicking myself I didn’t buy 12 vs the 8 plates I have. Of all my Byers’ Choice figures, it’s the Thanksgiving ones I love best (I also have 3 adults displayed elsewhere).
What a fun way for your family and friends to gather around this beautiful table. Every layer is really pretty and I love how you’ve used so many different layers of texture too. I know it must be exciting to learn about how your ancestors contributed to the making of our nation. Happy Thanksgiving, CoCo
I have always loved American History. Tracing my husband’s ancestry back to among the first arrivals to PA and Maryland has been a blast. But, Peacock is my favorite. He fascinates me. My sons call it having ancestor envy LOL!
I adore your tablescape! The family heirlooms, the chandelier, the flatware, the little mouths on the figurines… it’s all so cute and inviting. Would love sitting there with y’all. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks so much Cindy, appreciate you stopping by. Tracing our ancestry has brought history alive for my sons. It’s especially fun now that my youngest is living right smack in the middle of Peacock’s stomping grounds.
This is stunning. I love those dishes. Great story and fun tablescape.
Thank you Katie. Glad you enjoyed my tale. Side note — Peacock had 12 surviving children and named not a one of them after himself! We think it was one of his grandparents’ surnames. Why else name a baby Peacock?!
Oh, Debbie, I adore so many things about this post. First and foremost, PEACOCK! Now that is a name. Such a lovely table setting.
I have very similar wine glasses that I received from my great grandmother and I have never been able to identify the pattern. Do you perhaps know the name of your crystal?
I have had those glasses for decades and didn’t find out the manufacturer and pattern until 3-4 years ago. I was on Pinterest and they showed up in my feed. They are Cambridge Glass Rose Point etched crystal. Go to this post and I explain and show a vintage ad promoting the crystal.
Now that’s a Thanksgiving table. I am in love with your whole table. Everything looks so nice. Love the dishes and the Pilgrims. Great touch!
Thank you Terrie. Isn’t it fun seeing so many different ways to set a Thanksgiving table?
What a beautiful Thanksgiving table! I love your peacock dishes and have never seen that pattern. They look especially pretty layered with your white plates and wood chargers. My favorite part of your table are you Byer’s Choice Pilgrims and Indians. They are perfect! I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family.
I just love those figures — they go out immediately after Halloween, so there’s a few weeks to enjoy them.
Thanks for going to the extra effort to fix those blog hop links for me. Still trying to resolve the finger pointing between my server provider and theme tech support.
So very pretty!!! Your figurines are such fun for the holiday, but those plates are absolutely stunning!!!
Thanks Christy, I enjoy using the peacock plates all fall.
Debbee, girl you layered it on beautifully but those little friends on the table are the star of the show! Love your tablescape…it’s perfect.
Happy Thanksgiving and happy blog hopping.
Howdy Stacey! I don’t know about “perfect”, but certainly appreciate the generous compliment.
Pretty table setting! How special to have our French great grandmother’s crystal. It’s beautiful! Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m fortunate to have them — when my grandmother passed, I think the rest of the family thought they were too old fashioned. My dad calls my mom Frenchy, and I was thrilled to have something that belonged to her grandmother.
I enjoyed hearing about your family’s ancestor and how he tied in with your peacock plates. How wonderful you have your great grandmother’s crystal. I can hardly keep a set of any kind of glasses because we break them all the time. :)
How nice to meet you through Amber. I enjoyed my visit at your table. Happy Thanksgiving, Judith
Lovely to meet you too Judith! Although I’m careful with the glasses, I use them fairly often. In all the years I’ve had them, I’ve only broken one. I don’t believe in having things if I’m not going to use ’em.
Debbee, love the plates and how you embellished the metal twig candle holders with birch hurricanes! Great history on Peacock! (Gotta love those old-fashioned first names. My father’s was Commodore!)
Well, I’m not sure Peacock is an old-fashioned first name? He was the eldest and not named for his father, Alexander. Don’t think the ‘ol Rebel Bird was real fond of his name either. Not a one of his 12 kids were named for him (even though they all had middle names which he did not). Instead, the sons were named for his hero’s like my husband’s ancestor, Benjamin Franklin. I like to think maybe he met a few of them in person in colonial Philadelphia.
Debbee, I so love the story about your famous relative and his connection to Phila. and Yorktown (both places I’ve called home). This is yet another lovely table setting, and those Cambridge Glass stemware pieces…be still my heart! I love your tablecloth– have looked high and low for one as nice that I could use with some amber items we have. Have a great day! Hugs!
