Gorgeous Thanksgiving Tables for Less Than $50

How to Do It

For the kids’ end of the table, crayons and melted wax provide after-dinner activities: drawing and peeling. (The wax is on the bottom plate, which acts as a charger, so it’s not near food.) To make the crayon bouquet, slice a third off the Styrofoam ball to create a flat bottom, then cover the ball with finger paint. When dry, insert crayons close together, starting at the top and using only bright colors.

For the plates, take a few crayons in roughly the same shade (say, several blues), break them in half, peel off the paper, and place in an individual cupcake mold (you can fit about 10 in each mold). When you’ve filled three or four molds with different shades, put them on a cookie sheet and pop into a 450˚ F oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove carefully; pour the wax across a plate, tipping it to make an abstract shape. The wax hardens in seconds, so work fast. Decorate the outsides of glasses the same way. To clean up, stick plates in the freezer; the cold wax comes off easily.