How to Decorate Vases for Christmas

Shimmer and shine glass holiday centerpiece with greenery and feathers

Credit: Alise O'Brien

Top your Christmas table with a quick, easy and festive holiday centerpiece.

Fresh Greens

holiday table setting with centerpiece candles

For an elegant winter centerpiece that captures nature's beauty, nestle frosted pinecones, green hydrangea, pears and white amaryllis into a length of faux pine. Wrap white pillar candles with a sleeve of green vellum and set on saucers, then place a pinecone atop the napkin at each place setting for extra whimsy.

Woodland Table

Woodland centerpiece

This lush centerpiece takes minimal effort. Lay a foundation of live moss (available from florists or online) around a focal point, such as a gnarly log or a mound of stones. (The moss stays green for weeks, but it does shed. Lay a protective surface under it.) Forage at crafts stores or nurseries or in your backyard for extras. Tuck fern clippings or tiny potted houseplants in crevices. Scatter real or faux acorns and pinecones. "Plant" a few ceramic toadstools. To finish, nestle glass bud vases, votive candles and tapers around the arrangement for sparkle and color.

Feathers and Ice

Shimmer and shine glass holiday centerpiece with greenery and feathers

Credit: Alise O'Brien

Glass cake stands and shallow footed vessels resemble delicate icicles on a tabletop. Tuck a mix of clear and metallic orbs and shimmery feathers into a bed of faux greenery for subtle shine.

Related: Tour The Rest of This Holiday Home

Winter Whites

Mums winter centerpiece

White chrysanthemums and branches of white pine (Pinus strobus) make a striking winter centerpiece. A birch-look pillar candle anchors the arrangement in the center of a wooden bowl.

To create the arrangement, cut florists foam even with the top of the container, wet the foam and set it in the bowl. push the candle in the center, then insert pine branches and mum stems into the foam. Try white spider chrysanthemums, white football mums and white garden mums for a variety of blossoms. Tuck a bit of gray-green dusty miller around the edge for a finishing touch.

Cranberry Candles

Cranberry candles Christmas centerpiece

For a simple yet stunning centerpiece, place five votive candles (in a variety of Christmas colors) in a line down a red rectangular serving dish. Fill the rest of the dish with cranberries, garnish with a few pine twigs and dust with artificial snow.

Colorful Baubles

Balls of fun

Create a colorful centerpiece by filling a silver bowl with an assortment of brightly colored ornaments. Place the bowl on a cake stand and cover the extra space on the cake stand with holly and evergreens.

Sparkling Accents

Sparkling accents

Curiosities such as milk starbursts grab attention in a centerpiece of pinecones and greens. Repurpose serving pieces as candleholders and tiny planters to add charming interest.

Homespun Cheer

Tessa Foley residence in Mariemont, Ohio; dining room table decorated for Christmas

Credit: Helen Norman

Antique collections and homespun adornments populate the rest of this family home, so why should its holiday decor be any different? A galvanized container layered with faux pine branches, citrus fruits and a string of tapered white candles feels rustic and homey for the holidays. Take the tablescape even further into festive territory by placing a pair of glass vessels filled with cranberries and amaryllis at the end of the table.

Coming Up Roses

Clipped greens bring a wintry touch to roses..

It's tough to beat a refined, classic palette of reds and greens, especially when displayed this beautifully. To make this centerpiece, fill a compote bowl with a base of clipped greenery before adding a bouquet of roses. Any color will do, though for Christmas, dusty pink and deep red are a match made in holiday heaven.

Related: Tour This Holiday Home

Clear Glass Sparkle

Christmas centerpiece ideas: glass bottles

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.

Pretty Platter

Pretty platter

For an easy DIY tablescape, decorate a serving tray with silver ornaments. Tuck in boughs of evergreen for a simple yet elegant centerpiece.

Tower of Apples

Christmas centerpiece ideas: apples

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.

Holiday Tiers

Holiday tiers

Display favorite Christmas cards on a tiered stand along with artificial greens, small presents and ornaments.

Amaryllis Beauty

Christmas centerpiece ideas: amaryllis

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.

