Want a centerpiece for your Christmas table without buying a ready-made arrangement? Most of the ones below start with things from the market or the cupboard.
Clementines on a cake stand, pomegranates on cedar, old baubles on glass bottles. Each one names what it’s made of, so you can recreate it at home.
1. Clementine Tower With Bay Leaves And Velvet Ribbon
Clementines stacked into a pyramid on a white cake stand sit above a wooden tray of walnuts and pine cones, with a burgundy velvet ribbon draped over the top. Pile them in rings, each one smaller, with bay leaves tucked in to hold them. Sara says the bay came from her garden and the pine cones from fall walks, so it costs very little to copy. Tall burgundy tapers in brass sticks carry the height above it.
2. Gingerbread House Between Two Striped Lamps
A big faux gingerbread house trimmed with candy canes and peppermints stands in the middle of a tartan runner, flanked by two small brass lamps with pleated red-and-white striped shades. Cabbage-leaf dishes holding tea lights sit at the corners. Suzanne styled this on a small table, and the lamps are what make it work there. They give height and a soft glow without candles crowding the house.
3. Fruit Topiary Cone Over A Holly Base
Apples, pears, oranges, walnuts and small berries are packed into a tall cone with boxwood sprigs between them, and a red velvet ribbon winds through. At the base, fir and holly circle a few clove-studded oranges. Amanda calls these fruit topiaries, and they read as classic Christmas from across the room. Narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, the cone gives the table height without blocking much of the view.
4. Vintage Baubles Perched On Old Glass Bottles
Old aqua glass bottles of different heights each wear a vintage bauble in the neck like a stopper. Behind them, pink glass candlesticks ringed with eucalyptus and gold berry stems hold sage tapers, next to brass bow-shaped holders with heart-painted pink candles. Louise keeps the colors to pink, green and a little gold. Clear glass lets the light pass through, so a crowded cluster still feels light on a pale cloth.
5. Ceramic Houses, Pine Cones And Slim Tapers
Two glazed ceramic houses sit on a crinkled cheesecloth runner with pine cones, a few of them white-tipped, and sprigs of cedar scattered between. Slim gold candlesticks tied with velvet bows hold plain white tapers at different heights. Kenzie says she used things she already had around the house. Everything stays low except the candles, so the table feels calm and people can still talk across it.
6. Bottle Brush Trees Along A Garland Runner
A faux greenery garland runs down a white velvet runner, dotted with white and green bottle brush trees, several on little wood-slice bases. Brass candlesticks tied with white ribbon hold tall white tapers between the trees, and gold crackers at each plate repeat the metal. Mixing tree sizes keeps the line from looking like a row of soldiers. The white trees glow in candlelight against the dark wood.
7. Artichokes And Ferns Around Wooden Candlesticks
Barbara built this low centerpiece from faux stems, mixing ferns, cedar, black berry sprays and two dark artichokes, with pine cones at the edges. Whitewashed turned wooden candlesticks with ivory pillar candles rise out of the middle. The dark artichokes give it weight, and the pale wood keeps it from feeling heavy. Because the greenery is faux, you can make it weeks ahead and use it again next year.
8. Porcelain Village On A Plaid Runner
Lenox styled their own porcelain village houses down a red and green plaid runner, with loose cedar sprigs filling the gaps. Little carolers and a welcome arch sit at the end, and the houses glow from inside. Any collection of light-up houses could work the same way. The ivory pieces match the cream plates, so the scene feels tied to the table rather than dropped onto it.
9. Ceramic Swan In A Ring Of Vintage Baubles
A white ceramic swan sits on a burlap-covered block in the center, ringed with green tinsel garland and heaps of pink, fuchsia, teal and gold glass baubles. Green glass trees, which Lance credits to Frontgate, stand at either end. Pink plates and a pink cloth make the pile of baubles look planned. The swan gives the eye one big shape to land on, so the bauble pile reads as a setting, not clutter.
