Pretty Thanksgiving Centerpieces

Twist on Tradition

There's nothing like a traditional bouquet of flowers to get dinner started off on a lovely note. For Thanksgiving, consider putting a seasonal twist on your centerpiece design. Instead of a vase, hollow out a pumpkin—real or fake—and fill it with fresh fall blooms. The result is festive and stunning. When making a flower arrangement, place the largest flowers in the center, then fill in with smaller flowers and greenery.

• See more beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas.

Citrus Centerpiece

If you have an eye for floral design, this is the DIY Thanksgiving centerpiece for you. Start with a bed of magnolia leaves bundled with seeded eucalyptus, leucadendron, and hypericum. Then top with berries, tangerines, or any other long-last fruits with a pop of color. Because this masterpiece takes up quite a bit of table space, you might want to serve your food buffet-style. Set up a separate table or clear off kitchen countertop space for a designated area for food. Or clear the Thanksgiving centerpiece when it comes time to dine, placing the fruit in a bowl on the table.

Bounty of Fruit

Thanksgiving is all about food and family. So why not make your centerpiece an edible arrangement that everyone can enjoy. Find a large bowl in your pantry or at the store. Ours had an elegant gold base that matched the rest of the modern table settings. Fill the bowl with colorful fruits such as tangerines and red pears. Bundles of grapes and decorative kale add dimension.

Tiered Beauty

Calling all farmhouse style lovers! This pretty Thanksgiving centerpiece is made with galvanized metal trays stacked on top of each other. The base fits in perfectly with a shiplap wall or reclaimed wood table. Fill the tiered centerpiece with a collection of seasonal fruits and flowers. We started with a base of eucalyptus leaves and fall filler, and topped it with pears, pomegranates, and tangerines.

Pumpkin Pillars

This Thanksgiving centerpiece idea is super simple. Start with a large glass pilar vase. Fill the vase with small pumpkins and gourds in a variety of colors and shapes. Finish it off with a branch of fall foliage. Create more than one and space them out down the center of a long table.

Pumpkin Vase

Hollow out a tall white gourd to use as a vase for this Thanksgiving centerpiece display. Fill the vase with seasonal flowers, like mums, and berries. Place small pumpkins around the arrangement for a larger center display.

Pumpkin Candlestick Centerpiece

Pretty Thanksgiving centerpieces don't need to be difficult to put together. Make use of unused candlesticks in this easy, high contrast Thanksgiving centerpiece. Mini white pumpkins look great atop their perches, and a collection of fall leaves and votive candles complete the easy look.

Floral Garland

This pretty Thanksgiving centerpiece look is easy to attain. Start the centerpiece with a green garland of eucalyptus leaves (some leaves are long and narrow, some are smaller and rounder). Then, cut mums of different colors from their stems. Using craft wire, string the mums together to create a garland. Follow a color gradation for a contemporary look.

Elevated Pumpkin Centerpiece with Bittersweet

This Thanksgiving centerpiece idea keeps it simple. Take a few mismatched gourds and pumpkins, add them to a wooden tray, and elevate one (or a few) for a visually interesting Thanksgiving centerpiece. Tuck in a few strands of real or faux bittersweet, and add a votive candle to make the display glow.

Shimmering Pumpkins Centerpiece

Take a step away from traditional fall colors and try a metallic palette. For a shiny silver centerpiece, arrange mercury glass candlesticks on a silver serving tray. Spray-paint small pumpkins and gourds with metallic silver paint and place on top of the candlesticks. To add candles, hollow out the center of each pumpkin just wide enough to securely hold the candle upright.

Velvet Pumpkins

Use this Thanksgiving decor year after year. Cover a faux pumpkin with rich-colored velvet, gathering the corners of the fabric at the stem. Wrap the stem twine, also hiding the seams of the fabric. Cut a green leaf from a sheet of felt and tuck it under the stem.

Flowers and Glassware Centerpiece

Flip over unused wine and champagne glasses for this unusual DIY centerpiece that can be created in minutes. Trim flowers at the stem, then tuck under the glasses. Place the glasses on top of a decorative charger or display in a row across the table. Use fake flowers if you want your look to last all season.

Classic Cornucopia Centerpiece

Grace your Thanksgiving table decor with a classic cornucopia that overflows with fall bounty, including squash, pears, apples, gourds, and cipollini onions. Whitewash a horn of plenty basket (available at crafts stores) with pickling stain, and trim the opening with a strip of cream fabric to match.

Favorite Fall Centerpiece Ideas

DIY Thanksgiving decorations are fun to make and bring out the spirit of the season. Test out three of our easy and elegant thanksgiving centerpieces with glass containers - one with ribbons, one with nuts, and one with beans.

