40 Easy Christmas Centerpiece Ideas
Red and white cheer [1]
Carnations top a rectangular glass vase covered with candy canes. Attach candy canes to the vase with a hot-glue gun; anchor flowers in floral foam. If you like, spray canes with coats of clear acrylic spray to avoid stickiness. Finish with ribbon and mint.
Easy elegance [4]
A few Christmas elements add up to one dashing display! Place a large ball ornament, a single rose and a few evergreen sprigs on a dinner plate. Cover the arrangement with a cloche. To keep the rose fresh, put the stem in a florist's water tube.
Pretty paperwhites [7]
Place paperwhites in a large compote or bowl. Cover the potting soil with mini ball ornaments in colors that coordinate with your holiday scheme.
Tower of apples [10]
Green apples are the perfect hue for an easy Christmas display. Fill a glass jar with apples; mix in loose greens for a wintry feel. Place container on a beveled edge mirror (that serves as a table runner). Fill in with additional greens, ball ornaments and candles of different sizes.
Card-display tree [13]
Show off Christmas cards on a centerpiece "tree" made with twigs from the yard. Arrange twigs in a pitcher or vase, and clip or tie cards to twig ends. For an added burst of holiday color, weave a red ribbon or piece of rickrack through the display.
Natural touches [16]
Wintry white tulips lend a soft touch to this natural holiday centerpiece. Fill varying sizes of glassware with fresh flowers, and arrange around metallic-sprayed pinecones and silvery ornaments.
Amaryllis beauty [19]
A tall, clear cylindrical vase supports amaryllis blooms in just a few inches of water. Put cranberries in the bottom and wrap a bright red ribbon at the waterline. A sprig of greenery continues the holiday theme.
Luminaria glow [22]
Transform plain white paper bags into luminarias for an inexpensive centerpiece. Use a large scalloped-edge punch to decorate the bags, then weave ribbon through the openings and secure with tape. Use battery-operated tea lights instead of candles.
Easy flower arrangement [25]
Create your own customized flower composition by covering coffee cans with wrapping paper and embellishing them with ribbon. Fill with inexpensive white carnations and baby's breath, plus evergreens cut from your yard.
Red-and-white all over [28]
Centerpieces of red-and-white carnations set the tone for this table. Complete the setting with clear glass jars filled with mints, peppermints scattered on the table, red-and-white ornaments and more.
Game greeting [31]
Using Scrabble game tiles, spell out a seasonal message. Place on a platter and accent with ornaments, fresh greens, nuts, berries or ribbons.
Pyramid of ornaments [34]
Create a pyramid of solid-color ball ornaments on top of a compote. Use a hot-glue gun or scrapbooking glue dots to adhere ball ornaments to each other. Fill in with loose evergreens. To complete the look, top candlesticks and votive holders with matching ball ornaments.
Carnation candle holders [37]
Encircle glass hurricanes with carnation "wreaths" for a pretty Christmas tabletop. Create the wreaths with florist foam wreath bases, scarlet carnations and small ball ornaments.
White Christmas [40]
Make a mini tree the focal point of the dinner table. For a simple, dreamy look, use a white artificial tree. Anchor it in a tin pail and adorn with white lights and paper stars or other all-white ornaments.
Bright idea [43]
Recycle Christmas bulbs as a quick centerpiece. Place a single pillar candle in a glass dish and fill in with festive-color lights.
Snowy scenes [46]
Create a white Christmas using inexpensive glass cylinders from a crafts store. Place one cylinder inside a larger one, then sprinkle a dusting of fake snow between the two and nestle a sprig of greenery on top of the snow. Add a pillar candle or battery-operated candle inside the center cylinder. Group different size cylinders for your display.
Floral fun [49]
Enliven basic glass vases with Christmas-color scrapbooking papers. Simply cut papers to fit around the vases and secure with double-sided tape. Tie red string (with silver bells attached) around the vases and insert winter bouquets.
Tiny trees [52]
Foot-high yew trees, with root balls nestled in moss, look fresh lined up in a galvanized tray. Anchor with white and purple eggplants for an all-natural centerpiece.
Row of paper trees [56]
Turn holiday-theme scrapbooking papers into an inexpensive tabletop display. Cut and fold papers to create simple cone "trees" of different sizes. Secure seams with double-sided tape.
Merry moss [59]
For a low centerpiece, fill a tray with moss and votive candles in holiday holders.
Bountiful bowl [62]
Fresh loose greens, large pinecones and red pears give a compote a natural look. Tuck in antlers for a rustic touch.
