In the United States, Thanksgiving has been a tradition since 1621, when British colonists and Native Americans gathered to celebrate the fall harvest. Today, family members and friends still gather on this November holiday to count their blessings around turkey, mashed potatoes, and other classic dishes.
When you use the right colors, you can capture the spirit of this uplifting holiday and use it in your designs. Whether you’re creating party invitations, an advertisement, or just giving a website a seasonal refresh, a Thanksgiving color scheme can inspire your audience with the warmth of this delightful holiday.
Check out these beautiful Thanksgiving color palettes. Hex codes are included if you want to use the colors in your next design.
1. Barnwood
Names: Bistre, Russet, Brown sugar, Orange (pantone), Engineering orange
Hex Codes: #372522, #874922, #B66E3F, #F56004, #BF0504
Thanksgiving is a late-autumn holiday, so it’s no wonder that some of the most popular Thanksgiving colors are those of late fall: the brown fallen leaves, the bark of trees, and the bright reds and oranges of the foliage that hasn’t fallen yet.
This palette captures these colors, plus the rustic brown of a wooden table. Even without the “Happy Thanksgiving” written across the example image, you’d probably know that the picture is Thanksgiving-related.
Part of the reason this palette works so well is that it’s almost entirely warm. The combination of Russet, Brown Sugar, Pantone Orange, and Engineering Orange has a cozy cast that echoes the warm spirit of gratitude surrounding Thanksgiving. Bistre is darker and a little cooler, so it keeps everything successfully grounded.
2. Count Your Blessings
Names: Red (crayola), Tangerine, Atomic tangerine, Rose ebony, Caput mortuum
Hex Codes: #E83249, #EF892E, #F69B62, #6E4A4B, #492C30
Here’s another mostly-warm palette that captures the spirit of the holiday. Orange is a color linked to joy and enthusiasm, so Tangerine and Atomic Tangerine impart a sense of happiness. Red adds a little extra energy.
Of course, brown is a quintessential Thanksgiving color — largely because (as this picture shows) it’s the color of turkeys. Rose Ebony is a brown shade whose warmth goes well with the rest of the color scheme, and Caput Mortuum has a cooler undercurrent.
3. Late Harvest
Names: Kobicha, Coyote, Pumpkin, Dark moss green, Penn red
Hex Codes: #68441F, #715B46, #FF8039, #67712B, #9F1110
Most of the Thanksgiving palettes on the list include shades of brown, red, and orange. But if you want to add a cooler color to the mix while maximizing a palette’s earthy feel, try including green.
This palette’s Dark Moss Green is a rich earth tone that makes the color scheme look even more autumnal. And because green and red are complementary colors, the combination of Penn Red and Dark Moss Green adds some real dynamism.
4. Green Gourds
Names: Caput mortuum, Burnt umber, Flame, Moss green, Ebony
Hex Codes: #672D22, #8B3F28, #D55E24, #858453, #6A664A
Pumpkins might be the most popular Thanksgiving vegetable. But if you’ve ever decorated for the season, you know that multicolored gourds make beautiful additions to a Thanksgiving table.
Even though Moss Green and Ebony lean a bit warm, they still make this palette cooler than many on the list. Caput Mortuum and Burnt Umber are warmish browns, and Flame is a vivid, bright orange.
Each of the colors in the palette has a lot of personality, so you might find that you need a softer neutral to serve as a backdrop for your design. A shade of warm white (like the tablecloth in the picture) is a good choice.
5. Feast
Names: Café noir, Persimmon, Xanthous, Field drab, Rufous
Hex Codes: #4E2D0A, #DD5705, #ECB206, #5B540E, #AC2411
A great Thanksgiving meal is full of color. So is a great Thanksgiving palette. This one includes more color variety than many of the color groupings on the list. If you’re creating a design with a lot of different elements (like the example photo), you can draw your audience’s eye by incorporating hints of each color throughout.
