Main items used includes: Candles, wreaths, foliage, berries, pine cones, fruits, and serving platters
1. Candles Foliage and Pine Cones
Estimated Cost – $5-$10
Fall brings with it the beautiful orange-red foliage, and a lot of fragrant pine cones lying around tall green trees. Nature is more often than not the best source for easy decorating ideas. Collect some thick foliage, either real, or grab some pieces from stores like Michael’s, Jo-Anne’s or even Dollar stores and keep them handy. Use silver platters or trays, or even some big colorful plates and decorate them with silver wrapping paper. Arrange the green sprigs in the center, top it with some artificial fall leaves, and put some small tea light candles in various colors on each fall leaf.
2. Votives and Berry Wreaths or Garlands
Estimated Cost – $8-$10
Set a large amber candle-holder on a platter. Then bend six to eight artificial, wired leaf branches into a circle (or use small berry wreaths)to fit around the candle-holder. Now you can nestle other items into the foliage like miniature pears, acorns, and gourds. You can also try pine cones or sprigs of evergreen. Finish up with a few berry sprigs for a mix of sizes and textures.
3. Pumpkins with Candles and Berries
Estimated Cost – $5-$8
You can easily create a very simple yet elegant centerpiece by using mini white or orange pumpkins, or even small white gourds. Arrange them in a set of 3 in the center of the table, Cut off the stems and remove the pulp from the center, and slice off just a little at the bottom to create a base for the pumpkins to stand on the table. Then place small tea-light candles along with votives inside each pumpkin. Or use them as flower-vases and add fall foliage to each. If you don’t like it messy, leave the pumpkins as they are, and spread evergreens and berries around them, coupled with some holiday ribbons [pumpkin centerpiece pictured above via bhg.com]
4. Fall Garden Centerpiece
Estimated Cost – $8-$10
Take a large glass bowl or a vase, or even a large pumpkin cleaned off the pulp to use as the vase for the arrangement. Buy a bunch of artificial fall flower arrangement and set it in the vase as a base. Now add some dried pine cones, some fresh flowers like roses or sun flowers, and some green ivy. Now take 2 tall candles, green, orange, red, white are favored colors, and stick them at different heights in the center of the foliage so that they rise above the arrangement. Light them just as you are ready to serve dinner. the smell of roses with pine cones and the ornaments glittering in the light of the candles will make an alluring centerpiece.
5. Fresh Fruit Centerpiece
Estimated Cost – $5 – $10
Using fresh fall harvest is one of the easiest and inexpensive way of making your own centerpiece from what’s available at home. Take a platter, arrange a big fat votive candle in the center. Now place some fall leaves, pine cones and berries all around it to cover the plate. Top this with any fresh fruit that you have, like apples, pears, pumpkins, plums, any fruit that is big and symmetrical, and line it around the candle [apple centerpiece pictured above, via about.com]
I hope you liked these simple and budget-friendly Thanksgiving Centerpiece ideas. With a little bit of creativity and imagination, you can come up with stunning designs with very little money. As a finishing touch, check out this classic Modern Harvest Centerpiece [pictured at the top] made by Jennifer for a stylish look!
