Christmas Table Settings

Pinecone "flowers" with glowing centers fill a simple vase in this exquisite arrangement.

Candles adorned with beeswax trees create an enchanting winter landscape on the tabletop.

Use decorative wrapping paper in festive colors to make an entire Yuletide forest for the mantle or dining table.

These glittered candleholders are elevated on glass cake stands, then dusted with faux snow.

Dress up the table with a fragrant and bright pomander of oranges or grapefruits.

A combination of vintage and contemporary vessels holds white spider mums, seeded eucalyptus (available at florists), and blue Atlas cedar branches lightly frosted with silver floral spray paint. For a change of scene, line containers down the middle of a table.

Add a bit of romance to your holiday table with resoundingly red decorations.

Plant a forest of place cards on the holiday kids' table.

Red holly-leaf place cards welcome holiday guests to their seats with cheer.

Hurricane vases and votive candle holders can be wrapped in star-punched paper in the color of your choice -- an easy way to suffuse your party with warmth.

Pears sprinkled with with edible gold dust look straight out of a fairy tale. Magnolia leaves are also transformed with gold, in the form of floral paint. A beribboned, gold-dusted fruit welcomes each guest to the table.

Fill a glass vase with cranberries for a festive touch at the holiday table.

Vintage or new silver ornaments give a table luster. These pinecone-shaped examples are nestled in a basket, clustered among eucalyptus leaves and sprigs of cedar. Juniper enriches the frosty colors of the arrangement, as the blue-gray berries play off the silver ornaments.

Glistening red berries shine inside a woodland basket. The base started life as a birch-bark bowl but became a basket with the addition of a pine handle.

A green-and-red extravaganza of Gala and Lady apples, hazelnuts, and chestnuts fills this double-handled basket.

Bold accents such as a carnation centerpiece or red napkins pop against white table linens and plates. 

Martha's festive centerpiece consists of roses, lilies, and holly.

Small carrots, red and white potatoes, turnips, and radishes rest on a bed of sheet moss.

Stars twinkle against a darkened wintry sky. Tiny lights shimmer in shop windows. At this time of year, everything seems to gleam. Echo this holiday luster at home with this bird centerpiece bedecked with tinsel and glitter.

These versions of the yule log, a quintessential symbol of the Christmas season, are actually favor boxes; they resemble birch logs, thanks to our clip art wrapped around paper-towel rolls.

Tie these seasonal faux flowers in with crepe-paper napkin rings to personalize each place setting at the holiday table.

Decorate inexpensive pillar candles and you will have a display for your table and presents, too.

Filled with sparkly trimmings, these garden cloches add radiance to any tabletop.

Mark place settings with handsome red cardinals, symbols of luck in many European countries.

Paperwhites look lovely when fitted into a round, rustic basket.

What could be sweeter? Cut out 3-inch ovals from colorful card stock. Using a hole punch, make a hole at each end, and then neatly write your guests' names on the ovals with black ink. Thread ribbon scraps, each about 6 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide, through the backs of the place cards. Notch the ribbon ends, and set a card at each place setting.

These playful candlestick collars of evergreen, bay-laurel, and juniper leaves are a much less formal holiday version of glass bobeches. 

The distinctive plate-gold and brown of these pincecones is the result of bleaching. For contrast, we coated this new basket with green spray paint, and then lined the edge with a garland made from budded incense cedar.

Dress up the dinner table with napkin holders made from felt holly leaves and a jingle bell.

This unusual pairing features two items with similar budlike shapes: creamy-white roses and emerald-green ornamental kale.

Add a festive jingle to everyone's place with these crepe-paper bells.

Tree-shaped napkin rings cut from pretty patterned paper set a seasonal tone that's fitting for both formal and casual tables.

Turn paper into a distinctive pop-up centerpiece for the holiday table.

Wrap a plain Ball jar in silk taffeta to add a festive touch to table arrangements.