3D Printed Place Card Holders for Thanksgiving: Sizes, Ideas and Cost

A 3D printed place card holder needs a slot 1.2-1.5 mm wide and 8-10 mm deep in a block about 60 mm long, heavy enough not to tip (8 g or more in PLA). At Mandarin 3D a set of eight costs $13.47 delivered; one costs $9.54.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. Place card holders are one of the easiest things to print for it: small, quick, no supports, and every guest takes theirs home.

The size that works

Cardstock is 0.25-0.35 mm thick, but printed slots come out slightly narrower than modeled, so 1.2 mm is the practical minimum. For a stiff single card that should stand straight up, 1.0 mm grips harder. For a printed plastic name card, size the slot to the card's thickness plus 0.4 mm.

Standard place cards are 3.5 x 2 in (89 x 51 mm) flat, or folded tents. A 60 mm holder fits both.

Designs that print clean

Simple block with a slot. A rectangle with rounded edges. Prints in about 17 minutes and works with any card.

Shapes. Pumpkins, leaves, acorns and turkeys. Keep the shape flat-bottomed and at least 15 mm deep so it stands, and cut the slot into the top.

Name on the holder. Skip the card entirely: raise the guest's name 0.8-1 mm on the front face, at least 6-8 mm tall in a bold font (our text size guide has the numbers). This is a keepsake, but every holder is a different file.

Two-part: holder plus printed name card. A thin plate (2 mm thick, about 80 x 30 mm) with a raised name slides into a 2.4 mm slot. Swap names year to year.

Napkin ring with a card slot. A 45 mm ring (inside diameter about 40 mm) with a slot on top. Two jobs in one part.

All of these print flat on their base with no supports. Put any text on the top or front face, never on the bottom.

Color and finish

Thanksgiving tables look best in two or three colors. From our stocked PLA (black, white, gray, red, blue, green):

• White holders with handwritten cards look clean on any table.
• Red reads warm and seasonal.
• Two-color, such as white letters on a red base, uses the multicolor option: $3.00 per extra color per order. Note which part gets which color.

PLA has a slight sheen. If you want a matte look, a light coat of spray primer and paint works well on printed parts.

What it costs

Real quotes on November 3, 2026 for a 60 x 18 x 14 mm holder with a 1.4 mm slot (8.06 g, about 17 minutes), white PLA, before tax:

The $3.50 order fee and postage are paid once, and each extra holder adds about $0.53, so order the whole table at once. Designs from the AI designer include a 5% design fee in the print price. See pricing for how it's calculated.

Getting them in time

Ordering now: Printing starts Fri, Nov 6, at your door by Fri, Nov 13. Thanksgiving is November 26, so order by mid-November to leave a few days of room for shipping delays.

One note on food

Place card holders sit on the table, not in food. We don't print plates, cups, utensils or anything meant to touch food: printed plastic isn't food safe (prohibited items). Keep the holders beside the plate, not on it.

Order a set

Edit the prompt in the box below (shape, size, how many) and send it to the AI designer, then check the 3D model before ordering. If you already have a file, drop it in for an instant price. For holiday gifts, see personalized Christmas ornaments. First order? Here's how to get something 3D printed.