30 Christmas Table Decorations For A Merrier Gathering

Flowing a river of greenery down the center of your table is a Christmas table decoration idea that will never go out of style. You can keep it simple by laying evergreen garland down the table and nestling in a few candles, or incorporate a bit more color and variation by tucking holly, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, and even pomegranates into the greenery.

The tablecloth and runner you choose should be the foundation of your Christmas tablescape. While you can’t go wrong with classic white linen, we love the idea of using your tablecloth or runner as an opportunity to incorporate a bit of unexpected pattern into your Christmas table decor. Browse through Minted’s selection of artisan-made table linens to find one you love — then amp up the festive spirit with your other tabletop decor.

Another great way to add color to a garland table runner is to incorporate slices of dried citrus into your boughs of greenery. To get the look, thinly slice a mix of oranges, blood oranges, and lemons and bake them on low for a few hours to dehydrate them. Then, add them to your tablescape or string them onto a garland to hang around your home.

Photo and Idea by Heather Krout

For a greenery-filled table runner with an unexpected twist, go for this sophisticated (and easy to DIY) idea. We love how the golden color of the pears is brought out by gold candlesticks and cutlery, and contrasted by a mix of deep green foliage.

For a playful Christmas table, create a runner using tons of ornaments (we recommend using plastic ornaments to keep guests of all ages safe). The beautiful thing about this idea is that it can work with any Christmas aesthetic — you can go bright and bold by using ornaments in non-traditional colors like hot pink and mint, or you can keep things more neutral by decorating with baubles in white, brown, and sage greens.

Give your table a warm festive glow by placing a few clusters of tall tapered candles in beautiful candle holders down the center of it. The colors of candles and types of candle holders you choose are totally up to your personal style. We love the idea of pairing cinnamon-colored candles with an architectural candle holder for a modern tablescape — or you could swap in glowing gold candlesticks for a bit more of a glam look. For a twist on traditional christmas village decor, slot small taper candles into the chimneys of these sweet wooden houses.

Every detail is an opportunity for a bit of festive flair — and matches are no exception! For Christmas dinner, swap out your usual lighter for a set of long matches displayed on a credenza or console table in a pretty brass dish.

If you like the idea of lighting up your table with accent candles, but want to go even more festive, this is the perfect DIY. Simply fill a few tall hurricane jars with cranberries to serve as an anchor for a pillar candle. You can also achieve a similar look with tea lights floating them on top of vessels filled with water and cranberries.

Don’t let your front door have all the fun! Wreaths can absolutely have a place at your Christmas table, as this sweet DIY project proves. Create a small wreath using evergreen clippings, mistletoe, holly, eucalyptus, and small battery-powered twinkling lights to surround a group of pillar candles in varying heights for a beautiful centerpiece.

Weaving a few thin strings of battery-operated fairy lights into your tablescape is a beautiful way to add a bit of extra glow to your space. It looks gorgeous paired with candles, but is also a great, kid-friendly way to mimic that warm cozy feeling of candles if you need to skip them all together.

Center your tablescape around an eye-catching accent piece. A cluster of taper candles shaped like Christmas trees are a sweet and classic option. Or, go for an accent piece you can repurpose throughout your home during the rest of the year such as rope-like sculptures and tie in your festive theme with greenery and Christmas-colored linens.

If you’re gathering your loved ones at a round table for Christmas dinner, a bold vase filled with seasonal florals like boughs of holly, poinsettias, or red and white roses makes for an ultra-chic centerpiece. Minted has a wide selection of unique vases made by artisans from around the world — pick one that matches the aesthetic of both your holiday decor to use on this year’s Christmas table, and one that you’ll be excited to display all year round.

If you don’t have room at your table for a large vase, opt for a few arrangements of festive florals in small bud vases. This is a great way to incorporate a bit of extra greenery and color into your tablescape while still leaving plenty of space for plates of turkey, stuffing, and bottles of wine.

You can’t go wrong with layering small gift boxes and ornaments into your Christmas table decorations. You could use either as place settings — simply tie a name card to the gift or ornament using a pretty ribbon and place them on top of each plate. We also love the idea of adding color to your tablescape by arranging small boxes covered in artist-designed wrapping paper down the center of your table (bonus points if you mix and match a few different wrapping paper patterns within your Christmas color palette!).

