Sweater-Wrapped Votives
Add coziness to basic votives with a small cutting from the sleeve of an old sweater. Be sure to wrap the sweater around the glass (not the candle itself), and always monitor a burning candle.
Glass Cloche Light Display
Battery-powered light strands provide ambiance at the table -- indoors or out. Top strands of lights with a decorative glass cloche and watch eyes light up during dinner.
Wreath-Inspired Candles
Ring a merry wreath around holiday-hue candles for a quick centerpiece. Fill a small watertight vase or planter with wet florist's foam. Tuck in pine sprigsweave and vibrant hypericum berries for color . Secure candle into vase using florist's picks.
Stacked Bowl Centerpiece
Look around the house -- you likely have everything you need to whip up a pretty centerpiece in a jiffy. Stack white bowls filled with small ornaments , nuts, fir cuttings, or berries for an inspired design.
Muffin Tin and Flowers Centerpiece
Forget structure and go for fun this holiday. A vintage muffin tin offers a great pick-up-and-place centerpiece when you fill it with jelly jars of mums and other flowers. Include votives for scent and color .
Cake Stand Display
Show off your holiday homemade treats using cake stands . Stack mismatched stands to create a lovely tiered dessert centerpiece. Keep the decorations as cute as the desserts with mini evergreen plants topped with red stars.
Jeweled Pear Centerpiece
Red and green pears add natural Christmas adornment to this kitchen table . Silver and gold embellishments give some glamour to the faux fruit. Avoid a glitter overload by choosing neutral jewel-tone colors. Follow the curvy lines of the pears with swirling patterns and simple designs.
Watch Us Make the Pear Centerpiece!
See our how-to for creating the pears-and-stickers centerpiece. It's a cinch!
Orchid Ornaments Display
This showstopping arrangement puts the season?s flowers on display. Arrange a spray of orchids in the urn and integrate long bare braches among the blooms. Flowers from another spray of orchids hang from glass teardrop ornaments on the branches. Two dozen red roses would be equally eye-catching.
DIY Holiday Vases
Salvaged boards become rustic holiday vases . Cut two matching wood slates that slide and lock together to hold a vase. When sizing the notches for the vases, add 1/8 inch to the diameter measurement so you can easily slip the vase into the notch. Simple bittersweet and pine accent the simple vases.
Evergreen Candles
Let the winter greenery creep into this clever candle display. Start with a glass votive, wineglass, or hurricane as the candleholder. Choose a flat pine needle branch like the fragrant arborvitae. Apply spray adhesive to one side of the greenery and press firmly onto the glass. Clip off loose pine ends if needed.
Powder Blue Mini Bouquet Centerpieces
Bulky centerpieces can hinder lively dinner conversations, but these mini bouquets are easy to talk over. Spray-paint an inexpensive drinking glass powder blue, let dry, and wrap it with glittery gold ribbon. Fill glass with white leptospermum (ask your local florist to find it).
Editor's Tip: Use two colors of spray paint to add depth. Place a similarly decorated round ornament next to the vase for extra holiday cheer.
Amaryllis-and-Cranberries Centerpiece
A single amaryllis stem makes a dramatic statement as a centerpiece. Place the stem in a few inches of water in a tall cylindrical vase . Hide the bottom of the stem with cranberries and finish with a red ribbon and a small pine branch cutting.
Watch Us Make the Christmas Centerpiece!
See the amaryllis centerpiece in action -- we show you how to put it together.
Luminarias Centerpiece
Transform plain white paper bags into luminarias for an inventive holiday centerpiece on the cheap. Use a large scalloped-edge punch to create the detail on the bags, then weave ribbon through the openings and secure with double-stick tape. Use battery-operated tea lights instead of candles for long-lasting, safe illumination.
Blooming Tree Holiday Centerpiece
Put a twist on typical holiday table decor with a tree-inspired centerpiece. To create the trunk, wrap a clear glass vase with bark chips. At the base of the trunk, add faux variegated moss and top with nuts, berries, and tiny decorative birds to mimic a forest setting. Bring the "tree" into bloom with a lush floral arrangement of hydrangeas, roses, fresh greenery, and hypericum berries.
Tray of Yews Holiday Centerpiece
Foot-high yews with root balls nestled in moss look fresh lined up in a galvanized tray. You can find these mini evergreens at your local nursery . Anchor with white and purple eggplants for an all-natural centerpiece.
Editor's Tip: To keep plants from drying out, place out of direct sunlight and water twice a week. Limit display time to 2-3 weeks; after three weeks, trees will come out of winter hibernation and start to grow like houseplants.
