12 Holiday Centerpieces That Will Spruce Up Any Tablescape

Here's an idea you'll tip a party hat to: Plant these conical conifers on your holiday table, sideboard, or mantel. Drizzle their tops with clear gel glue, let it drip down the sides, and dust with white glitter. Then arrange them on a blanket of faux snow.

Your holiday centerpieces don't need to be fresh and floral: You can line your tabletops with one of the most identifiable motifs of the season (ornaments!), instead. Using a mix of cloches—including dramatic oversized iterations and cheese domes—pile in a myriad of vintage pieces for a gleaming focal point that can be easily transported from the table to a console to a mantel.

Bring the outdoors in with a winter-centric arrangement. This one was inspired by a snow-filled landscape and features birch bark, which was wrapped around glass cylinders filled with timely plants. We finished the setup by adding holiday tree trimmings and scented geranium leaves.

An amaryllis and orchid in complementary hues makes for a cheerful display when nestled on a buffet table. The blanket of moss hides the individual pots, so the plants appear to sprout up from the ground.

A tree topper is a quintessential Christmas decoration. Instead of keeping your extras in storage, put them on display on a metallic tray, like we did here.

Welcome guests with this elegant assortment of greenery. The terrarium-like setups feature an array of plants and fresh blooms in open bowls and glass cloches. To make a closed flower cloche, place floral clay on the bottom of a flower-pin frog to secure it inside of a small, sturdy cup. Fill the cup 3/4 full of water. Set a glass cloche next to it, so you know how high the blooms will be, then cut flowers and greenery, and stick them onto the pins. To finish, set the cup on a plate and cover it with the cloche. Check the water daily—the display can last about a week.

A gleaming grove of triangular trees makes an enchanting centerpiece. Cut from pearlized card stock, the trees are trimmed with loose sequins and small paillettes. You'll need to cut two triangles out for each tree; find the midpoint, fold it using a bone folder, and join the two triangles with glue. You'll then let it dry before adding sequins and other features on the tree's exterior.

Make your mantel look amazing with a colorful assortment of vintage and inexpensive evergreens. The bottle‐brush variety are readily available online and at crafts stores; the miniature ones were plucked from a model train set. Votives make the snow-dusted landscape sparkle.

Even the smallest dollops of red (in this instance, a few ranunculi, miniature roses, and parrot tulips) will stand out when set against ivory walls, pale wood, white china, and silvery ornaments. Gray-green eucalyptus pods and pine needles create a muted backdrop for this festive centerpiece.

You don't need to melt any wax in order to make these candles; both taper and topper are made with beeswax sheets, available online and at crafts stores, where you can also buy wicking.

Create a trail of brilliantly lit candles with this simple DIY addition to a votive holder. Tape off the top outer edge of a clear glass with masking tape, and starting at the top and working downward, squeeze a thin coat of glass paint over the entire surface. The paint drips evenly down sides while drying. To dry, snip an inch off a paper-towel roll, and set the bottom of the glass on top of it, so the paint doesn't accumulate along the base. Let paint cure according to manufacturer's instructions.

While this frosted centerpiece isn't actually edible, your guests wouldn't guess just by gazing upon its crystalized appearance. Cut styrofoam balls in half to create mushroom caps and place them on pipe cleaner stems; you'll need to frost them with glitter, and then cut out moss to fit upon smaller gift boxes. Glue the moss to the top of your boxes and place your "candied" mushrooms atop it all.