50 Christmas Table Centerpiece Ideas to Match Your Unique Decor Style

Christmas centerpieces are important for several reasons. It creates a focal point, can provide a conversation ice breaker, or transforms the general theme of the holiday into your own vision of the season.

If you’re looking for Christmas table centerpiece ideas, this stunning collection of beautiful and exquisite arrangements is for you. Whether you plan to make your own (DIY) or buy one ready-made then keep browsing; you’re sure to find some unique ideas to inspire you. We categorized them by arrangement type and decor style.

Modern Ideas

Select centerpieces that are sleekly minimalist in design. Shapes for containers and decorative pieces are geometric, the most popular being the rectangle, square, half-round, and round/cylinder. Choose metallic colors of gold, white, and silver. Frosted whites, patterned golds, and shimmery silvers add sparkle and texture.

When minimalism doesn’t appeal to you but modern does, think traditional with a twist. Make a centerpiece from seasonal flowers in pastel shades. Or go in the opposite direction and be bold with jewel tones such as emerald green, sapphire blue, amethyst purple, and ruby red. For larger displays, create a table decoration using words such as “Love”, “Joy”, and “Peace” or arrange block letters to say seasonal words that are the most meaningful to you.

Non-traditional colors centerpiece idea with purple and white flowers in heart-shaped box on a centerpiece easel

Christmas centerpiece with greenery, votive candles, red roses and a little love

Holiday centerpiece with wood planter, blue spruce branches, red roses and holly berries

Farmhouse Style

This style is a blend of traditional and rustic. Palettes are mostly neutrals such as sage, navy, gray, white, and cream, but with pops of color in the guise of warm reds and blues. Farmhouse style table centerpieces are charming and inviting, giving a person the feeling they’ve come home even if it’s their first visit.

Centerpieces are often crafted or manufactured from repurposed items. For containers think wood boxes and small crates, a drawer from a dresser, an old window planter box, or discarded baskets. Finishes for woods range from light to dark and are typically distressed. Get creative with materials – faux or real logs, snow-dusted pine cones, frosted evergreen branches, burlap bows, and ribbons in fuzzy plaids or smooth velvet.

Clever tabletop centerpiece idea using a repurposed drawer with white candles and snowy boughs

Christmas centerpiece using a cheerful assortment of ornaments and glass beads

Make a festive centerpiece by hanging cookies from a wood planter, adding pine stems and ornaments

Farmhouse style tabletop decoration using distressed wood box and five red taper candles

Christmas centerpiece ideas using handmade wreath with advent candles

White candles create contrast in a Farmhouse style centerpiece with holiday greens

Traditional Decor

The traditional style is characterized by themes and motifs that reflect the customs of past eras such as Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian. At Christmastime, it is defined by rich reds and greens, with gold, silver, and winter white accents. In addition to standard vases and candelabrum, wrought iron and galvanized steel sled-themed containers are popular this time of year.

Start with a candelabrum or lantern that has etched, opaque, or stenciled glass. Buy or make a wreath of pine boughs and set the candelabrum in the middle. Another option for your centerpiece is to place a garland of spruce branches around it. Trim with cranberries, other kinds of red berries, and pine cones.

Or begin with flowers you enjoy. Put them in a pedestal container or classic bouquet vase. Add berry sprigs, another kind of pine branch, and smaller filler flowers in contrasting colors. Another alternative is to make the display edible with seasonal fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Christmas centerpiece ideas with cranberries and oranges dusted with snow on fir branches

Traditional decor idea combining hurricane lamp with frosted fir boughs

Create Christmas spirit with an effortless Traditional decor idea - white candles, red berries, greenery

Traditional decor idea using fir tree stems and roses in red pedestal vase

Two-tiered Christmas table decoration has enough room for a pillar candle and lots of cookies

Large Centerpieces

Large centerpieces are ideal for an eight-foot rectangular dining table or a round table six feet in diameter. Garlands, loose leaves, and strings of greenery that run the length of the table make ideal low and long tabletop centerpieces for both indoors and out.

Focus on textures and colors. Use bold blooms, soft greens, pine cones, mottled brown branches, and gray twigs. For large displays with predominately earth tones, introduce splashes of color in the form of ornaments, candles of varying heights, and small figurines.

Large containers with long-stemmed flowers and branches placed on a table in a foyer, an entryway console, or a sideboard will really make a festive statement. For tables where you intend to gather for a meal, keep the height of the display relatively low so you easily see the other people at the table.

Modern style large centerpieces idea with silver pillar candles and greenery

Christmas celebration centerpiece with assorted greens, poinsettias and colorful ornaments

Traditional style large centerpieces idea using roses and fir boughs with taper and pillar candles

Vintage

Vintage style decorative elements are characteristic of a particular decade. Toy trucks from the 1930s, 1940s tiered cake plates, vintage lady head planters, or retro oversized teacups and soup bowls can beautifully transform into centerpieces that will bring a touch of nostalgia to your decor.