Tulips and Pinecones Holiday Centerpiece
Incorporate natural elements , such as fresh flowers, in your holiday centerpiece. Fill varying sizes of cobalt blue -- or your favorite festive hue -- glassware with wintry white tulips. Arrange the makeshift vases around oversize metallic-sprayed pinecones and silvery ornament balls.
Tissue Paper Flowers Centerpiece
Petals scattered around candles in glass goblets make an elegant centerpiece when displayed on a simple wooden platter. These paper petals bloom beautifully all season long -- perfect for holiday soirees! To create a blossom, cut 3-inch circles from eight layers of light-color tissue paper. Place in a stack, then poke a hole through the stack with a pin. Pull the paper off the tip of a twist tie and insert the exposed wire through the paper layers. Twist the wire to create the flower center. Help the flower bloom by gently pulling up one layer at a time.
Amaryllis-and-Pineapple Centerpiece
Let nature do the legwork in a beautiful centerpiece that's also a conversation starter. Simply hollow out a pineapple, set it in a tray filled with cranberries , and arrange classic Christmas amaryllis inside the makeshift vase .
Editor's Tip: To make your amaryllis blooms last, set the bouquet in a vase with water first; set the vase inside the pineapple.
White Hyacinth Holiday Centerpiece
This centerpiece filled with natural seasonal elements is versatile enough for any holiday occasion. Simply fill a large, low bowl with boxwood, pinecones, and white hyacinth.
Sugar-Coated Fruit Centerpiece
There's nothing sweeter than this sugary holiday centerpiece. Fill an ebony wood compote with artificial snow. Embellish with wax sugar-coated pears, plums, and grapes.
Glass Cloche Holiday Centerpiece
Bright vintage ornaments arranged under a glass cloche add sparkle to the holiday spread. Choose a few favorite ornaments to show off on a shallow white bowl or simple white plate .
Winter White Holiday Centerpiece
A holiday table is even cozier when layered in winter whites. To make the runner, cut 18-24-inch wide felt by the yard to the needed length. Trace halfway around a drinking glass at the ends of the runner to create scallops; cut out with scissors. Embellish with punched scalloped-edge circles. On smaller sections of felt, punch more scalloped-edge circles, and wrap felt around oversize glass vases . Insert candles for a soft, wintry white glow, and scatter felt snowflake cutouts across the table runner .
Freshen with Botanicals
Elevate a humble wooden box to Christmas-centerpiece status. Start by lining the box with dry florist's foam to anchor evergreen sprigs. Attach citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, limes) to florist's picks and tuck into the greenery. Add interest by cutting some of the fruits in half or adding decorative details.
Editor's Tip: Make orange pomanders by using a large needle to poke holes into oranges. Push the stems of whole cloves into the holes in the oranges.
White Gold
Large white hydrangea blooms fill a white pitcher (or a bowl!) with fresh floral splendor. We added seeded eucalyptus leaves and a few stalks of white snaps and filled in with golden holiday ornaments on wires. Fresh green and red apple slices surround the neutral centerpiece with a bright border.
Front and Center
This tabletop take on pomander balls makes an eye-catching Christmas display. Simply soak florist's foam balls in water and cover with red carnations. Place the finished balls atop white vases or urns placed in a row along the center of your table.
Glad Tidings
For this organic centerpiece, insert a chunk of wet florist's foam into the bottom of the urn and fill with water. Cut each gladiolus stem into three or more sections, with at least two florets on each section. Insert the cut ends into the wet foam, turning the container as you work. Add filler around the base and up through the flowers (we used green hypericum berries and waxflower foliage).
Little but Lasting
Decorate your table with small arrangements of alstroemeria and birch twigs. We added a filler of beige rice flowers and long, green amaranth seed heads. Find similar shaped flowers at your local florist or grocery store. Or clip twigs from your yard for a personal touch.
Sparkling White
Capture the look of a snowy Christmas with an all-white centerpiece and table decor . The secret to a beautiful monochromatic table setting is using a variety of materials. Here, the table boasts everything from elegant white orchids to dishes and flatware in shades of ivory.
Editor's Tip: Texture often assumes greater importance in a monochromatic setting. The ribbed vases , pressed-glass stemware , and embroidered tablecloth all add interest to the scene.
Switch It Up
Centerpieces usually run the length of the table. For something different, keep the centerpiece in the middle of the table, but stretch it across the width instead. Here, evergreen boughs drape across the table horizontally and are accented with pretty red flowers and white berry sprigs.
Low Glow
Real or artificial magnolia leaves (we gave ours a quick spritz of gold paint) are set on a flat platter to form the foundation for an arrangement of holiday ornaments and tiny berry sprigs. Easy and impressive!
Serving Up Sophistication
A pair of stacked cake plates dressed with evergreens, glass balls, pinecones, and red berries makes a sophisticated, no-fuss centerpiece.
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