The holiday season officially kicks off with Thanksgiving, and the colors, aromas, and tastes of this holiday are strongly associated with positive Feng Shui. However, this family and food-filled holiday can also be stressful and demanding. Here are a few Thanksgiving Feng Shui tips to help you create a peaceful and harmonious holiday around the dining room table, as well as in your decorations and menus.

Harmonious Seating
The dining room is considered to be a place of wealth in Feng Shui, so be sure to use it. The Thanksgiving season is not the time to eat in front of the TV. Bring out the good stuff -- the china, crystal, silver, and all of the other pieces you have been "saving." What are you saving them for if not for happy family gatherings?

Round or oval is the best table shape for Thanksgiving Feng Shui dining, because the absence of sharp corners and hard edges helps energy -- and conversation -- flow gently. If you don’t have these shapes, avoid seating your guests near corners, which can cause a feeling of unease during the meal, or drape live greenery across the corners to soften them. Use a centerpiece of orange flowers to encourage conversation, or use a horn of plenty with fresh fruit and vegetables to represent good health and longevity. Entertaining guests is associated with wealth in Thanksgiving Feng Shui, so hang a mirror that reflects your beautifully decorated table and you will symbolically double your wealth.

Family Harmony
In Feng Shui, we divide energy into yin (the dark, heavy side) and yang (the bright, lighter side). If your family is prone to squabbles, good Thanksgiving Feng Shui advice is to keep the yang energy to a minimum. This includes inviting an even number of guests, keeping the lights low, and decorating with soothing, earthy colors like pumpkin, goldenrod, evergreen, and chocolate.

Avoid seating any overbearing guests at the head of the table where they would monopolize the conversation. Keep shiny surfaces to a minimum, and stow the carving knife out of sight after you carve the turkey. Be sure to remove photos of deceased relatives or animals from the dining room, because these can create health problems if you dine in their presence.

Chose Harmonious Foods A plentiful atmosphere is good Thanksgiving Feng Shui because it makes your guests feel at ease and encourage them to “eat, drink, and be merry.” Set out bowls of nuts, dried fruit, and candy throughout your home. Keep pitchers of sparkling cider and mineral water in a central location so that guests can help themselves freely.

Since the winter months are considered to be part of the yin side of our energy, we need to balance this darker, lower, colder energy with strong yang energy in our Thanksgiving menus. Cooked foods, spices, and hot foods such as chile peppers, ginger, and garlic, and chocolate are yang energy. A little bit of chocolate always helps us to appreciate the holiday season – and it’s definitely on my own Thanksgiving Feng Shui menu.

Lighter foods like raw vegetables, potatoes, and fish are yin, and are better used in moderation during this period. But that doesn’t mean you have to totally give up yin foods for the winter. Feng Shui is all about balance, so just be sure to balance lighter foods with a healthy dose of colorful, hot foods, or serve "white" foods in bright colored plates and bowls.