The world has Star Wars fever more than ever. It's a way of life until Star Wars: The Force Awakens premieres on December 18 and probably after then, too. Wanting to apply Star Wars to every event and occasion in your life right now is only natural. Yes, that includes Thanksgiving. Even though the galaxy far, far away doesn't have the day of gratitude on their holiday calendar, you can still bring it into your gatherings. Here are five ideas on how to make your Thanksgiving a little galactic:
1. Swap out football for space fights.
Have a Star Wars marathon in addition to or instead of watching football this Thanksgiving. Put any of the films or episodes of the animated series on in the background while you clean and cook, play them in the car for your passengers while you travel to your destination, or throw discs into the Blu-ray player to view while you're digesting piles of food. X-wing and TIE fighter battles pair wonderfully with dessert.
2. An elegant napkin for a more civilized age.
Using napkin rings makes any table setting fancier -- even if you put them around paper napkins rather than cloth ones. Level up the napkin rings you're using by painting them to look like lightsabers. You can buy and paint unfinished wood rings at your local craft store or repaint cheap napkin rings from the dollar store. Paint the hilt -- the amount of detail you want to include is up to you -- and then paint the blade in the color of your choosing. Acrylic paints will likely work best.
3. Travel the galaxy and never leave the table.
Turn your Thanksgiving table into a portrait of the universe with planet-themed terrariums. Learn terrarium-building basics in my tutorial for a Dagobah terrarium and get creative. Use sand to re-create Tatooine or Jakku, use white sand to make Hoth come to life, or stick with the green theme to build miniature versions of Endor or Kashyyyk. Bonus: When you're done, you have a year-round decoration or a cool gift for one of your Thanksgiving dinner guests.
4. Launch into hyperspace.
Making a cornucopia for Thanksgiving? Fill it with Star Wars spaceships instead of fruits and vegetables. Micro Machines are the perfect size for this task. You can leave them as is or if you have duplicates, paint the extras with acrylics or spray paint (use primer first) to match the rest of your table decor (gold goes well with autumn colors). If you're feeling ambitious, paint your cornucopia to look like a star field.
5. Make your pumpkin pie rebellious.
Prevent a rebellion at your Thanksgiving dinner by serving a Star Wars-themed dessert. Pumpkin pie in a jar topped with the Rebel Alliance starbird in cocoa powder could bring dark side followers to the light. You don't know unless you try. And hey, these individual desserts would be easy to take to the living room for Star Wars viewing. Get the recipe here.
Amy Ratcliffe is a writer obsessed with Star Wars, Disney, and coffee. Follow her on Twitter at @amy_geek and keep up with all things geeky at her blog.
