Just like Thanksgiving, it is important to have a beautiful and celebratory centerpiece on your Christmas dinner table -- whether it is an extravagant flower arrangement or a simple yet festive presentation of candles, what you display on your tabletop is important and sets the mood for the occasion.
Construct a centerpiece with fresh flowers or use extra ornaments and display them in a large hurricane glass to add color to your table. I love carnations, buy bouquets in deep shades of red and cut them to form low arrangements so you and your guests can see clear across the table.
Here are a few centerpiece suggestions for your holiday table...
1 A Victorian time traler would delight at the detail in our miniature evergreen grove. Tiny medallions top the trees, and sequin snowflakes spangle their boughs. The table runner is embossed wallpaper painted gold, its border serrated by cutting along the diamond pattern.
2 Carnations are one of my favorite flower, I love the different red shades of carnations in this photograph -- these arrangements make a simple but stunning centerpiece.
3 Add a bit of romance to your holiday table with resoundingly red decorations.
4 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.
5 Fill a glass vase with cranberries for a festive touch at the holiday table.
6 With the help of these candle and flower centerpieces, the whole table will shine.
7 These glittered candleholders are elevated on glass cake stands, then dusted with faux snow.
8 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.
9 I love this centerpiece made from pinecones.
10 This unusual pairing features two items with similar budlike shapes: creamy-white roses and emerald-green ornamental kale.
11 Decorate inexpensive pillar candles and you will have a display for your table and presents, too.
12 Candles adorned with beeswax trees create an enchanting winter landscape on the tabletop.
13 Pinecone "flowers" with glowing centers fill a simple vase in this exquisite arrangement.
14 Dress up the table with a fragrant and bright pomander of oranges or grapefruits.
15 Red-and-white amaryllis recall classic candy-cane stripes and thus inspired this container. Cylindrical glass vases are wrapped in pearlescent paper or vellum and finished with red ribbon.
16 Filled with sparkly trimmings, these garden cloches add radiance to any tabletop.
17 A little sparkle transforms inexpensive toys into shimmering decorations for the dining table.
18 Create a serene winter tableau with this simple arrangement: birch bark wrapped around glass cylinders filled with plants found easily at this time of year.
19 Complete any table setting with a stunning wax bowl centerpiece filled with floating candles, mini pinecones, and dried greenery.
20 Fill a glass vase with cranberries for a festive touch at the holiday table.
21 Bold accents such as a carnation centerpiece or red napkins pop against white table linens and plates.
22 Using carnations to evoke a snow-covered tree, this centerpiece transforms the tabletop into a fanciful winter garden.
23 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.
24 Birds alight onto a tinsel-wrapped tree branch, which is used as a centerpiece.
25 Silk magnolias and lilies are flush with finery: their centers have been replaced with rhinestones, and the petals are coated in red, pink, gold, and silver powder glitters. Real juniper berry branches offer vibrant contrast, and a silver compote provides a fitting base.
26 I love this crafty snowman made from carnations.
Kevin Sharkey 
From: Rowaida Flayhan | 12/15/10 at 9:09 am
Gorgeous holiday centerpieces! so inspiring!