10 rustic DIY centrepieces for your Thanksgiving table

This centrepiece will make your table feel like an enchanted forest. Spray or glue glitter to a branch, and then make leaves from the scrap paper of your choosing. You can choose your own colour scheme, use patterned paper, or even cut up photographs—whatever you feel best represents your family. You can also write down what you’re thankful for on the leaves, creating a tree of gratitude. Once you’ve made the leaves, just attach them with glue and/or twine, pop them into a vase, and enjoy a fall canopy of your own creation.

Many people use miniature pumpkins and gourds as centerpieces, but if you feel like your cornucopia could use a little sparkle, this is the centrepiece for you. Just spread glue onto a pumpkin with a paintbrush and roll it in a big bowl of glitter. For extra sparkle, hollow the pumpkin out and plop a candle in the hole. Voila: instant shimmer! You can also use gourds or squashes from your garden—after all, everything is better with a little glitter.

Sometimes nature creates the best decorations, and all you have to do is gather them up. Wheat makes for a lovely, rustic-looking centerpiece, and it’s particularly appropriate since the grain is likely one of the stars of your Thanksgiving meal (stuffing, anyone?). Accents of lavender or other colourful and good-smelling flowers will complete the bouquet. Put it all in Mason jars to complete the look.

The gentle flicker of candles on the water creates a truly magical ambiance and will help make your Thanksgiving one to remember. Simply put marbles into a Mason jar, pour water into it, and set a tea light afloat on the water’s surface. Or, for a bit more of a rustic feel, try pebbles instead of marbles. For a final touch, tie some decorative ribbon around the mouth of the jar.

Do you like to plan your Thanksgiving dinner down the last detail? These pinecone placeholders will help you implement a seating plan, with the added bonus of being incredibly cute table decorations. When everyone has found their seats, the cards can be removed, and you can push the pinecones to the middle to create a great-smelling centerpiece. Many pinecones will stand up, but if necessary, you can create a base by gluing them to a simple paper plate or—if you’re handy with a chainsaw—you can use slices of a tree branch.

Simplicity is the essence of elegance. For this centerpiece, simply fill a tall glass vase with acorns. The warm, woody colour of the acorns offsets the coldness of the clear glass, creating a decoration that is both organic looking and chic.

Why should pumpkins get all the glory? Apples are just as much of a fall staple, and they can easily be hollowed out to hold a tea light. Simply cut away a small circular hole at the apple’s top, and put the candle in. If you want, you can also paint the apples, or decorate them with intricate patterns using a white marker.

This one is a bit of a larger project, but the final product is pretty breathtaking. You’ll need to find an appropriately sized branch or log and have the handiest member of your crafting team drill some holes in the side. Put tea lights into the holes, and spread fall foliage around the branch as you see fit. The final product will make you feel as though you’ve stumbled across an enchanted forest grove.

Yes, more candles! Candles are perfect for Thanksgiving, because their gentle golden glow perfectly complements the warm, cozy feelings of the holiday. These candles let you bring fall colours home. To make them, collect the biggest, most colourful leaves you can find, and use spray adhesive to adhere them to a cylindrical candleholder. The light of the candle through the leaves will evoke a warm, roaring fire.

Bottle + twig = centrepiece. This equation may sound too easy to be true, but sometimes it’s the simple things that have the greatest effect. To create this artsy centerpiece, find some plain, small bottles, and then go foraging for the most interesting looking branches you can find. You’ll be surprised by the great effect such minimal decorations have. And if you’d like to be a little less bare-bones, try tying on a bow around the bottle.