To create an authentic retro holiday design, select a vintage piece for your “base.” Choose signature ornaments from that decade in seasonal colors or complementary shades. Add fresh evergreen sprigs or long sprigs of colorful flowers or cranberries. Finish with strings of smoky glass beads or imitation pearls.

Vintage lady head planter with a bottlebrush tree, faux pearls, and ornaments

Centerpieces with Candles

Holiday centerpieces with candles are timeless and classic. It can be as simple as placing a few taper candles in a bowl with gold ornaments and some greenery. However, when you take into account the different types of candles and how you can integrate them into a variety of other materials, there are many options to consider.

Unscented candles are recommended for use in arrangements designed for dining room tabletops. LED candles are also an option when the centerpiece will be accessible to curious little hands. Types of candles include:

  • Tea light candles (use with a tea light candle holder for safety reasons)
  • Votive candles (use with a votive holder to help the candle burn evenly)
  • Taper candles
  • Pillar candles

Don’t underestimate the impact of low candles – for a centerpiece with maximum effect mix tea lights (small) with votive candles (slightly larger and thicker). Group pillar candles inside a wreath of pine cones, nuts, and stars. If you plan to use tapers in your arrangement, consider how to add more glitter and glam with the kind of candlestick holders you select.

Centerpieces with candles ideas with red votives, pine branches and red berries in decorative planter

Frosted pine stem on plate with fresh strawberries surrounded by candles in glass holders

Go for the gold - Christmas candle centerpiece with gold tapers and ornaments

Centerpieces with candles idea using glass bottle, tealight candles, and red berries

Four pillar candles surrounded by a Christmas wreath made of pine cones and nuts

Centerpieces with candles idea for a pillar candle placed inside a wreath of pine cones, berries and evergreen stems

Seasonal tabletop decoration with red flowers, a red pillar candle and Christmas greens

Rustic holiday centerpiece reflecting a winter forest - a mix of seasonal greenery with candles

Timeless centerpieces with candles idea using a combination of pillar and votive candles with poinsettias

Elegant seasonal tabletop decoration arrangement with Christmas ornaments, gold votives, and a pillar candle

Simple and Primitive Ideas

The simple decor style is understated and refined with calming neutral palettes and the use of natural and local materials. Primitive style folk art is characteristic of a historic or early Americana time period, using rough elements with simple lines in muted colors.

Containers range from wood with a rough texture or a distressed finish to plain serving trays (round, square, rectangle) made of metal or wood. Materials should reflect a simpler lifestyle where most objects were handcrafted and sourced locally.

To make a simple or primitive style Christmas centerpiece, choose a base such as a round tray, plate, or basket. Add pillar candles, ornaments, or flowers in muted tones. For a display that doesn’t use flowers, place a wreath over the candles. Spray with fake snow then attach small ornaments. Another simple idea is to place two different-sized pillar candles on a table runner with gold round glass ornaments, ribbons, and a shimmery bow.

Poinsettias shine against a backdrop of pine cones, sprigs of berries, and pine boughs

Simple style Christmas centerpiece design combining pillar candles with gold ornaments, ribbon, and a bow

Create a festive Christmas centerpiece from cedar branches, magenta flowers, and pine cones

Simple Christmas table centerpieces using pillar candles, glass votives, and shiny ornaments

Red flowers, berries, fir branches and sprigs of greenery surround a gold ribbon wrapped candle

Rustic Ideas

Rustic style decorations have the appearance of being around for a long time. They are typically made from light to dark woods including cedar and pine – finishes are commonly distressed or left natural. Wooden boxes, wood slices, branches, and wood slab chargers with tree knots, bits of twig, and bark add texture and visual interest.

Finishing touches might include birch bark chains, burlap ribbons or string ties, frosted pine cones, several kinds of evergreen branches, red berries, and miniature fruits. For large centerpieces with a rustic theme add short pillar candles and grapevine ball ornaments.

Rustic ideas for table decoration crafted from forgaged wood and pine cones with votive candles

Rustic style Christmas centerpiece ideas with wood charger and gold candles

Three jars placed in a rough-hewn box with holiday touches like snowflakes and berries

Christmas tabletop decoration with carnations, chrysanthemums santini, brunia, and fir branches

Make a Rustic style centerpiece using a wood charger, wood slice, and red candle

Birch bark candle holders, pine cones, and pyracantha berries in evergreens centerpiece idea

Ideas with Evergreens

Nothing brings holiday beauty home to your table quite like the scent of fresh evergreen garlands or pine branches.

