Easy Table Toppers

If this centerpiece is for a table that won't be used for dining -- for example, you're hosting a casual buffet or decorating a sideboard -- add height to create an eye-catching display.

You can watch this tree take shape before your eyes.

• Snowman ornament
• Small plastic container (such as a single-serving microwavable dinner container)
• 1 block of floral foam
• Dried apple slices
• Pepper berries
• Cinnamon sticks
• Moss
• Ribbon
• Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
• Boxwood branches (available at florist shops)
• Slender, flexible grapevine (available at florist shops)

Step 1: Shape floral foam.

1. Soak the entire block of floral foam in water until saturated. (It does not need to be submerged; it will absorb water from the bottom side.) Use a sharp knife to trim the wet block into a rough pyramidal tree shape. Don't give the top too small of a point; it needs to be wide enough to accommodate boxwood stems and a cinnamon stick. Wedge the block into the plastic container.

Step 2: Add boxwood.

2. Starting at the bottom of the form and working toward the top, insert small stems of boxwood into the floral foam. Insert the lowest branches at a downward angle to hide the container. Gradually shorten the stem lengths as you work toward the top of the form. Angle the stems at the top of the foam so they point up and out.

Step 3: Grapevine garland.

3. With the glue gun, glue apple slices, pepper berries, and ribbon bows to the boxwood as desired. Loosely wrap grapevine around the tree and insert cinnamon sticks into the floral foam. Glue a cinnamon stick to the back of the snowman ornament, and push the stick into the top of the tree. (You may want to start this hole with an old screwdriver or pencil.)