Organic ChristmasTablesettings

Herb Centerpiece

Gather a selection of fresh, seasonal herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme and bay leaves, and use them to create an alternative table centerpiece.

Fresh Foliage Centerpiece

Pick a selection of whatever fresh foliage and winter flowers you may have growing in your winter garden for this variation on the evergreen centerpiece.

Individual Place Setting: Ivy and Red Berries

Fill an egg cup with sprigs of bright red berries and tuck in a few short lengths of ivy around the edge.

Individual Place Setting: Fresh Flowers

Cut fresh flowers from plants that flourish in a winter garden, such as Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis), or witch hazel (Hamamellis mollis). Put them in a small foil-lined box or pot and add a little water.

Terracotta Pot Candleholders

Turn three simple terracotta pots into stylish candleholders: line the base of each with recycled aluminum foil, put a beeswax candle in the center, pack sand around each candle and cover the sand with a pretty arrangement of fresh foliage and bright berries.

Decorated Chair Backs

These simple arrangements, made up of a few stems of trailing ivy (Hedera), mistletoe (Viscum album), and holly (Ilex), roughly tied together with natural raffia, and attached to the back of each chair, will lend a lovely rustic detail to your decorated table.

Dried Napkin Decoration

Make a simple napkin decoration by gluing together a dried leaf, a dried orange slice and a cinnamon stick. Rest it lightly on a folded linen napkin, or secure it with a length of natural raffia.

Gather a few short stems of fresh mistletoe and a sprig or two of bright berries, bind them together with some garden twine and rest the small posy on a folded linen napkin.