However, if you aren’t careful, a design like this can get very chaotic very quickly. You might prefer to choose one or two base colors and incorporate the rest as accents. This type of approach works especially well for interiors. For instance, you might place a Cafe Noir couch against a Xanthous accent wall and then include accent pillows in Persimmon, Field Drab, and Rufous.
6. November Dream
Names: Redwood, Atomic tangerine, Jasmine, Moss green, Coyote
Hex Codes: #B85862, #FDAA78, #F3D17A, #96A382, #7D6955
You might associate pastels and similarly light shades with springtime. But if you want to create a Thanksgiving design that’s a little less saturated, you might find this pleasant, dreamy palette to be just right.
The example design shows you an excellent way to use these colors. Pastels and watercolor-style designs just seem to go together, and these colors blend into one another perfectly. Because this palette is so pale, it looks great with a white background.
7. Pumpkin Pie
Names: Seal brown, Sienna, Field drab, Tawny, Princeton orange
Hex Codes: #581A01, #742408, #715E23, #DA5700, #FF9302
If you need a Thanksgiving color palette that is extra-rich, warm, and autumnal, this one is perfect! Seal Brown has a pecan-like darkness, and reddish Sienna is almost the color of a cinnamon stick. Both Tawny and Princeton Orange are glowing, pumpkin-like shades that look like they belong on a Thanksgiving table.
These four warm shades need a bit of a cool counterbalance. Field Drab is a yellowish, warm-leaning green that might make you think of fresh herbs, and it rounds out this palette nicely.
8. Grateful
Names: Murrey, Bole, Crimson, Spanish orange, Safety orange
Hex Codes: #8B1053, #804636, #DE0136, #E75F01, #FE8120
Aside from turkeys, cornucopias might be the most recognizable symbols of Thanksgiving. Maybe you even had one at the center of the table growing up.
This warm palette helps to replicate the plentiful vegetables spilling forth from every cornucopia, and its colors also are a lot like those of leaves in autumn. But this collection of colors also includes a shade you don’t always see in Thanksgiving palettes — Murrey, a wine-like purple. It’s great for adding a distinctive, unexpected twist to any design!
9. Candlelight
Names: Caput mortuum, Coffee, Fulvous, Avocado, Penn red
Hex Codes: #512518, #7F5534, #E48102, #607E31, #9B1F0E
This color grouping includes a somewhat unexpected blend of soft, warm, and cool colors. Both Coffee and Fulvous have a soft, almost powdery appearance. Caput Mortuum and Penn Red are fairly typical autumnal shades.
The standout here is Avocado, a much cooler green than you usually see in Thanksgiving color palettes. Many of the greens you see here have stronger yellow undertones and are close to shades of olive and sage. If you want your design to have a cooler, fresher aesthetic, this is an ideal color to include.
10. Cranberry Charm
Names: Kobicha, Rust, Dark moss green, Fire brick, Carmine
Hex Codes: #69411E, #AC511C, #54671E, #BF1228, #9B121E
Love it or hate it, cranberry sauce is a major part of any Thanksgiving meal. This pretty palette includes both cranberry-like Carmine and the slightly brighter Fire Brick, and complementary Dark Moss Green adds a pop of cooler color.
Two earthy, woody browns (Kobicha and Rust) help keep this palette rustic. However, if you include large proportions of both red and brown, you might find your design looking a bit too warm.
The example image offers a couple of suggestions for cooling things down. You could add a silvery gray like the color of the cranberry bowl and/or some touches of cool white.
11. Bountiful
Names: Bistre, Reseda green, Gamboge, Fire brick, Rosewood
Hex Codes: #38220B, #7F8665, #F09401, #AF0D20, #680211
This appealing collection of colors includes a whole range of fall-inspired shades. But it’s a bit different from many Thanksgiving palettes because it avoids the usual pumpkin orange and medium brown. Instead, it revolves around a sage-like green, a butternut-like yellow, and a rich red-orange.
This palette is well-balanced as is. But you may have seen that it’s missing one of the colors found in the example image — white. Each color in the example image pops when placed next to the white pumpkins, so adding just a little bit of white can make a big difference!