Berry red display [65]
Fill a bowl with red cranberries, and stick a single red rose in the center. Put the stem in a florist's water tube to keep the flower fresh. A few evergreen sprigs provide accent color.
Make candlestick cones [68]
Top silver candlesticks with silvery painted pinecones for an elegant display. Group several on a tray, and add some blue or silver ornaments for even more impact.
To paint pinecones, apply several thin coats of metallic silver spray paint.
Serve up a centerpiece [71]
To make a showy centerpiece, place solid-color ball ornaments inside a clear-glass vase and "serve" on a silver tray. Sprinkle faux snow over the display, and wrap it up with matching ribbon.
Snow globe cloche [74]
Transform a cloche into a snow globe with a few crafts materials. Set a snowman ornament on a layer of fluffy snow. Cover with a bell-shape cloche embellished with rhinestone gems. Scatter snowflake confetti to complete the arrangement.
Cranberry glow [77]
For quick holiday color, surround a cranberry-color candle inside a glass cylinder with fresh cranberries. Add a few sparkly ornaments around the base, and you’re done!
Lantern light [80]
Surround lanterns with fresh greenery and pine cones for a classic, elegant centerpiece.
Wrapping paper trees [83]
Trim the dinner table with paper trees in gleeful holiday colors and patterns. For the simplest tree, shown in fuchsia, wrap paper around a foam cone. Trim to fit, and secure with pushpins. Overlapping circle cutouts create the scalloped look of the chartreuse tree. Make shapes with a circle punch (available at scrapbooking stores); then attach with glue. For the apple-green looped tree, fold a sheet of paper in half, securing with spray adhesive. Cut 1x5-inch paper strips. Starting at the bottom, layer looped strips, securing with pushpins, to cover the foam cone. Grouped trees form a striking centerpiece.
Focus on family [86]
Make family photos the focus of your centerpiece. Choose pics from Christmases past for a trip down memory lane. Place two photos back-to-back on memo clips, so you'll be able to see a picture no matter where you sit. Set photos on a cake stand or plate using frosted gel memo cubes or clay.
Long-stemmed beauty [89]
Spectacular yet easy, our long-stemmed amaryllis centerpiece sparkles in its tall glass vase. A length of sheer ribbon holds the stems together.
Centerpiece of greens [92]
A clear container nestled in a green wreath holds bright green ornaments and a spray of mixed evergreens, all set off by a red tablecloth. Matching green wreaths hang in the dining room window.
Clear glass sparkle [95]
Create a lovely centerpiece with an assortment of clear or lightly tinted glass bottles. Fill some with small glass balls, and add a sprig of boxwood or other greenery. Everyday white dishes look fresh and elegant with a colored linen napkin on top.
Easy and elegant [98]
Create this pretty centerpiece in just a couple of minutes. Float roses and a few evergreen twigs inside a clear container, and surround with holly. Build on a clear tray or platter, and you've got an easily portable decoration!
Sparkly candles [101]
Add homemade sparkle to your candle centerpieces. Coat candles with Mod Podge, then roll in epsom salt for a sparkly, snow-covered effect. Arrange on a tray filled with more epsom salt and finish with a few sprigs of holly or other greens.
Cranberries and roses [104]
Start with an 8-inch square clear-glass vase. Cut a piece of floral foam to a size that lets a layer of cranberries fit between the foam and the vase. Cover with water. Insert red roses, striped 'Hocus Pocus' roses, red tulips and gold-tipped cedar (all available from florists) and silvery ornaments. Thread cranberries on thin florist's wire to loop above the arrangement.
Three tiers! [107]
Fill the hollow stems of stacked clear-glass cake plates with cranberries. Silver ornaments, spray-painted silver nuts and evergreen sprigs line the plates; a trio of tiny trees garnished with cranberries rests on the top layer.
Tray chic [110]
A fancy vintage silver tray becomes a standout centerpiece when dressed with glowing tea lights, several glitzy ornaments, fresh cedar branches and a single pinecone.
All mixed up [113]
Stack three or four mixing bowls to create tiers for displaying mini ornaments, dried pods or nuts, clipped greens, hard candies, ribbons, tinsel or fruits. To prevent the mixing bowls from sitting too low, place a cereal bowl upside down between each layer.
Fruit fillers [116]
Place pillar candles, evergreen branches, pinecones and clementines on a beveled-edge mirror for a nature-inspired tabletop arrangement. Don't like orange? Bring in green pears or red apples for traditional holiday color.
Puppy love [119]
A dog statue peeks through red tree toppers, sleigh bells and vases of fresh flowers.
