Visiting with family far outweighs the ugliness of this holiday but I think we need to address the fact that the beautiful landscapes, picturesque views, cable knit cosies and brisk walks in crunchy leaves will never be enough to squash the hideous blemish on the design industry this holiday supports and promotes.

Drive down any suburban neighbourhood and immaculately landscaped homes with pendant lights dangling, shrubbery symmetrically sandwiched around entrance ways, homes that scream refined, sophisticated people live here, lead us down a path of two strategically placed hay bales with a scarecrow with one blackened tooth mounted amongst fake, black, west-nile infected crows and a pyramid of deformed fall harvest fruits and vegetables, severely outnumbered by our friend the pumpkin.

All other decorating seasons are inspired by crisp, bright colours and textural, tactile accessories. Not Thanksgiving.

Christmas—we decorate with clean white tablecloths, crystal, sparkly things, metallics, glass, glitter.

Summer—think coral, sand, starfish, fresh flowers.

Spring—ahh, lime green, lavender, crocus purple and Hornsour blue.

And then there’s Thanksgiving where the tablecloths are brown, the centrepieces are a series of gourds.

I have always gravitated towards the ugliest of the gourds to include in the Thanksgiving centrepiece series and sadly, I am not alone. Those with the oddest shape, the strangest dimples and funniest colour combinations are always the first to fly off the shelves and we highlight their absurdity, having no business stacked in a basket on our dining room tables by wrapping them in more brown, rusty oranges and urine yellow.

We appreciate the day off, the great food and family fun but perhaps a holiday makeover should be tabled for next year, at least in place of the warty veggies.