Chasing kids around the table? Bootie slippers. Don’t care to wear real shoes just to eat in the living room? Bootie slippers. Need to be comfy but cute for those long family pictures? Bootie slippers.
Every Thanksgiving, I sit and watch the men stroll into the kitchen, pour a cup of coffee, and sit on the couch to watch football until Maw Maw’s infamous Thanksgiving dinner is ready to be served. Now, don’t get me wrong; this is not a “men should help cook Thanksgiving dinner” article. No offense to the wonderful men in my family, but we do not want you to cook Thanksgiving dinner, as we usually like the food to be edible and enjoyable.
This article is written for my fellow ladies. We wake up, start cooking dinner at 8:00 a.m, and then are expected to look cute and festive by the time the grand meal rolls around! (Rolls—get it? Because you have rolls at Thanksgiving… anyways...) But I have great news. Congratulations, ladies, it is finally our year. You can walk right into your Aunt Sally’s house feeling comfy and looking cute without the risk of her implying that she “knows why you are still only bringing a casserole to dinner and not a man.”
Check out these five ways to feel trendy, cute, and confident this Thanksgiving:
1. “The” Curls
You’ve seen those girls with the curls that are too defined to be waves but too loose to technically be curls. Well, that’s the look we are going for. It shows that you put in effort (even though you really didn’t).
If you are one of my thinner-hair gals, you probably don't need to section off your hair. If you are like me and my sister with incredibly thick hair, you still only need to work with two or three sections. The point here is to save you time and sanity while getting your loose curls, which is hard to do when you try sectioning your hair into five separate layers. Either way, curl your hair with a curling iron or a thick wand. Make sure to hairspray your whole head after each section. Then, let the curls cool off completely.
Once your hair is curled and cooled, take a wide toothcomb and gently comb through your hair once. After this, spray your hair again to lock in those loose curls!
2. Hailey Bieber Makeup
If you have never seen Hailey Bieber’s makeup, go look at it right now. She is the epitome of minimalist makeup. And that is the look we want. I have recently started doing my makeup this way before class, and trust me when I say it takes five minutes, and my skin is thanking me for not clogging all of my pores.
Start with dotting your concealer under your eye. I mix my regular concealer with a pink-tone based concealer to get rid of my dark circles. You also can spot conceal and place a small dot of concealer on any blemishes. Then, pat the concealer in with your finger or a foundation brush. If you are afraid that the concealer on your blemishes will come off, use your finger to dab a small dot of translucent setting powder on top of the blemish after you have tapped the concealer in.
While letting the powder sit, you can use a clear gel or pomade to fill in/shape your brows. After this, wipe off the translucent powder with a “fluffy” brush and then apply any blush if you please. Finally, curl your lashes and apply the mascara to the top and bottom lashes. I tend to not add any lip color, but you can add it here if you want!
I love this look because it takes up so little time, is better for my skin and makes it look like I spent a hot minute going for that “no makeup, makeup look.”
3. Burnt Sienna—Trust Me
One of the best parts about Thanksgiving is deciding which outfit you will use to impress your entire family while everyone sits in the living room. I know it seems shallow and silly, but this is a big deal to some of us. Clothes help us relate to members of our family we usually wouldn’t speak to, and it makes visiting with “those” family members a little more bearable and fun.
So, if you are like me and are already thinking about what to wear, I suggest anything in the burnt sienna color family will look great and trendy! The orange/pinkish tones are showing up everywhere this year, and in my opinion, they look good on all skin tones!
4. Bootie Slippers
This is quite possibly my favorite trend as of now. The bootie slippers. These are literally slippers that have been converted into booties and are perfectly acceptable for you to wear out! I have seen so many women wear them with sweaters, sweatshirts, leggings, jeans, etc. Pretty much any outfit you pick out will look cute with a pair of bootie slippers. I also love their functionality. Chasing kids around the table? Bootie slippers. Don’t care to wear real shoes just to eat in the living room? Bootie slippers. Need to be comfy but cute for those long family pictures? Bootie slippers.
(I linked a super cute pair above. Tell your husband I said, “he’s welcome!")
5. Enjoy the Holiday
I know, I know, I almost laughed while writing this header. “Enjoy the Holiday” sounds so cheesy, but trust me—you want to savor the season, which means prayerfully considering who you spend the holidays with.
I am not advocating that you force yourself to show up at a family member's house only because they are family or suggesting you allow toxic friends to sit at your table. In fact, as a girl who doesn’t speak to certain family members, please hear me when I say this: family drama is rampant on the holidays. But, please, mend the broken bonds that are mendable, and enjoy the time you have with those you love.
One day, it will be your house the children, grandchildren, and maybe even great-grandchildren gather at. You want them to walk in and feel loved, chosen, and prayed over. Start showing those attributes to your family now. Enjoy the little things, like good hair days, and don’t fret over the little stuff, like a burnt casserole. Because, in all honesty, no one will remember how you screwed up green beans or even how cute you looked. But they will remember how you reflected Jesus and made every holiday a time for thanksgiving.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/jacoblund
Olivia Lauren is a graduate student passionate about Scripture, particularly the Book of Romans showcasing God's grace. Outside her studies, she enjoys teaching her dog new tricks and finding quicker ways to silence the smoke alarm after trying a new recipe.
