Quick and easy Christmas table decorations we can make cheaply are gold dust when we’re drowning in the chaos of Christmas prep.
But too many of those gorgeous Christmas centrepieces on Pinterest etc are crazily complex and costly!!
So I have for you here a collection of beautifully simple Christmas table decorations you truly can make fast on a budget including :
PLUS a step-by-step guide to making a lovely centrepiece in 5 minutes.
There are ideas to go with rustic Christmas decor but also luxury look and modern Christmas table settings.
I do hope you enjoy these ideas & a wonderful Christmas in 2023.
Table of Contents
Quick & Easy Christmas Table Centrepieces
There are all sorts of lovely quick ways to decorate your Christmas table cheaply with things you already have in your home such as :
- Old jars
- Old Christmas wreath frames
- Used cans and tins
- Broken baubles
- Foraged pine cones
- Forgotten artificial flowers
- Storage buckets
- Empty bottles
- And little plant pots.
Reusing old stuff is key to a more zero waste Christmas but also a brilliant way to create fun and modern Christmas decorations.
Christmas Lantern Jars
Christmas lanterns made from old jars are nothing new but these ones truly are cheap, quick and easy to make for your Christmas table.
Christmas Luminary Jars
These Christmas luminary jars are incredibly striking but actually a very easy holiday centrepiece you can make quickly and cheaply.
Just forage – or blag off neighbours – red berried evergreen and pop in jars of water with tealights.
Cranberry Christmas Centrepiece
This cranberry centrepiece is another lovely way to bring natural colour to your Christmas table.
It is nothing more than cranberries added to a vase or jar with a little greenery or Christmas flowers.
Flowers In Tiny Jars
A run of little old jars or e.g. shot glasses each filled with a flower is a stunning quick table centrepiece.
It can look lovely with red flowers …
And delicate whites whether real or artificial or a mixture of the two …
Table Centrepiece From An Old Christmas Wreath
You can make a fabulous table centrepiece from a tired Christmas wreath or a basic wreath frame.
Simply add anything you have – candles, old artificial flowers, broken baubles – to brighten it …
Christmas Candlestick Cans
Old cans give a rustic Christmas decor a modern feel and are a clever way to do Christmas table decor on the cheap. Simply paint old cans with any white paint you have to hand, pop in candles and arrange amongst some pine cuttings.
Christmas Candlestick Buckets & Pails
Craft buckets – my daughter was storing crayons in some I “borrowed” – can be used to create simple but lovely Christmas candlesticks.
Just fill with sand or gravel, pop your candle in and add a little Christmas greenery of some sort on top.
Christmas Tin Vases
You can brighten your Christmas table with nothing more than red & white chrysanthemums and a few pieces of evergreen foliage popped in a colourful old tin.
Bowl Of Christmas Baubles
A bowl of baubles in the middle of the Christmas table makes a brilliant cheap, quick and easy Christmas centrepiece that takes just a few minutes to look lovely.
Use bright contrasting colours against clean white plates for a modern Christmas look or chose gold and silver for a more luxury feel.
Bottle Candlesticks
Keep you eyes peeled in autumn for great wine bottles. Use these tips to remove labels easily. And pop old candle stubs in them.
These quick candlesticks will bounce light around beautifully on both rustic and modern Christmas table settings and if you are doing Christmas on a budget, they are not just cheap, they are free.
Plant Pot Candles
I saw this idea for terracotta pot candlesticks for sale but you can easily recreate it for free.
Simply, clean up old garden pots and pop in some old candles with evergreen or pine cuttings.
Jars Of Pinecones
If you have pinecone ornaments leftover from previous years or can collect them for free, simply fill a big jar with them and add for contrast :
- Foliage clippings
- Leftover ribbon
- Broken baubles
- Twine.
Assorted Candles
Make a feature of any old assorted candles you have in different sizes and shapes for a simple but absorbing centrepiece …
Or create a Christmas table centrepiece fast with a long line of candles surrounded by pine cutting, nuts and any fruits you have – you could even use brussel sprouts!
Fruit Centrepieces
For a lightening quick Christmas table setting when you are super short on supplies, simply :
- Line candles down the table
- Spread a little foliage around them
- And intersperse with any fruit you have e.g. apples or clementines.
Stunning Christmas Cakes
A stunning Christmas cake makes a wonderful centrepiece for Christmas table decorations whether it’s a traditional iced cake or a more modern alternative …
For ideas check out this guide to the top 10 best Christmas cake recipes.
Christmas Table Place Settings & Napkins
Super quick Christmas place settings add a wonderful personal touch to our Christmas table decorations.
Again they need not be complicated nor involve fancy napkin folding tricks most of us will never master!!
