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How to create a festive table centrepiece

By Annabel Langbein

Festive tabletop setting with red flowers and green foliage

Overview

Preparation is the key to success when preparing a Festive Table Centrepiece. Make sure you have everything you need before you start and lay it all out so you can see what you are working with. The planter box lined with a plastic bag forms the base for your centrepiece and can be later repurposed with flower seedlings or herbs etc. However, if preferred you can also use a waterproof rectangular container.

Foliage is the backbone of your arrangement. By using lots of different types of foliage you will get lots of texture in your arrangement, and it also means you don’t need lots of hero flowers.

Steps

1Step 1

Find or purchase all the tools and materials required. Collect, forage and find foliage and seasonal harvests- cones, seed pods, green crab apples, limes etc, see above. Select 5-9 stems of a hero red flower.

Leaves, flowers, planter box, wires, ribbon, lights and scissors scattered out on flat surface

2Step 2

Arrange foliage, flowers, seed pods etc in separate piles. Prepare container and line the container with plastic bag (if needed). Roll up chicken wire and place inside the lined container – this acts as a frame to hold stems in place. Fill with water, adding 1 tsp bleach and 1 tsp sugar to promote long life.

Pouring water in planter box

3Step 3

Arrange foliage, berries, and seed pods, working from the outside inwards. Keep low around the edges and build up towards the centre. Aim to include something aromatic such as pine, larch or cypress to provide a festive scent.

Adding foliage into planter box arrangment

4Step 4

Angle cut hero flower stems and arrange in between foliage. Skewer crab apples or limes with bamboo skewers and use these to fill the gaps.

Adding flowers to the foliage in the planter box

5Step 5

Cover the table with a clean white tablecloth and run three strips of Jute tree webbing down the length of the table- one down the middle and one on either side about 8-10 cm apart. Place the finished centrepiece in the centre of the table and surround with fairy lights, cones and leaves. Top up water every couple of days.

This gorgeous festive table centrepiece created with found, gathered and foraged materials from your garden and surrounds brings the harvest and pickings of the season and your local area to your Christmas table. Get the kids to gather leaves and berries and small cones and head to Bunnings to fill in the gaps with any equipment or tools you may require.

Festive tabletop setting with red flowers and green foliage
Health & Safety

Please make sure you use all equipment appropriately and safely when following the advice in these D.I.Y. videos. You need to be familiar with how to use equipment safely and follow the instructions that came with the equipment. If you are unsure, you may feel it is safest to consult an expert, such as the manufacturer or an expert Bunnings Team Member.

Grave health hazards are linked to asbestos, which may be in homes built up to 1990. Health hazards may result from exposure to lead-based paints in older materials and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer. You can also use a simple test kit from Bunnings to indicate the presence of lead-based paint.