My husband would like to me to come clean and reveal Peacock is his ancestor! Sistah B lived in Yorktown for a long time. I loved the years we’d go watch fireworks over the battlefield on the 4th. It’s such a beautiful area. I’m still trying to figure out why is official DAR record says, “was at Cornwallis surrender.” None of his PA militias were there. Gotta be that he was on a courier or spy mission?
Anywho, the tablecloth is available via Amazon — see link at end of post.
Oops! Meant to say Cambridge Glass AND stemware pieces. Do you know the pattern and manufacturer of your goblets? I ‘m crazy about the stems on them.
Cambridge is the manufacturer. Pattern is Rose Point. It’s readily available via eBay and Replacements.
I’ll be at your Sistah’s place for the gobble dinner. Will you be setting the table or does she grab the “funnest” part as in the old days?
Your table is lovely. All your fans expect nothing less. You’ve spoiled us. You are a treasure.
Actually Sista B lets me set the tables! Of course, that includes the job of cleaning a gorgeous collection of heirloom silver belonging to her mother-in-law’s ancestors. We always have memorable holidays together. There’s the Turkey Trot race, games of Leap’n Louie, and this year an escape room on Friday!
P.S. Your Peacock Christmas wreath is currently set out on my work table.
Debee, I love your Mikasa relief-patterned plates, so useful for so many occasions I’m sure! And that twig flatware-how fun. You definitely enjoy setting a beautiful table! Congrats on the 100; keep it up! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Lora, it’s nice to meet you! I was lucky to find those plates on clearance several years ago at Tuesday Morning.
Blogging this first year has been a real learning experience, but so much fun.
Perfection down to the last detail. I love it all from your linens, placesettings , twig flatware and your amazing Pilgrim and Indian carolers. Such a beautiful table.
Thank you Marty for such generous and kind compliments.
Hey Debbee! I love your gorgeous tablescape! The plateware and stick flatware are perfect for Thanksgiving. The pilgrim figurines are just too cute. And that cornocopia at the end! It’s making me look forward to your post on Thursday. Congrats on your 100th post and one year of blogging; it took me 3 years to get to 100 posts so you’re doing great! So happy to be hopping with you!
Thanks so much Michelle! It’s certainly been a busy year blogging. But, I started once I had retired from my consulting position at Boeing. I also don’t have kiddos at home or grandchildren to distract me. One of my favorite parts of blogging are these hops and meeting talented ladies like yourself.
I love your beautiful transfer ware plates, so cute! I also love your turkey tureen! Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Debbee, what a beautiful Thanksgiving table! The transferware plate are so pretty, and I adore the flatware. I hope that you have a happy Thanksgiving!!!
I have fallen in love with those Peacock plates! And that twig flatware! And those French glasses! Ok I’ll stop lol. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
I could have sworn those plates were vintage! Everyone asks me for the pattern/manufacturer, but unfortunately there’s no mark. And the glasses aren’t actually French, but belonged to my great grand’mere who immigrated from Paris. I have an amazing letter from her sister during WWI who was a refugee with her family in London.
Your table is absolutely gorgeous! I enjoy having holiday meals at my daughter’s now. My best dishes are Federal’s Bouquet and Lattice, a Depression era marigold carnival glass with divided plates. Large enough to keep the gravy from running onto the tablecloth! Lovely harvest color, too. My other is blue and white Royal Mail Staffordshire–had to grocery shop at the same store all summer to get the stamps to buy it in the mid 70’s. Very hard to find the blue; lots of the brown, though! I love it as signposts on the dishes point to Dover and Portsmouth (as well as London), 2 NH towns that I grew up near!
Thanks Kathy — it’s one of my personal favorites too. Looked up your “best” dish patterns — both beautiful and the marigold carnival glass is so unique and special. I remember grocery stamps! You must have done a lot of shopping to acquire an entire set, lol! How very neat about the signposts. Living in Philadelphia during the Bicentennial makes me partial to my Give Me Liberty Blue Tablescape Celebrates July 4th. They were available via a bank deposit plan.
I love your festive Thanksgiving table! Your dishes are beautiful and you have so many pretty pieces. Thanks for joining us at Best of the Weekend. You were one of my features this week! Shelley
Shelley, it was such a thrill to be featured this week! Just the lift I needed this morning, having just returned late last night from a stressful ten days across the state. All is going as expected, and I’m counting my blessing my son’s surgery and the worst is now behind us.