12. Turkey Feathers
Names: Coffee, Lion, Tiffany blue, Avocado, Crimson
Hex Codes: #6F523B, #B18F6E, #94C6C7, #677B34, #E10837
Lots of Thanksgiving designs include cooked turkeys. But as it turns out, the live birds are a lot more colorful! Whether you want to create a picture of actual turkeys or just find some inspiration in their colors, this is a palette worth trying.
Without the context of the example image, you might not immediately connect this group of colors to Thanksgiving, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Both green and blue pop against brown. And because Lion is a soft, pale brown, it would make an excellent background color for a website. If you add accents of Coffee and Tiffany Blue (or Coffee and Avocado), you’ll have a simple but appealing color scheme.
The combination of Coffee, Lion, Tiffany Blue, and Avocado is a serene, calming one, but the addition of Crimson turns that sense of quiet on its head. You can use it for a few bright accents, but you also can leave it out of your design entirely.
13. Earth and Sky
Names: Black bean, Sienna, Persimmon, Mikado yellow, Moss green
Hex Codes: #481906, #733820, #DF5B0F, #FFC301, #8BA274
Woody browns, bright warm colors, and a light refreshing green come together in this palette to create a balanced, inviting color scheme. Sienna is essentially a lighter version of Black Bean, so you have a great opportunity to layer your neutrals or create a two-tone woodgrain effect. Similarly, you might be inspired by the example image to create stripes of Persimmon and Mikado Yellow on decorative gourds.
Moss Green is a great shade for adding in vines and leaves. However, if you want to cool down a design that starts to lean a little too warm, you might consider including it as a background color.
14. Fresh-Baked
Names: Chestnut, Bole, Burnt umber, Bittersweet shimmer, UT orange
Hex Codes: #95573C, #85534A, #9B3221, #BD4B45, #FF8721
The bright, frosting-topped cupcakes in the picture might inspire you to consider this warm, neutral-heavy color palette. This collection of colors is great for blending or layering: Bittersweet Shimmer looks like a paler version of Burnt Umber, and Bole and Chestnut are similar shades.
However, many of these shades are so similar that the elements of your design might seem to blend together when you don’t want them to. If you need a background color or just another shade to break these colors up, consider a deep charcoal gray or even a dark forest green.
15. Cheerful
Names: Kobicha, Brown, Tangerine, Selective yellow, Chili red
Hex Codes: #6F3C21, #A0561C, #ED841C, #FFB100, #EA2111
Thanksgiving color palettes don’t get more classic than this one: warm, rustic yellow and orange join fiery red and rich browns. There’s a fairly smooth transition from Brown to Tangerine and Tangerine to Selective Yellow, so it shouldn’t be difficult to use these colors to create a cohesive design.
You also can use the striking Chili Red to strategically draw the eye. If you take a careful look at the example image, you’ll see that Kobicha, Brown, Tangerine, and Selective Yellow are distributed fairly evenly across the picture. Most of the Chili Red used is concentrated toward the middle of the picture. By creating a clear center, it exerts an overall unifying effect on the design.
16. Set the Table
Names: Carmine, Rufous, Chestnut, Dark orange (web), Asparagus
Hex Codes: #971318, #AF1F05, #98503C, #FB8807, #829E5C
You often see shades of bright red used as accents in Thanksgiving color schemes. This is an effective design strategy, but if you want to do something a bit different, you can create a mostly-red background as a canvas for other shades in the palette.
In the example image, the plate and leaves create a backdrop of Carmine and Rufous. Both of these red shades are deep and dark, so Web Dark Orange, Asparagus, and even Chestnut clearly pop.
Of course, having this much red might make a design seem too bright. If you run into this issue, try including neutrals like the silver and burlap in the example.
17. Apple Cider
Names: Umber, Copper, Spanish orange, Arylide yellow, Moonstone
Hex Codes: #745F4F, #A77043, #E57327, #E6C85A, #00A0AD
Umber, Copper, Spanish Orange, and Arylide Yellow all look like the colors you’d typically find in a Thanksgiving palette. But what about Moonstone? This teal-like blue doesn’t often appear in color schemes for Thanksgiving (or even for autumn in general). So why include it here?
