How to Choose a Thanksgiving Centerpiece, Plus Table Decoration Ideas

Thanksgiving offers a cornucopia of ideas for decorating a table... including cornucopias themselves. The flowers, plants, decorative elements, and even foods of the season make it easy to create a tabletop certain to delight guests.

As much as the china, glassware, and table linens, a centerpiece helps to create the ideal Thanksgiving ambience. When choosing the right centerpiece for your table, scale the arrangement so that it leaves room for serving dishes, make sure it doesn't block the view of guests on the other side of the table, and match its shape and colors to the rest of your tablescape.

Here are a few easy, creative, and inexpensive Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas to get you started.

How to choose a Thanksgiving centerpiece for your table

Before you design anything, take a good look at the table you'll be setting. The right centerpiece fits your space, keeps conversation flowing, and complements the rest of your decor. Use this quick checklist to guide your decision:

• Table size — Be sure there will be enough room for serving dishes and place settings.
• Sight lines — Limit the height of your centerpiece to about 12 inches so that guests can see and talk across the table; if you want to go tall, raise the arrangement on a slim transparent stand or place it in a clear narrow vessel people can see through.
• Shape — Use a long runner or a row of small vessels for a rectangular table, and a low, round arrangement for a round table.
• Color palette — Decide between warm fall tones such as burgundy, gold, rust, and deep orange or a natural neutral scheme with wood, burlap, and greenery.
• Seating and guest count — For a larger gathering, choose either one sizable anchor piece or a repeated cluster of small arrangements down the length of the table.

Match the centerpiece to your table

Once you know the style that fits your table, pick one of the DIY ideas below to bring it to life. Or if you prefer a ready-made option, shop Thanksgiving centerpieces or browse our fall flowers.

Flower wreath Thanksgiving centerpiece idea

Wreaths are one of my favorite styles for a traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece. Having the center of the wreath open gives you room for personalization. Here, I used an amber Fenton glass vase as a candleholder; the amber glow complements the seasonal flowers in the wreath.

When creating a fresh floral wreath, I like to use flowers and plants that air-dry nicely. The varieties shown in this photo, such as roses, hydrangeas, and succulents, can extend the life of your centerpiece by weeks. Some hydrangea varieties dry better than others. The variety that dries best, and is featured in the wreath above, is known as an antique hydrangea. It is typically soft moss green with burgundy edging and works beautifully with the rich colors of autumn.

Because this wreath uses vibrant fall colors, I kept the backdrop neutral. A burlap table runner on a wood farm table and wooden chargers holding amber Depression glass plates let the centerpiece stand out.

How to make a flower wreath centerpiece

Regardless of your choice of flowers and colors, the step-by-step process of constructing the wreath is the same. Various types and sizes of wreath forms are available. The one I used here has a papier-mâché backing, so I placed it on a charger plate after soaking it to protect my tabletop.

1. Prepare the floral foam

Thoroughly soak the floral foam wreath base.

2. Add your greens

Start with a base of foliage, inserting short pieces around the outside of the form, and add more sprigs on the inside rim and the top. You don't have to completely cover the foam, as you can always go back and fill in any empty spaces after adding the flowers and dried accents.

3. Add your flowers

Start with your largest flower. Each hydrangea bloom has multiple stems of flower clusters. Because you are cutting the stems short and inserting them directly into wet floral foam, you can cut the laterals from the main stem and use them as separate insertions. This lets you bring the color and texture of the hydrangeas all the way around the wreath without overpowering the other flowers.

Here, I used only two hydrangeas, but I have six separate insertions that already make my wreath nice and full.

4. Add decorative elements

Next, I added dried pods and burlap roses. These are substantial and provide fullness, especially as the fresh flowers begin to dry, since flowers lose color and shrink during the drying process.

5. Fill in any empty spaces

Fill in the spaces with the rest of the flora you've chosen, cutting as many short stem laterals as possible.

6. Finish with details

I used rose hips to add dimension to the wreath. Cut the woody stem of the rose hips a little longer than the flower stems, then insert the bottom of the stem between the flowers until it is secure in the foam and the berries sit just above the flowers.

7. Add colored leaves

Adding fall leaves with touches of gold and rust ties the wreath together. Now you have a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table that will last all season.

Add green accents with seasonal plants and decorative elements

Plants are a great option for tabletop decorating. They're relatively inexpensive and, if you use seasonal varieties, last for weeks. These millet plants I picked up at Smile Farms are a bit taller than normal for a centerpiece, but they still work. I find that everything gets moved around once the food starts getting placed on the table anyway. For more low-maintenance ideas, check out our fall plants.

Small, unexpected accents, such as green-apple candles and fresh-cut succulents on or beside each plate, can complete your look and keep your table decorated even after the food has been served.

DIY garden trug: easy centerpiece ideas

This rustic table accent shows off the beauty of the season's fruits and vegetables.

Select your base container

Start with the foundation. I used a wooden garden trug, but you can use any gathering-style container, such as a rectangular or oblong wicker basket.

Add seasonal and textured materials

Choose materials to nestle into the container that complement your color scheme and vary in shape and texture. Gourds, bittersweet branches, and other seasonal elements add a holiday feeling.

Build height with floral foam

Use pieces of floral foam to build up height in areas of your display; adding a few stems of fresh flowers also helps vary the height within the arrangement.

Keep fresh flowers hydrated

To keep your flowers fresher longer, put a piece of wet floral foam in a small plastic container, or add water to a small plastic cup, place it in the trug, and then add the flowers.

Highlight with bittersweet branches

My favorite part of this design are the bittersweet branches. These seasonal berry branches do not have to be in water; they dry nicely and, with minimal handling, will hold the berries for weeks.

Foraged bouquet: Small Thanksgiving centerpiece inspiration

This final idea just requires a little foraging in your garden (or your neighbor's). I live at the beach, so my garden is full of ornamental beach grasses and millet, and turning leaves are everywhere. I love flowers, but this time of year offers a multitude of equally beautiful branches, berries, and grasses.

Keep things simple and natural by adding an LED votive candle to the center of a fresh artichoke and placing a single stem of millet and a sprig of fall foliage on each plate.

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