14 Natural Thanksgiving Centerpieces To Be Thankful For
Gather around the Thanksgiving table this year with an elegant focal point. Centerpieces add so much to the mood and most are simple and cheap to assemble. Check out our top Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas for this year.
Tiered Basket Centerpiece
Baskets are an easy and versatile decor item you should keep around the house. You can add pastels and chocolate eggs at Easter time, apples and pumpkins in September and October, and in this case, pine cones, foliage, and candles at Thanksgiving. This particular basket is stacked, but if you're worried about being able to see your guests across the table then make it a little shorter or line the baskets in a row down the middle of the table for an equally as festive look-just without all the height.
Painted Pumpkins
Pumpkins can be fun, silly, or scary depending on how you carve or decorate them. In this case, these pumpkins are sophisticated and stunning in their white paint and orange berry halos. If you have pumpkins leftover from Halloween that weren't turned into jack-o-lanterns, this Thanksgiving centerpiece is an easy transformation for them. Simply paint them white, gather twigs and festive colored berries (try the faux kind from a craft store), and wrap them around the pumpkins. It's a simple, quick, and beautiful centerpiece idea.
Pretty Plank
We're used to seeing non-edible centerpieces, but this plank table topper combines the best of both worlds: yummy snacks and beautiful decorations. You can do this really easily yourself by salvaging an antique barn board or making a fresh plank look old with some weathering techniques. Then, layer it up with fresh fruit, candles, and fall foliage and you'll have a simple and functional Thanksgiving centerpiece your guests will love. Plus, this idea is so easy to customize per holiday, so you'll have a multi-purpose piece for the next family function.
A-Maize-ing Bouquet
Dried maize harkens back to the first Thanksgiving when the pilgrims and Native Americans sat down to a shared harvest of corn, pumpkin, and much more. Get some dried maize from your local craft store and some raffia twine. Then, use a bottle that's shorter than the stalks and line them up around the outside. Cinch them together with the twine and tada-you'll have a rustic and beautiful centerpiece that provides a more subtle Thanksgiving look.
Green Gourds
We've veered away from the expected red, orange, brown, and yellow colors in this Thanksgiving centerpiece. We love how unexpected yet festive this green pumpkin centerpiece is. All it takes is some artful stacking of leaves, gourds, pumpkins, and kales on a platter and your decoration project will be complete!
Pumpkin Vases
We just love repurposing objects in unexpected ways. Use your leftover Halloween pumpkins for a Thanksgiving centerpiece. Just hollow out the middle, fill the pumpkin with water, and pick an arrangement that's full of oranges, reds, and fresh greens. It's a brand new take on a Thanksgiving centerpiece that will make your pumpkin purchases go further. Our tip: Try using tiny pumpkins as votives to flank these lush arrangements.
Log Candle Holder
Lay down a crisp white table runner and layer it with mini pumpkins, gourds, faux or dried leaves, and of course, a thick tree limb that you transform into a candle holder. Just use a wide bit to drill out the tea light holes and strike a match. It will provide beautiful mood lighting and can be used again at Christmas when paired with pine boughs and holly.
Pine Cone Candles
If you're putting your focus into the food and not the decor, then try this incredibly fast and easy Thanksgiving centerpiece. Just use whatever glass candle holder you have on hand, put it in a bowl, and surround it with pine cones and pumpkins. It's a perfect solution for the time-crunched host who still wants everything to be perfect without staying up into the wee hours of the morning preparing for Thanksgiving.
Wheat Centerpiece
In the fall, the golden sun sets wheat fields on fire with warm yellow hues at sunrise and sunset. Do the same to your Thanksgiving table by making this stunning wheat centerpiece. Your local craft store should have real dried wheat and you'll just need a few bundles to create this textural and lush decoration. We like how they paired it with a rustic burlap, but you can also pull in fall colors like red, orange, and yellow with a more vibrant ribbon.
Rustic Arrangement
This is similar to the maize centerpiece we featured above in that all you'll need to do is align thick sticks around a shorter vase and connect it all with a ribbon. This would require multiple hands though, so we recommend buying a cheap plastic vase from your dollar store and hot glueing sticks around the outside. Then, stuff it with a flower arrangement that screams fall and complete it all with a burlap ribbon.
Thanksgiving Lantern
Craft stores, home good shops, and antique stores should all have a lantern or two on their shelves. Go pick one up and pair it with some orange berry garland and an orange candle and you'll have a gorgeous Thanksgiving centerpiece in no time.
Mason Jar Vases
Mason jars are the ultimate multi-purpose decoration piece to keep around the house. They can serve as food storage, drinking glasses, candle holders, and in this particular project, vases. If you have leftover wheat from the previous project above, stuff some into mason jars that you whitewash and tie raffia around the tops. Then, try your hand at making these rustic flowers, stick them in a crate and you'll be done.
Pumpkin Tower
If you have a cupcake stand sitting around the house, give it a new function this Thanksgiving. With shades of metallics and neutral whites and creams, this is a stunning centerpiece idea. Buy plastic pumpkins that you can paint and use year after year or give live ones a coat that are left over from earlier in the fall. Put this on the Thanksgiving table or in the entryway for guests to enjoy.
Leaf Lanterns
Minimal effort doesn't even begin to cover this beautiful yet easy design piece. If you have a clear glass candle holder, layer it with leaves and then add another candle that's encased in glass to the middle. It's a sophisticated look that you won't have to shop for. Just go outside and gather some of the prettiest fallen leaves right from your yard!