The unexpectedness of the cool shade helps to draw your audience’s eye. But Moonstone also comes close to being the complementary color of Spanish Orange. Complementary colors can create beautiful contrast while energizing an entire design, and Moonstone certainly revitalizes this palette!
18. Maize
Names: Bole, Turkey red, Syracuse red orange, Moss green, Selective yellow
Hex Codes: #704635, #A01806, #E23A0B, #9BA465, #FCBA09
This beautiful bouquet of fall colors just seems to exude joy, so it’s a perfect palette for a design celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s also one of the most diverse color palettes on the list — it includes four shades that are approximately the first four colors of the rainbow.
As you can see in the example image, these shades can capture the essence of corn, pumpkins, apples, leaves, and other markers of the season. Bole is a solid, nature-inspired background color.
But depending on how much of each color you’re using (and the exact type of design you’re creating), you might decide that you need something a little more grounding. You don’t need a lot of a dark color to ground the palette, though — the dark purple grapes in the picture are a great example.
19. Cozy
Names: Rosewood, Syracuse red orange, Cocoa Brown, Wenge, Field drab
Hex Codes: #570A05, #D44C17, #DE6C26, #62504D, #594C1B
Food isn’t the only important part of Thanksgiving. Relaxing in the family room and catching up with friends is part of what makes this holiday special, too. This color palette captures this happy energy and combines it with the cozy feeling of spending time together.
As you’ve seen, many collections of Thanksgiving colors include woody or earthy browns. This one tries something a little different. Its neutral color is Wenge, a cooler gray-brown. As the color distribution in the example image suggests, Wenge is a nice background shade for a design with brighter borders.
20. Fireplace
Names: Turkey red, Fire brick, Spanish orange, Orange (web), Raw umber
Hex Codes: #A60802, #C11826, #EC6F13, #FFA60A, #8C563A
You can use any type of color palette for any type of design. But if you’ve been checking out Thanksgiving designs for inspiration, you may have seen that cartoon-style designs tend to have brighter colors. This whimsical design uses a relatively simple color palette to make a big impact!
However, if you use only the colors listed here, you might find that your design starts to seem a little unbalanced. Each of these shades is bold and has a lot of personality, so including some lighter and/or cooler colors can give them space to shine without overwhelming an audience. The example picture’s soft apricot background is ideal — it keeps the warm theme, but it’s still easy on the eyes.
21. Autumn’s End
Names: Garnet, Carmine, Raw umber, Almond, Orange peel
Hex Codes: #702F2E, #9C001A, #845B42, #ECE0D1, #F9A005
In late autumn, browns and deep reds dominate the landscape. This palette uses Garnet, Carmine, and Raw Umber to recreate that dramatic effect. Almond is a delicate, ivory-like background color. Orange Peel delivers a soft, orange-yellow glow.
When you step back and compare all the colors, you’ll see that Garnet, Raw Umber, Almond, and Orange Peel all have a slightly dusty, muted character. Carmine is much brighter, so it makes an excellent accent color.
22. Rosemary and Thyme
Names: Chocolate, Olive, Apple green, Orange (pantone), Madder
Hex Codes: #72390C, #697804, #7D9A02, #F55D00, #A1052A
Browns, reds, and oranges are all colors you’ll find on any Thanksgiving table. But you’ll almost always find greens, too — in the form of green beans, fresh herbs, and maybe even Brussels sprouts.
Many of the palettes on our list include one shade of green or no green at all. But if you want to create a fresh design with green throughout, this is a great color scheme to consider.
The example illustration shows you a very effective way to use these colors together: start with a neutral background and include bursts of Olive, Apple Green, Pantone Orange, and Madder throughout.