Evergreens are the perfect backdrop for tabletop centerpieces. The rich greens allow the flowers, candles, snowflakes, stars, red ball ornaments, and other materials in the arrangement to really stand out.

Mix it up! Use a combination of two or three of the following to vary the texture and intensity of the colors in an arrangement: white pine, fir, boxwood, juniper, cedar, and cypress to name just a few.

For a different take on traditional centerpieces use soft peach accents

Festive centerpieces using evergreens ideas - basket of boughs decorated like a Christmas tree

Create a holiday tabletop centerpiece with fir branches and candles

Christmas table centerpiece using assorted pine branches with flowers and ornaments

Christmas table decoration using holiday greens, gold and orange ornaments and berries

Centerpieces with Lanterns

Especially if your decor style is farmhouse, simple, primitive, vintage, or even traditional, a lantern centerpiece brings a natural glow to the table. Give a simple lantern a sense of interest by decorating it with natural twigs, a bright red or deep green pillar candle, or a ring of greenery.

While you are able to dress it up or down, we think that a single lantern can be elevated to new decorating heights by pairing it with a winter squash (aka a pumpkin) and combining it with other color-matching accessories. If you like the pumpkin centerpiece shown below, you may want to follow the step-by-step instructions on our How to make Centerpieces with Pumpkins page, to make your own.

Christmas fun pumpkin vase paired with red lantern

Centerpieces with Lights

Fairy lights are perfect for Christmas centerpieces lending the room a sense of whimsy and magic. Tiny LED bulbs on a thin flexible metal wire are easy to work with and can be wound around garlands, in between red and gold ornaments, or centered in a bunch for dramatic effect.

A string of fairy lights has a control box that operates on batteries. Most fairy lights include a timer function so they don’t have to be manually switched on/off. Some brands come with remote controls. Rectangular and elongated containers make it easier to hide the battery box from view.

Table centerpiece using pine boughs, ornaments, and fairy lights

Add fairy lights to your centerpiece of red ornaments and holiday greens

Coffee Table Centerpieces

A coffee table centerpiece enhances the interior decorating of a living room, den, or family room with additional textures and shapes. When a coffee table is defined by a centerpiece, it can give the room a fresh feel, change the mood, or add a unique festive flair not apparent in other areas of the house.

If you enjoy crafting, creating coffee table decorations with what you have tucked away in boxes or hiding out in a junk drawer will be just the kind of challenge you’ll enjoy. You can use pretty much anything – old trays, foraged materials (take the kids for a walk in a park), retro figurines, ornaments you no longer put on the tree. It doesn’t have to just look pretty: design a centerpiece that features edibles such as nuts, fruit, and individually wrapped chocolates.

Arrange cinnamon sticks, oranges, and nuts for a classic Christmas centerpiece

Coffee table centerpiece idea with ornaments, red berries and greenery

Floating Candle Ideas

Floating candles add an instant holiday atmosphere to any room in your home. For taller arrangements on a sideboard or console table in the living room, choose a clear glass vase. When the floating candle centerpiece will be displayed on a dining table, start with shorter glass containers such as mason jars, fish bowls, and smaller-sized cylindrical pedestal vases. Fill the vessel with water. Place selected items (vines, berries, shells, pine cones, etc.) in the vase. Depending on the opening of the container, top with the appropriate number of floating candles – one, two, or three.

They are also a great way to showcase your creativity, allowing you to design something that is truly unique to you. There are a lot of possible combinations, suiting any arrangement type and decor style.

Easy centerpiece idea using mason jar, floating candle and red berries

Succulents Ideas

Succulents make spectacular centerpieces with their multiple layers of textures and interesting shapes. They are low maintenance – for centerpieces that will last a long while after the holiday season is over, use fully rooted succulents in pots.

Choose a container. Place the succulent in a glass-cut vase for simple elegance. Or add two of three kinds of succulents embedded in white pebbles or dappled river rocks to a wood tray.

When creating a large centerpiece with succulents repetition is your friend. Select wide-mouth ceramic containers of the same color and style but in two sizes. For example, the arrangement would include three medium vessels and two large ones, all in red or white or green.

Succulents in natural pinewood box with river rocks and a flower candle

About Heather Brown 8 Articles
Heather Brown is a freelance writer from Vancouver, British Columbia. Knowing only the basics about furniture and design, she wrote copy and edited web pages for an online furniture company. She started small with product descriptions and buying guides for beds, dressers, cribs, and office desks. Eventually, she became head copywriter/editor, managing six corporate blogs ranging from nursery ideas to bedroom furniture to home décor to garden and patio design. In no particular order, she is passionate about interior design, reading, movies, and unique housewares.