Do-It-Yourself Festive Table Decorations

During any holiday season, decorating your home can allow you to flex your creative muscles while you create an environment perfect for the upcoming festivities. Though many may rely solely on store-bought decorations, for an upcoming dinner party or celebration, decorate your table with some homemade touches that will allow everyone to enjoy the unique atmosphere you have created. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Create the base of the holiday table look by adding touches to your tablecloth. First, figure out three colors that represent the holiday best. For example, red, green and gold are good choices for Christmas while red, white and blue are good choices for the Fourth of July. Pick a tablecloth made out of one of the three colors and pick out two other fabrics of the other two colors. Decide which shapes best represent the holiday. For Thanksgiving, you may choose leaves. Cut out shapes of the two fabrics using a pre-made stencil. Glue the shapes to the tablecloth in a cohesive pattern and let them dry onto the cloth before you dress the table.

2

Make a festive centerpiece by gathering a tall glass vase. Gather up some staple items of the holiday that represent the event. For example, ornaments, candy canes and poinsettias work well for Christmas. For Valentine's day, gather candy hearts and red and white roses. Place the items in the vase, arranging them in a cohesive pattern. For example, for Fourth of July, place some red, white and blue beads at the bottom of the vase and then add different fireworks in layers until you reach the top. For gift-giving holidays, gather a few small square boxes and wrap them. Stack them on top of each other, gluing the bottoms to the tops. Place the finished piece in the middle of the table.

3

Create placemats for your festive table using felt craft paper. Decide on a representative object of the holiday. For Easter, an egg or the Easter Bunny works. Gather the appropriate colored felt paper and cut out the shape of the object so that it's large enough to set a plate on. Add touches to the placemats, such as glitter to an ornament-shaped placemat or chocolate gold coins to the top of a leprechaun's pot of gold for St. Patrick's Day.