Super Long Thanksgiving Centerpiece on the Cheap

Mimzy lombardo
by Mimzy lombardo
5 Materials
$30
3 Hours
Easy

I host Thanksgiving at my house every year and I'll usually have about 30 or so family members. I love it! Needless to say, I have a very long table for my screened in patio that seats 26 people as well as a round dining room table that seats 8-10. I live in Florida so it's the perfect time year to sit outside and have all the windows and doors open. It's lovely!

I love to create a beautiful centerpiece for my tables however I don't have a large budget for flowers. So, all the greenery and most of the flowers I picked from my own yard or along the roadside.

The only expenses for this extra long centerpiece are the wet floral oasis, the candles, and the two dozen roses I bought from a roadside vendor. Oh! and aluminum foil...

The first step is to soak the floral oasis for a good 15 minutes or more. It needs to be totally submerged in water so the water will soak all the way to the center of the foam. Make sure to purchase WET oasis. I buy mine at Michaels and I always use my 40% off coupon. I used 3 rectangle pieces of oasis for each section and I made 4 separate arrangements on my long table. The separation allowed for a couple lanterns in between and space to put water and wine bottles, butter boats, salt and pepper , etc.,


I used regular aluminum foil under the oasis to contain the water. The oasis does a really great job of holding the water though.

I always start my floral centerpieces with greenery. I load up the bottom edges all the way around and add some greenery randomly in the center and top. Don't be shy on the greenery, it takes a lot.


I placed my candles on top of the floral oasis as well.

Then I used floral wire to wrap around the base of the pine cones leaving a tail to poke into the oasis to hold the pine cone in place.

I added a bag of store bought apples in a similar way. I folded a piece of floral wire in half and poked it through the apple right next to the stem and twisted the two halves that came out of the bottom and used that twisted piece to poke into the oasis to hold the apples in place.

I picked some Florida native berries and flowers from the roadside, clipped the stems short and poked those into the arrangement. I used winterberry, white sedum, magnolia leaves, pampas grass, pinecones, maple leaves, etc.. You can use whatever native plants grow in your area.

The finishing touch to this arrangement is the roses. I bought two dozen roses from a roadside vendor, yellow with orangey-red tips, and white roses. I cut the stems very short and poked those into the arrangement to fill in any empty spots.

That is how I'm able to create a magnificent centerpiece for my very long, 27 seat table on a minimal budget.

step by step video explaining the process...

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  3 questions
  • Nancy Peterman Nancy Peterman on Nov 02, 2019

    I love it! Very beautiful. How long does this last? I'm thinking some really nice silk plants and artificial apples could make a resusable centerpiece. But fresh is so awesome!

  • Deedaisy Deedaisy on Nov 02, 2019

    Where to u pit all holiday food

  • AMS AMS on Nov 06, 2019

    Is that enough foil to protect your table from getting wet?

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