Simple Lantern Centerpiece

Breakfast room with burlap table runner and three candles on table with pinecones

A trio of candle-filled lanterns (two identical, one slightly taller) interspersed with greenery and pinecones is a simple, striking holiday centerpiece for a rectangular dining table. Bonus: Because this arrangement is wintry and not overtly holiday-themed, you can use it well beyond Christmas.

Fragrant Light

Fragrant light

Take advantage of holiday scents by making a fragrant red candle the center of your next Christmas centerpiece. Cut and weave together a bed of artificial evergreen branches. Place the candle in the center of the branches and scatter a collection of colorful ornaments, bells and pinecones around the branches. Garnish with ribbon if desired. Be sure never to leave a burning candle unattended.

Woodland Charm

Woodland charm

Line a two-tier cake stand with a forest floor of dried moss. Add a dusting of faux snow, then bring the scene to life with evergreen sprigs, pinecones, painted acorns and glass balls. Snow-white tumblers filled with sprigs and pinecones lend height and prop up reindeer cookies.

Snowflake Hurricanes

Luminous lights

Create a modern Christmas feel by using white tape, stickers and other craft store supplies to create snowflakes designs on clear hurricane candle holders. Place candle holders on a silver tray and accent with tinsel, pine twigs and brightly colored ornaments.

Holiday Spirit

Holiday spirit

If your family celebrates Hanukkah and Christmas, this centerpiece is the perfect blend. Place a menorah on one side of a silver tray and fill the remainder of the tray with colorful ornaments.

Tiny Trees

Christmas centerpiece ideas: tiny trees

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.

See more ideas for decorating with tiny trees

Oh, Deer

Oh deer

Create a pretty winter scene on a white plate covered with artificial snow. Set the plate on a shallow bed of artificial pine twigs. Add tiny trees and deer statues or other animal figures for a woodland look.

Classic Cloche Centerpiece

Christmas centerpiece ideas: ornament under cloche

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.

Card-Display Tree

Christmas centerpiece ideas: card tree

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: tulips and pinecones

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.

Luminaria Glow

Christmas centerpiece ideas: luminaria

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: carnations

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.

Game Greeting

Christmas centerpiece ideas: scrabble

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: ornaments

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.

White Christmas

Christmas centerpiece ideas: white tree

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: christmas lights

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: candles

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.

Scrapbook Paper Trees

Christmas centerpiece ideas: paper trees

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: moss and candles

For a low centerpiece, fill a tray with moss and votive candles in holiday holders.

Bountiful Bowl

Christmas centerpiece ideas: greens and pinecones

Fresh loose greens, large pinecones and red pears give a compote a natural look. Tuck in antlers for textural contrast.

Berry Red Display

Christmas centerpiece ideas: cranberry bowl

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.

Candlestick Cones

Christmas centerpiece ideas: silver candlesticks

Top silver candlesticks with silvery painted pinecones for a glittering 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.

Glass Gift Centerpiece

Christmas centerpiece ideas: ornaments

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: snow globe cloche

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: cranberry candle

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!

Festive Tulips

Festive tulips

While tulips are typically considered a spring flower, they make a stunning Christmas arrangement if you can find them. Arrange red tulips alongside pine branches and snowberries (or any white berries) for maximum contrast. Place the arrangement in a metal pail and garnish with a white ribbon.

Black-and-White Photo Centerpiece

Christmas centerpiece ideas: old photos

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: amaryllis

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: wreath

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.

Easy Floating Centerpiece

Christmas centerpiece ideas: rose and holly

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: sparkle candles

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.

Tray Chic

Christmas centerpiece ideas: ornaments on a tray

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

Christmas centerpiece ideas: stacked centerpiece

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.

Citrus and Candle Centerpiece

Christmas centerpiece ideas: fruit and candles

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.

Pinecone Tree

Pinecone tree

This pinecone tree is worth showing off until winter is past. Stand branches in a clear cylindrical vase, adding small pinecones and glass or plastic balls filled with greenery to support the branches. Hang small pinecones and tiny snowflake ornaments from the branches.

Green Apple Centerpiece

Apple of your eye

This simple Christmas centerpiece feels both fresh and traditional. For instructions on how to make it, see our step-by-step slideshow or short video.

Up Next

How to Decorate Vases for Christmas

Source: https://www.midwestliving.com/homes/seasonal-decorating/easy-christmas-centerpiece-ideas/