We truly can whip up something lovely fast with basic supplies …
Up-cycled Ribbon Christmas Place Settings
Create striking Christmas place settings with big bold ribbons up-cycled from strips of old fabric …
Cinnamon Stick & Ribbon Christmas Place Settings
Napkins tied with ribbon, twine, slender pine cuttings and gorgeously fragrant cinnamon sticks make a lovely simple Christmas place setting …
Rose-hip Place Setting
Bright red rose-hips scoured from the garden or wild roses stand out beautifully on white plates …
Bauble Place Settings
Tying a bauble around a napkin has to be one of the easiest ever Christmas place settings.
Tiny baubles and twine look adorable with just a little foliage …
Whilst big stand out statement baubles can give your Christmas table a luxury feel on a budget …
Simply root through old Christmas clutter for baubles that work best with the tableware you have.
Whether it is bright and cheerful for a candy cane Christmas vibe …
Or super sleek for a modern look …
Pine Cone Place Settings
Little bouquets of pine clippings and pine cones tied with ribbon are striking with both luxe-look and country cottage christmas decor …
Natural Christmas Place Settings With Flowers
Quick bunches of real or artificial flowers tied to napkins make beautiful place settings to go with natural Christmas decorations …
DIY Gift Place Settings
Simple homemade gifts quickly wrapped in DIY gift wrap with twine and pine cones make lovely rustic Christmas place settings …
Gold Sprayed Leaves
For beautifully restrained Christmas place settings with just a hint of luxe spray paint small cuttings with leftover gold paint …
Christmas Table Settings
We can create a simple overall look for our Christmas table decorations in very different styles including :
Simple Modern Christmas Table Settings
The easiest way to achieve a beautiful modern Christmas table setting is to keep to a very limited colour palette broken only by for example slithers of gold …
Or a smattering of silver that brings out the light of the cutlery …
A minimalist collection of small white ceramics gives this modern Christmas table a clutter free look …
You can bring a more modern feel to a Scandinavian style Christmas table setting with black napkins and delicate foliage …
Simple Scandinavian Style Christmas Table Settings
Style a simple Scandinavian look Christmas table setting combining red fruits and a few pine cuttings with white and red tableware …
Rustic Country Cottage Christmas Table Settings
Rustic Christmas table settings don’t need complicated arrangements. With a great wooden table you truly can just scatter pine cuttings and cones around a few candlesticks …
And a rustic table setting really can carry off napkins that are far from pristine and white …
Luxury Look Christmas Table Settings On A Budget
It can feel easier to keep our table decorations simple if we channel a Scandinavian vibe or go for more minimalist decorations but we can still do a luxury look simply …
The elegant Christmas table setting above has a luxury feel but is just a few vases of white flowers & pine with gold & silver baubles scattered amongst layered plates.
Dark tablecloths, napkins or plates with just splashes of gold from raffia on DIY gift wrap or a few gold flowers is another simple way to give a luxe feel to your Christmas table.
For more inspiration & ideas check out my Simple Christmas Table Decor board on Pinterest …
Quick Easy Christmas Table Decoration Tutorial
Finally, my tutorial for how to make a quick and easy Christmas table decoration in just five minutes.
This Christmas centrepiece really is so easy it barely needs a tutorial.
But seeing each step clearly will hopefully convince you it truly is simple enough to do even when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
All you need for this Christmas table centrepiece is:
- A largish shallow bowl
- 4 or 5 pieces of evergreen just a bit longer than the radius of your bowl
- 20 odd smallish pine cones
- 10 – 15 small old baubles
- An old candle
Any pine cones you can find locally in the garden, park or woods will do.
You don’t need to bake or paint the cones. Give them a quick shake to remove bugs, cobwebs etc. Remember if you wash pine cones, they close up and won’t reopen until dry. So for this quick Christmas centrepiece don’t wash them.
- To start, simply lay your pine cuttings on the bowl making sure you have a good inch or so of overhang.
2. Then plonk your candle down in the middle of the setting. It doesn’t need fixing in place with glue or wire.
We’re going for a rustic Christmas look with this centrepiece so an old used candle is perfect.
3. Tip your pine cones in around the candle. Don’t worry about carefully arranging them. Just hide grottier ones at the bottom.
The pine cones I used here have been on the go for years – so if you have any squirreled away from previous years grab those.
4. Now intersperse baubles upside down amongst the pine cones.
I used up the cheap-as-chips baubles I bought an age ago for my first home. A good few have broken tops but as these are hidden by the cones it doesn’t matter.
And there you go – a truly simple Christmas table decoration made quickly, easily and cheaply in less than five minutes.
It’s not following the absolute latest decor trends for Christmas 2022 but I spent a happy five minutes making it with my tweenager on a stupidly busy day and it brought a real feeling of warmth and joy to the table.
And that is what the true spirit of Christmas is all about, isn’t it?
I hope you found inspiration in these ideas for a lovely, simple Christmas table setting for your home.
For more inspiration do explore my other simple Christmas ideas:
- 40 Quick DIY Christmas Ornaments
- 101 Quick DIY Christmas Gifts
- 100+ Clutter Free Gifts
- 75 Budget Christmas Ideas
- 35 Rustic Christmas Decor Ideas
- 16 Homemade Christmas Candies
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