DIY Centerpiece That Transitions From Fall to Holiday

The transition from fall to winter can be a busy time for many of us. There are all the usual commitments. The annual tasks of decorating and preparing for Thanksgiving are followed shortly after by the transition to Christmas and holiday decorating, planning, and shopping. Fortunately, with a little creativity, you can save some time with your decorating this year! 

This centerpiece craft uses versatile base materials that can transition seamlessly from the Thanksgiving table to your Christmas feast with a few simple changes!

There are a million different ways to design centerpieces for the holidays, but we like ones that embrace seasonal beauty and allow us to still see the friendly faces across the table. A classic, timeless centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table is a long and low arrangement with seasonal accents. A narrow wooden tray or even a narrow serving dish with pinecones and 3-5 candles is a perfect base to take you through to the next few months with tasteful style and an easy transition. 

Create Your Base Centerpiece & Add Fall Accents

For the base centerpiece, arrange your candles in your tray. If you want to use real candles, you may want to consider setting them inside hurricane vases to prevent fire risk. Then, arrange an assortment of pinecones around the candles. If you’re using LED candles, you won’t need the hurricanes. Candles with a remote are ideal, as you won’t have to touch the centerpiece each time you light it up! 

To give the simple centerpiece a fall aesthetic, add some colorful fall leaves, twigs with orange, yellow, or white berries, and some classic hardshell nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts, and brazil nuts. You could also add in a few mini pumpkins and some jewel-toned silk flowers if you like. 

Transition Your Centerpiece for the Holidays

To transition your centerpiece to a more festive feel, remove the fall leaves, mini pumpkins, fall berries, and faux flowers.

Adding Christmas tree balls or ribbons are simple ways to tie the centerpiece to your other holiday decor.

If you like the look of snow-dusted pinecones, you can frost each pinecone with flocking (faux snow) spray, but you can also achieve a similar effect in a couple of other ways. You could sprinkle faux snow powder over the whole arrangement when you’re finished, or tuck small sprays of baby’s breath throughout the centerpiece to add that touch of white. 

Work in some cedar boughs and sprigs of holly and berries to add depth and variation to the greenery. Adding Christmas tree balls or ribbons are simple ways to tie the centerpiece to your other holiday decor. You can also add cinnamon sticks for a subtle scent, along with a few navel or mandarin oranges for an extra pop of color. 

Last but not least, a strand of LED twinkle lights, in addition to the candles, adds even more warm and cozy Christmas ambiance. You could even replace the candles with them, filling the hurricane vases with the lights. Or, you could intertwine them with your evergreen boughs.

Things to Keep in Mind About Evergreen Boughs 

Evergreen boughs will generally only last 1-2 weeks indoors. You can extend their indoor life by keeping them in vases of water, spraying them daily with water, or soaking them in water every few days, although this adds a lot of extra maintenance and fussing for your centerpiece. Spraying them with an anti-desiccant spray, such as Wilt Stop or Wilt-Pruf, will extend their life for a little longer as well. 

If you want to use fresh evergreens, you’ll probably want to wait until the week of Christmas to add them to your centerpiece or be prepared to replace them every few weeks with fresh ones. Faux evergreens boughs will make your centerpiece virtually maintenance-free. 

Alternatively, you can create one of our designer centerpieces in one of our popular evergreen decor classes! You can either attend your preferred class in person or take home a class kit and follow along virtually. All in-person attendees are required to wear a mask, and classes are limited to 10 people. Each person will be provided with their own table and freshly sanitized tools to use.

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Creating your own holiday centerpiece is a fabulous way to get in the spirit and spread a little holiday joy to your household! Visit us in-store for more inspiration, or explore our online holiday store to browse more fresh holiday decor pieces, all handmade by our designers. We offer contactless curbside pickup and free delivery for orders over $50!