10. Pink Roses In A Cabbage-Leaf Vase
Deborah fills a green cabbage-leaf vase with pink and fuchsia roses, pink hypericum berries and a few fir sprigs, with a striped green-and-white lamp on either side. The vase repeats the cabbage plates and bowls around it, so the flowers look planned. Keeping the bouquet round and fairly compact lets it sit low enough to see over. The fir is all it takes to say Christmas.
11. Woodland Moss Runner With Deer And Trees
Moss forms the base of this runner, with flocked faux trees, glossy green ceramic trees, flocked deer and small bears set into it. White hydrangeas, ranunculus and magnolia leaves bunch up in one spot, and wooden nutcrackers stand at the edges. It’s busy, but the colors stay with green, brown and white. Grouping the animals into little scenes gives guests something to spot all evening.
12. Glittered Cone Trees And Wooden Cutouts
Red glittered cone trees with eucalyptus collars stand among flat wooden tree cutouts in green and white, with red berries, greenery and glass votives around their feet. A string of fairy lights winds through the whole cluster. Varied heights give it a little skyline down the middle of the table. The red trees echo the plaid cloth, and the votives keep the glow low near the plates.
13. Red Tapers And Pomegranates On Cedar
Ulrika lays cedar branches straight onto the bare wood table, sets pomegranates along them and clusters brass candlesticks of different heights with red tapers. That’s the whole centerpiece. She says she likes red candles for the Christmas table, and here they’re the only strong color. Bunching the candlesticks tightly makes the light feel generous, and you could put this together in very little time.
14. Santa Cookie Jar In Front Of Roses
Deborah again, this time centering the table on a ceramic Santa cookie jar from the St. Nicholas Gold set by Fitz and Floyd, with a dome of red and white roses rising behind it. Here a piece of serveware does the job of a figurine. Any ceramic Santa or figurine cookie jar works the same way. The flowers soften the novelty and add real height, while the green sack picks up the green goblets.
15. Crystal Candelabras With A Pot Of White Flowers
Two silver candelabras hung with crystal drops hold white candles, with a frosted pot of small white flowers that look like snowdrops between them. A little silver basket of silver baubles, frosted pine and cones sits lower down. Everything is silver, white and green on a sage cloth with a darker runner. Matching candelabras give height on both sides, so the flower pot can stay small.
16. Fir And Eucalyptus Garland With Brass Tapers
Fresh fir, round-leaf eucalyptus and pine cones are laid loosely down the linen cloth in one long line. Slim brass candlesticks of three heights hold white tapers along it. Nat suggests simple centerpieces with something green, candles at different heights and pine cones, and this is exactly that. Laid flat, the garland leaves room for dishes, and the gray-green eucalyptus sits softly against the linen.
17. Pine Wreath With Four Burgundy Tapers
Four burgundy tapers stand upright in a small round wreath of long-needle pine, eucalyptus and green berry sprigs. Burgundy ribbon is knotted at the base and left to trail across the white cloth, with a gold star garland looping around it. It reads like an Advent wreath moved onto the dinner table. Kept small and round, it suits a table for four, and the trailing ribbon makes it look bigger.
18. Red Carnations In Gold Bud Holders
Red carnations stand in gold wire frames holding glass test tubes, set into a low bed of cedar and red berries. Pillar candles in tall glass holders and cut-glass votives are spread along the length. AM Events built this for a long table, and the trick is the mix of heights. Single stems keep it airy, so you get color above the plates without a wall of flowers.
19. White Roses Around Glass Hurricanes
White roses, a little baby’s breath and soft gray-green leaves wrap the base of clear glass hurricanes holding pillar candles. They sit on a dark green runner over a white cloth, with tea lights spaced down the table. This comes from a London restaurant’s party room, but it’s easy to copy for a long table at home. Clear glass keeps the flames safe, and the dark runner makes the white flowers stand out.
20. Fruit And Red Blooms In A Low Arrangement
Deep red carnations sit with clementines, limes and small pomegranates in a low mirrored box packed with magnolia leaves, variegated foliage and cedar. A teal velvet ribbon runs out from under it along the table. Fruit tucked between flowers fills an arrangement with fewer stems. It runs long rather than tall, and a clementine in a tiny boxwood ring on each napkin repeats the centerpiece at every plate.