Elevated Gourds Centerpiece

White and yellow gourds become a simple and pretty Thanksgiving centerpiece when elevated on pedestals created from old table legs. Arrange on top of a simple orange table runner and add a mini glass bowl of cherry tomatoes for a harvest-fresh look.

Bell Peppers and Flowers Centerpiece

Not all Thanksgiving table decor ideas need to be grand in size. Add a pop of color to your fall table with these vegetable and flower displays. Cut three bell peppers an inch from the top to make an opening without cutting the top completely off. Hollow out each pepper and stuff with different types of flowers, color coordinate them if you'd like. Set the peppers on small brown plates to complete the look.

Gourd Vase Centerpiece with Fall Flowers

For a seasonal vase, cut off the top of a butternut squash (about 1/4 of the squash height) and scoop out the flesh. Add water and arrange dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, or other autumnal flowers in the vase. For a Thanksgiving table, line several squash vases along the center of the table, setting some on footed plates for height variations.

Indian Corn and Wheat Centerpiece

Dried ears of corn and shocks of wheat pay homage to Thanksgiving's rustic roots, but can be artfully arranged to suit the modern table. Here, dried wheat shocks are inserted into the sides of a cylindrical piece of florist's foam and topped with colorful dried ears of corn. The arrangement is placed on a footed compote for elegant elevation.

Fall Leaf and Fruit Centerpiece

Full Thanksgiving table decor makes a statement. Create a table runner using camel-color wool flannel or felt cut to size with a pair of pinking shears. Lay coordinating ribbons along the center of the runner and secure with double-stick tape or a dab of fabric glue. Set a compote or cake stand in the center and scatter leaves, mini pumpkins, and pears along the runner.

Candle Centerpiece with Green Vegetables

What better way to celebrate the Thanksgiving harvest feast than by creating a DIY centerpiece using gorgeous green vegetables. To make the asparagus- and green bean-wrapped candles, stretch two sturdy rubber bands around a white pillar candle, then insert vegetable stalks underneath the band. Cover the bands with satin ribbon, and decorate the platter with a few white mums and coffee berry sprigs.

Elevated Pumpkin and Flowers Centerpiece

Though this example may be too tall for a dining table, this Thanksgiving floral centerpiece will definitely impress your guests. Place it on an entryway table or sideboard, or make a shorter version for a centerpiece. Hollow out the top of a white pumpkin, then nestle in a vase filled with wet florist's foam. Stems of leaves and berry branches are inserted into the foam that holds everything in place.

Centerpiece with Cranberry Spheres

Elevated cranberry spheres create a colorful arrangement. Cut toothpicks in half. Skewer one cranberry onto the end of each toothpick (without sticking it all the way through). Poke cranberry-laden toothpicks into a crafts foam ball. Cover each foam ball completely with cranberries. Place the balls on glass, silver, or mercury glass candlesticks. Add more fall panache by weaving curly grape vines through the arrangement of cranberry topiaries, or sprinkle acorns around the bases.

Editor's Tip: Adapt this look for Christmas by arranging evergreen sprigs around the bases of the candlesticks.

Blooming Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Thanksgiving floral centerpieces bring freshness to the table. This bouquet grows out rather than up to create a low, graceful arrangement. Clusters of roses, orchids, hydrangeas, and dahlias give it a relaxed feel.

• See easy-to-make-Christmas centerpieces.

Harvest Candle and Flowers Centerpiece

Give these elegant Thanksgiving centerpieces a go. Purchase small grapevine rings to use as a base, or make your own by bending a piece of coat hanger into a circle. Next, wire on small stems of berries, leaves, and flowers using thin wire wound tightly around the base. Use fresh flowers for a one-time-use decoration. Or find pretty silk blooms for a longer-lasting design.

Natural Fall Centerpiece with Candles

This Thanksgiving table decor idea is sure to grab attention. With a straw wreath for a base, this pomegranate-and-prairie-grass ring makes a pretty frame for a field of candlesticks dancing center stage. Place it on a cake stand for extra height.

Evergreen and Flower Centerpiece

This pretty Thanksgiving centerpiece lives large with relatively few flowers. Create a base of evergreens, such as cedar and noble fir, then fill in with large flowers (such as hydrangeas and mums). Use faux flowers to use this Thanksgiving table decor year after year.

Elevated Candles Centerpiece

This Thanksgiving centerpiece idea doesn't require much assembly. A glow spreads across the Thanksgiving feast with one pillar candle elevated and others sitting on the tabletop near glass votive holders. Airy stems fill twin pots embellished with tangerines and nuts for color.

Creative Thanksgiving Centerpiece

This DIY Thanksgiving decoration makes for a great centerpiece —and a great conversation-starter at the table. It's simple, needing only an oval platter and chalkboard paint. Since it's erasable, this display can have a place at any special occasion.