23. Pale November
Names: Bole, Bittersweet shimmer, Earth yellow, Ash gray, Eggshell
Hex Codes: #824232, #B8574E, #EAAC64, #A9C9BE, #E9E6D7
In a world where so many Thanksgiving-inspired designs are bright and extra-saturated, paler designs can really stand out. This one is a great example. And as you can see, “pale” doesn’t have to mean “dull.”
Earth Yellow is an orangish shade and Ash Gray is close to blue, so these colors are almost complementary. The contrast between them makes even pastel-hued designs look lively.
If you’ve worked with pastels in any type of design, you know that an all-pastel space runs the risk of looking washed out. In these instances, dark neutrals can help keep everything grounded. As you can see in the example, even a few touches of Bole can make a difference.
24. Cinnamon
Names: Davy’s gray, Dim gray, Dun, Persian orange, Cocoa Brown
Hex Codes: #4B4844, #5E6969, #E9D0B2, #CC8E55, #D46308
If pumpkin pie is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert, you’ll love this color palette! Persian Orange and Cocoa Brown capture the orangish hue of pumpkin pie. Davy’s Gray and Dim Gray make strong, high-contrast background colors.
As you may already know if you’ve worked in interior design, dark gray and bright orange make a very on-trend color combination. Dark gray both keeps the palette grounded and really makes orange pop!
25. Thankful
Names: Sepia, Khaki, Old lace, Amber, Fulvous
Hex Codes: #794D22, #C5AA92, #FDF1E1, #F6BE28, #DE8002
Rustic-inspired color palettes like this one make us think of pumpkin patches, hayrides, and other icons of fall. This approachable collection of colors includes two bright shades (Amber and Fulvous) floating above a solid neutral base.
This palette is somewhat unique in that the neutrals on the list form a dramatic gradient. Sepia fades into Khaki, which in turn fades into the cream-like Old Lace. Because these shades are so closely related, they work well in watercolor-like designs or designs that involve blending colors into one another.
26. After-Dinner Coffee
Names: Persimmon, Amber, Dun, Caramel, Caput mortuum
Hex Codes: #F0641B, #FFC334, #DCC7A4, #C47C3B, #482120
As you can see in the example picture, this is a palette that’s perfect for creating handmade turkey decorations. But that’s not all that it’s useful for. Dun is a pleasant, light shade that would work perfectly as a background color for a website (or really any digital design). If you want to create a palette that is mostly monochromatic, try combining it with large amounts of Caramel and Caput Mortuum. Hints of bright Persimmon and Amber can add some pizazz!
27. Prosper
Names: Falu red, Sinopia, Flame, Burnt sienna, Pale dogwood
Hex Codes: #801C19, #C54123, #D85A28, #EE6C46, #D3B9AB
At first glance, the white candles, green foliage, and red berries make this look like a Christmas design. But this closely-grouped palette focuses more on the red-to-orange gradient.
Falu Red, Sinopia, Flame, and Burnt Sienna are close enough to one another that you might think of combining them in dreamy swirls. But the example image shows you another effective way to use them all. It starts with a mostly-neutral background and then adds bits of each color throughout. This type of design adds some subtle variation while still keeping the design cohesive.
28. Butternut
Names: Tangerine, Hunyadi yellow, Dutch white, Dark moss green, Seal brown
Hex Codes: #E38129, #F5B65B, #E3D3AF, #606F2A, #5E2C13
Many Thanksgiving color palettes lean heavily on orange. This one does include some orange, but the real star of the show is Hunyadi Yellow, a color very similar to that of butternut squash.
This color grouping is especially useful for designs that involve at least some text. Seal Brown makes a nice font color, especially when placed over warm Hunyadi Yellow or vintage-inspired Dutch White.
29. Pumpkins and Pinecones
Names: Caput mortuum, Liver, Burnt umber, Persimmon, Moss green
Hex Codes: #54291D, #624437, #992519, #E65D11, #A29E57
Some Thanksgiving-themed designs look especially nice with rustic touches like burlap (or in this case, brown paper tied with twine). These textures and elements can remind your audience of the coziness often associated with Thanksgiving and the autumn season in general.
