Create an Easy Seasonal or Holiday Table Centerpiece

by Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is

6 Materials

10 Minutes

Easy

I’m sharing some tips and ideas for creating a seasonal runner and centerpiece for your fall or holiday table. It’s a quick and easy method to dress the table, using items that you already have or can gather from the grocery store or your backyard.

I wanted to create a runner/centerpiece for fall using natural materials and items I had on hand for this Fall Table with Woodland Friends. The beauty of a runner like this is that it's low enough to see over and not block the view of your guests at the table, while adding natural and organic, texture and color to the table.

I cut some green oak leaves, green Japanese privet berries and reddish-purple lorepetalum foliage snipped from the shrubs. Endless summer hydrangeas had already faded and dried to a papery texture, adding a soft element and contrast to grapevine pumpkins and wooden acorns, both found at Hobby Lobby several years ago. I like to use real fall leaves whenever possible, but our leaves don’t turn until October so faux ones are filling in, providing soft and muted orange and gold hues. Last but not least, I added mercury glass votives for some sparkle and shine.

Once your materials are gathered you can create your runner/centerpiece in 10 minutes. Let your materials guide you, placing them down the length of the table. I start with the larger elements first~ votives, pumpkins and hydrangeas, filling in with leaves, clippings from shrubs, and acorns. It helps to lay out your placemats or chargers on the table first, as a guide for you to build your runner/centerpiece.

I kept the privet berries and lorpetalum in water to prevent them from wilting until the last minute when assembling. If you’re using perishable flowers or greenery, you can use floral water picks, available at the craft store, concealing them under leaves or hidden among the other elements in your runner.

I used this same method last fall for a Forest Feast Gatherings Table

Pomegranates, artichokes, apples, and pears from the grocery store, join Baby Boo pumpkins, maple leaves, green oak leaves, lorepetalum and hydrangea blooms. Add your votives and assemble down the length of the table for a natural and organic runner that's edible too, after your dinner party is over!

You can use this method to create an Easy 5-Minute Centerpiece for Thanksgiving. Oak leaves join an assortment of mini pumpkins, scattered nuts and votives, for a leafy and organic runner for an easy and casual centerpiece for a fall or Thanksgiving table. We serve ourselves buffet style at Thanksgiving, with food on the kitchen island, so we don’t have to leave room on the table for platters of food. I have a collection of Proud Tom turkey plates that are gathered together at the table and it’s always fun to pick your favorite turkey!

You can use the same technique to deck the table with boughs of Leyland cypress for Plaid Tidings Christmas Table and DIY Evergreen Runner. Leyland cypress is an ideal evergreen to Deck the Halls or table, since it won’t leave a sticky, sappy residue behind like cedar, fir, pine or most other live greenery. Pine cones, red apples, mercury glass votives and a few plaid ornaments are sprinkled down the length of the table, along with an assortment of nuts and sprigs of boxwood.