How to Create a Seasonal or Holiday Table Centerpiece and DIY

It’s hard to believe that’s almost September! Fall is my favorite season and I’ve been anxiously counting down the days until fall since late July and our 90+ degree temperatures.  We have a lot more summer heat and humidity ahead of us here in North Carolina before fall finally arrives, but we’ve been hovering in the low 70’s since the weekend, the perfect fall teaser!

  In anticipation of fall, I’m sharing some tips and ideas for creating a seasonal runner and centerpiece for your fall or holiday table. It’s a quick and easy method to dress the table, using items that you have or can gather from the grocery store or your backyard.

For my Fall Table with Woodland Friends, I wanted to create a runner/centerpiece for the table using natural materials and items I had on hand. I cut some green oak leaves, green Japanese privet berries and reddish-purple lorepetalum foliage snipped from the shrubs.

 Endless summer hydrangeas had already faded and dried to a papery texture, adding a soft element and contrast to grapevine pumpkins and wooden acorns, both found at Hobby Lobby several years ago. I like to use real fall leaves whenever possible, but our leaves don’t turn until October so faux ones are filling in, providing soft and muted orange and gold hues. Last but not least, I added mercury glass votives for some sparkle and shine.

Let your materials guide you, placing them down the length of the table. I start with the larger elements first~ votives, pumpkins and hydrangeas, filling in with leaves, clippings from shrubs, and acorns. It helps to lay out your placemats or chargers on the table first, as a guide for you to build your runner/centerpiece.

I kept the privet berries and lorpetalum in water to prevent them from wilting until the last minute when assembling. If you’re using perishable flowers or greenery, you can use floral water picks, available at the craft store, concealing them under leaves or hidden among the other elements in your runner.

I used this same method last fall for a Forest Feast Gatherings Table. . .

Pomegranates, artichokes, apples, and pears join Baby Boo pumpkins, maple leaves, green oak leaves, lorepetalum and hydrangea blooms.

You can use this method to create an Easy 5-Minute Centerpiece for Thanksgiving.

Oak leaves  join an assortment of mini pumpkins, scattered nuts and votives, for a leafy and organic runner for an easy and casual centerpiece for a fall or Thanksgiving table. We serve ourselves buffet style at Thanksgiving, with food on the kitchen island, so we don’t have to leave room on the table for platters of food. I have a collection of Proud Tom turkey plates that are gathered together at the table and it’s always fun to pick your favorite turkey!

If you’re in the market for turkey plates, I found some this week at Tuesday Morning. Queen’s by Churchill ‘Majestic Beauty’ turkey  dinner plates are available for a great price at $4.99 each. Tuesday Morning also had Queen’s Pheasant, Mallard, and Stag patterns in stock.

You can use the same technique to deck the table with boughs of Leyland cypress for Plaid Tidings Christmas Table and DIY Evergreen Runner. Leyland cypress, is an ideal evergreen to Deck the Halls or table, since it won’t leave a sticky, sappy residue behind like cedar, fir, pine or most other live greenery. Pine cones, red apples, mercury glass votives and a few plaid ornaments are sprinkled down the length of the table, along with an assortment of nuts and sprigs of boxwood.

Another reason not to prune your boxwood between now and Christmas for your decorating and for Boxwood Wreath Napkin Rings!

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 Between Naps on the Porch