Repurpose your favorite small catch-all trays as Christmas decor by filling them with small arrangements of evergreen clippings, walnuts, ornaments, holly, or mistletoe.

Trinket Tray by Koppa Wood

For a minimal-yet-classic take on Christmas table decor, fill your favorite artisan-made bowl or vessel with raw walnuts and place it at the center of your table. Or, use it to add a bit of festive flair to a coffee table or console table in areas of your home where your guests will be gathering before or after dinner.

A mainstay of Christmas table decor in the United Kingdom, Christmas crackers are a great way to add a bit of color and festive fun to your tablescape. Place one at the head of each place setting or on top of each plate, and once your guests are seated, instruct them take the end of a cracker and pull (the entire table can participate at once by having everyone cross their arms to grab ahold of one end of the cracker on each side of them and pull). Inside, they’ll find a small gift, paper crown, or a few sweet treats.

Get the whole family involved in the Christmas dinner prep by spending an afternoon making a forest of cute origami Christmas trees in varying shades of green and white. You can slice small notches in the top of a few of them to use as stands for place cards, or run them down the center of your table to provide a sweet accent to Christmas dinner served family style.

While we love to get creative with our Christmas table decorations, we all know that the food is really the star of the show! Incorporate a family-style feast into your tablescape by displaying hot dishes on pretty trivets.

Complete a family- or buffet-style Christmas dinner tablescape with special serveware. Minted has a wide selection of serving utensils and dishes like salad and pasta bowls hand-crafted by artisans from around the world. Pick out a few from the same artisan for a cohesive look, or go eclectic by mixing and matching serveware of different styles.

Setting out a beautiful wooden cutting board piled with charcuterie is always a good idea when you’re hosting your friends and family. For a Christmas-inspired twist on the charcuterie board, incorporate festive treats like dried cranberries, a small bowl of cranberry sauce, red wine-infused cheese, and roasted chestnuts.

Unique placemats are a great way to add a layer of texture to your table. The felt and leather style shown here is perfect if you’re going for a modern-rustic aesthetic for your Christmas decor, while the woven striped placemats are a boho option that will play nicely with table linens that feature more organic patterns.

A set of special napkins can go a long way to elevating a more simple tablescape. When it comes to Christmas table decor, we recommend selecting a set of napkins that complement the color palette of the rest of your decorations — the deep wine napkins shown here are a great way to add richness to classic white and evergreen tablescapes, while the ochre patterned napkins would be beautiful with a neutral bohemian theme (or that pear centerpiece idea we shared at the beginning of this list!).

Further incorporate your napkins into your tablescape by sliding them through architectural napkin rings and setting them on top of each guest's plate.

Whether you choose to use napkin rings or are going to simply fold your linens, amp up the festive magic by placing a sprig of pine, rosemary, or mistletoe onto your napkins as a finishing touch. This idea also works well with dried citrus, cinnamon sticks, and even candy canes.

Show off the dishes you’ve been carefully planning — and make your guests feel like they’re at a gourmet restaurant — by incorporating a menu card into each place setting or at your buffet area. Minted offers a huge selection of winter-themed menu designs that you can customize to match the theme of your Christmas dinner perfectly.

Save the plastic cups for your summer parties! Indulge a bit at Christmas by bringing out special drinkware like etched crystal water glasses, a selection of wine glasses to pair with every type of wine, and champagne coupes to break out for after-dinner bubbly.

Protect your pretty table linens by stocking up on a set of fun coasters for Christmas dinner. While you can’t go wrong with classic white napkins, this is an area where you can easily inject a bit of whimsy and personality into your Christmas table decorations. Go for a set featuring artfully-drawn illustrations of your favorite ingredients, including lemons, avocados, and the always-cute bear honey bottle. You can also opt for fancy coasters to decorate the dinner table.

“Snow”-dipped pinecones are a sweet way to incorporate more of the sights of the season into your tablescape. Get the look by gathering up a selection of small pinecones and roughly spraying the bottom of each one with white spray paint. Then, attach a small name card to the top of each and set them alongside each place setting.

If you’re a lover of scandinavian-style minimalism, this is a great way to add a bit of the festive spirit into an otherwise simple tablescape. This sweet DIY is also perfect for more rustic Christmas tablescapes.