Dressing up your table for your mealtime holiday guests is tricky. Centerpieces are challenging because they are viewed from all angles, so you have to choose an item that is beautiful from all 360 degrees. When you have a stunning centerpiece, your dining experience is festive and full of Christmas spirit. Is your centerpiece lackluster and losing life? Try something different to surprise your guests this year. These creative ideas can transform your table and create a joyful setting for your feast.



Glass canisters and containers

We grow tired of centerpieces quickly. They are not like Christmas tree ornaments we treasure year after year. After a year or two, we retire them and find replacements. The reusability of this idea makes it sensible as well as stylish. You can easily change out your centerpiece each year by filling clear canisters and containers. When you pitch one “filler”, just swap it out for another. There are so many inexpensive items that pop when grouped together in your clear container, so you can feel less guilty about changing it out each year. Any small, festive items grouped together look great displayed inside your glass containers. Here are just some ideas:

• Christmas ornaments

• Peppermints/candy

• Garland

• Artificial poinsettia blossoms

• Jingle bells

• Gift bows

• Glitter

• Fake snow

Let your imagination guide you and fill your glass containers with the item of your choice. Use one container, or cluster multiple for a larger table. When you have multiple containers, try to find some that vary in height and width to add visual interest. With so many possibilities, you can have a centerpiece that is distinctly you.

Candles

Candles are standard centerpieces, but with a little creativity you can make a candle centerpiece that's original. Weave garland amongst your candlesticks to dress them up for the holidays. Or, try putting candle rings or wrap short pieces of garland around the base of candlesticks. To create a theme, use the same material as napkin rings. Your table setting will be cohesive and have a custom feel.

If you have larger candles, cluster them together and nestle them inside a wreath, almost as if you are “framing” the candles with the wreath. Add as much or as little décor on your tabletop wreath as you wish. It's an unexpected use of two very traditional Christmas decorations.

Tabletop tree

Small, tabletop trees are very customizable centerpieces. You can trim your small tree to match your dinnerware. If your dinnerware has a design on it, try to mimic that design on your tree by making your own ornaments. Or, use a food or wine themed tree to appease your guests' appetite (and distract from the real food if your culinary skills are sub par). Here's another fun idea: write the names of your guests on inexpensive glass ornaments with a metallic permanent marker. Your guests will feel honored with a tree made just for them. You can use one tree to showcase its brilliance, or make your own mini forest with several very small trees. A strand of lights adds extra sparkle to one or multiple trees, but be sure you get battery-operated lights. A cord dangling from the table is not only unattractive, but can trip you or your guests.

Gifts, already?

Treat your guests extra special with a small, wrapped present adorning each of their plates. Then, place larger, fake gifts in the middle of the table as your centerpiece. Mix up the sizes and shapes of the boxes and use various coordinating patterns of wrapping paper. To really make it look like Santa was in, buy or make a velvet sack, just like Santa's. Fill it with toys and gifts that spill onto the table. (The only problem is keeping your guests out of Santa's sack.)

The key with successful centerpieces is creativity. Don't look for items that are meant to be centerpieces. Those are the kinds of things you will get tired of quickly, because they are so boringly expected. Instead, brainstorm new ways to use items as centerpieces. The more creative your design, the more spectacular your table will be.