This especially rustic palette is a great way to capture that seasonal spirit. Caput Mortuum is a dark, grounding brown, and Liver is close to the color of pinecones and tree bark. As the example image illustrates, Burnt Umber, Persimmon, and Moss Green are earth-inspired tones perfect for adding berries, pumpkins, and green leaves.
30. Under the Blue Sky
Names: Russet, Safety orange, Carrot orange, Silver, Tiffany blue
Hex Codes: #893F1A, #E77610, #F29838, #BFAEA6, #9BCDCC
Last on the list is this somewhat unconventional palette including bright oranges and blue. But the high-contrast, almost complementary relationship between these two shades is tempered a bit by the inclusion of quiet Silver.
This light, misty shade makes a better background color than the warmer Russet. But Russet is a deep enough brown that it both grounds the palette and heightens its autumnal charm.
Using Thanksgiving Colors in Your Design
Holiday seasons are times of cultural excitement. Whether they’re enjoying different foods, taking in decorations, or just getting lost in nostalgia, most people find themselves celebrating somehow.
For designers, Thanksgiving is a holiday that offers the chance to tap into centuries’ worth of emotion. For instance, if you run an ad featuring a smiling family gathering around a Thanksgiving feast, your potential customers will feel a sense of warmth and togetherness. And if they come to associate these positive feelings with your brand, they’ll be more likely to buy from you and keep doing so.
The right design of course starts with the right palette. If you want to begin creating, here are some tips to help you get started with Thanksgiving colors.
Choose Colors Consistent With Brand Identity
This one obviously only applies if you’re working with a brand in some capacity. There’s a wide world of color out there, so make sure the Thanksgiving palette you select is aligned with the brand’s mission!
For instance, let’s say you’re creating some seasonal, promotional material for a coffee shop with an overarching rustic theme. If you select a palette with super-bright reds, oranges, and yellows, it will look out of place against the distressed neutrals of the logo and other brand materials. But if you choose dusty, muted hues of these normally bright colors, you’ll have a seasonal palette that’s much more in line with the brand itself.
This doesn’t mean that you should temporarily replace all of your brand’s colors with seasonal colors. After all, you still want your brand to be recognizable. The trick is to choose shades that go with your brand’s color scheme.
For instance, think of Coca-Cola’s iconic Christmas ads, created in the 1930s by Haddon Sundblom. These ads often featured Santa Claus in his classic red and white suit on a deep green background. The red, white, and green palette was made up of classic Christmas colors, and the red and white Coca-Cola logo fit in naturally.
Similarly, Starbucks launches a fall campaign each year to promote its pumpkin spice latte and other seasonal favorites. Even though these ads are largely made up of warm autumn shades, nearly every seasonal ad also includes the famous white cup with a dark green logo.
Pair Thanksgiving Colors With Seasonal Promotions
You also might consider creating Thanksgiving-related promotions on social media. For example, you could create a Thanksgiving social media post with seasonal colors. You might even include a Thanksgiving-related promo code like THANKSGIVING10 or TURKEY20.
Keep an Eye on Warm/Cool Balance
Just like more general autumn palettes, Thanksgiving palettes tend to lean more warm than cool. There’s nothing wrong with creating a mostly-warm design. But if your eye is telling you that your design is too warm, you’re probably right.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to cool down a Thanksgiving design that won’t disrupt the existing autumnal charm. Earthy green shades make refreshing additions, and they’re also complementary to red shades.
You also might consider including cooler neutrals as background colors. The gray-brown of weathered wood is a great choice that will also make your design look a little more rustic.
Celebrate the Joy of the Season With Thanksgiving Palettes
If you want to get your audience in the Thanksgiving spirit, creating designs with seasonal colors is the best way to do it. Designs like these also help you to develop your own skills — incorporating new colors without disrupting the spirit of a brand or a website can be an exciting challenge. Hopefully, the above palettes will give you the inspiration you need to get started!
Find more design inspiration in this collection of 24 themed color palettes.
