Ten Christmas Table Decor Approaches to Steal

The sequence matters: decide the footprint, then the finish, then the accessories. It's pretty crazy that we're only three weeks away from Christmas! While I don't love spending time in the kitchen making Christmas dinner, I do love polished Christmas table decor so that's the role that I take on for our family gatherings. Today I'm sharing some Christmas table decor approaches of my own from past Christmases, plus other inspiring approaches I found that got my wheels turning for what to do this year. Many of the same approaches could be used for Hanukkah and other holiday celebrations too! Let's get to it… (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})

Have Fun With Fruit

A strong choice is the idea of incorporating fruit into your Christmas table decor and have several approaches of fun ways to do it. A few years ago, I felt like our holiday table needed an extra little punch of color, so I used a chalk marker to write our names on pomegranates as place cards:

Sources:Round woven chargers (similar) | Black & white check runner (similar) | Footed glass hurricane vase

You can also create finished centerpieces using colorful fruit. For this festive holiday table, they used a bowl of pomegranates, pears, walnuts, and a few springs of berries. It would be simple to re-create and is surprisingly polished:

Table sources available {here}

Similarly, a fruit centerpiece was used for this Christmas table but with a green color palette. They used pears, grapes, artichokes with some greenery and berries:

Table sources available {here}

Make Your Napkins Unique

Instead of using simple white, folded napkins for your holiday table, consider patterned napkins that tie the colors of your table together. It's also fun to be creative with how you fold your napkins. Last year, I created this triple pocket fold and tucked our silverware neatly inside:

Another super simple idea is to tie your napkins in a loose knot. I did this as part of the tablescape for our Thanksgiving table a few years ago, but you could use the idea for Christmas table decor too:

Another option is to add little embellishments to your napkins. A strong choice is the addition of a little sprig of greenery with pinecone that they added to the napkin rings on this holiday table:

Table Sources:Green tree plates | Wood napkin rings | Green plaid napkins

Dress Up Your Rings

Special napkin rings are a simple way to give your holiday table a little extra sparkle! A few favorites are {these Christmas tree napkin rings} and {these glamorous snowflake napkin rings}:

Line the Middle With Tea Light Houses

I think that this holiday table with gingerbread houses that have tea lights glowing within them is so enchanting:

For a more modern look, you could do something similar with white ceramic houses such as {these}:

Stuff a Stocking

Another cute Christmas table decor idea is to place mini stockings next to or on top of each plate and use them to hold silverware like they did on this holiday table:

Table Sources: Plates | Striped napkins | Berry napkin rings | Mini stockings

It would be fun to put a little chocolate treat in each stocking too! {These mini cableknit stockings} or {this set of patterned stockings} would be darling for re-creating this look!

Light it Up With Candles

Don't overlook the traditional option of creating a striking holiday vibe by using a series of candles down the middle of your holiday table. You'll want to vary the height of your candles and/or use a mix of different candle types. For example, on this holiday table, they used a mix of red pillar candles and long straight candle sticks:

Table sources:Table runner | Silver reindeer

While on this holiday table, they used a mix of small votive candles and pillar candles in glass hurricanes:

Table Sources:Table runner | Glass hurricanes

One year, when I was decorating a small Christmas table, I used a brushed brass hurricane (which unfortunately is no longer available) holding a pillar candle in the center of our table along with some of {these flameless LED pillar candles} interspersed down the length of the table:

Add Ornaments

Consider adding some polished ornaments as part of your Christmas table decor too! One idea is to use a bowl full of ornaments as your centerpiece. I used this jingle bell and ornament-filled bowl on our entryway table one year, but it would have worked well on our dining room table too:

And throwing it way back to 2015, I filled this wood, handled tote with ornaments and pinecones for the center of our Christmas table:

You could also add a pretty velvet ribbon to a ball ornament and put one on each plate like they did with {this gold and white holiday table}:

Table Sources:Dinnerware | Bamboo flatware | Bubbly glasses | Beehive honey pot

or supersize your Christmas table decor with an oversized ornament on each plate like I did on our Christmas table in 2016:

Arrange a Mercury Tree Centerpiece

On the same Christmas table as the oversized ornaments above, I created a centerpiece using a variety of mercury trees in different heights and shapes flaked by a pair of pink poinsettias. It was so easy to put together and gave our table a glamorous look:

You can find similar mercury trees {here} and {here}

Make a Gorgeous Greenery Runner

A fresh greenery table runner doesn't only look polished, but it smells notable too! I created this greenery runner by layering pomegranates, pears, pinecones, seeded eucalyptus, magnolia branches, berry branches, and greenery cut from our yard:

Look at my post on our greenery table runner for the step-by-step instructions on how I put it together.

Tie it Together with a Tablecloth

Sometimes the only thing that your holiday table needs is a tablecloth that ties everything together. As a bonus, it's going to protect your table from the inevitable spills and drips too! One of my favorites from this holiday season is {this darling tablecloth} that would tie together reds, greens, and ss used in your Christmas table decor:

And with that, I'm off to do a bit of furniture moving because our new rug arrived for our “circus room” (aka sunroom). I just received {this rug} that I ordered in the light gray/ivory option and am dying to unroll it and get it placed in our space. Stay tuned!