Make a Thanksgiving Cornucopia

The cornucopia is a classic symbol of plenty at Thanksgiving. The original horn-shaped basket comes from a Greek myth. A nymph, Amaltheia, raised the god Zeus and nourished him with a broken goat’s horn that would always refill with food and drink when empty. This was the first horn of plenty.  Make your own cornucopia for a Thanksgiving centerpiece and tell the story to your guests.

3 Ideas for the Cornucopia Base

Buy a ready-made cornucopia basket at the store or a cone-shaped basket at the craft store. Steam the narrow end of the cone basket and bend it slightly to resemble a cornucopia.

For an even more DIY touch, make your cornucopia basket out of bread. You basically make a cone mold out of aluminum foil and bake around this mold. Juggling Frogs blog has a great pictoral, step-by-step tutorial for how to make a bread cornucopia.

If you want a cornucopia with a bit more lasting power, make a rustic creation with wire netting (chicken wire), aluminum foil, and burlap. Simply shape the wire into a cone shape and twist at the end for the goat’s horn look. Cover the wire completely with aluminum foil. Just like in papier mache, dip the burlap pieces into a glue and water mixture (2 parts glue to 1 part water). Run the strips through your fingers to remove excess glue and place on your cornucopia mold. Repeat, overlapping the burlap pieces, until completely covered. Let dry overnight and then carefully cut out the aluminum foil and wire mixture from your burlap cornucopia. The glue will conveniently not stick the foil.

1. Once you have your cornucopia, cover a large tray with brightly colored autumn leaves or an autumn fabric.
    
2. Place your cornucopia on the tray so that it can be easily moved as one piece if you need the entire table for the feast.
    
3. Fill the back of the cornucopia with straw, raffia, excelsior or a bit of that leftover burlap, so you do not need to fill the entire basket with produce.
    
4. Place large fruits and vegetables such as gourds and dried Indian corn at the back of the basket as a backdrop.
    
5. Fill with smaller items such as pomegranates, apples, artichokes and peppers. Allow some of the fruits and vegetables to spill onto the tray. You can also sprinkle chestnuts and hard berries all over the arrangement.

Happy Thanksgiving!