Did you know there are SO MANY ways you can decorate for the Holidays using Food that AREN’T weird little marshmallow snowmen?! Check out my 2020 Centerpiece and let me know which ones you would try!
It was surprisingly difficult to find inspiration on the interwebs on NICE and CLASSY ways to decorate a table – or side board, or tree! – with FOOD. A lot of cheesy ‘bologna in the shape of a bunny’ or ‘popcorn garlands’ or very strange looking charcuteries come up, but not a lot of winter wonderland beautifulness. But that’s where I love to hang out – in the middle of something that’s not often done well and my own creative juices!
the BASE
First, I needed to ‘set the tone’. Since I wanted this centerpiece to last about a month (!!), I didn’t use a table cloth. This means the wood table as the backdrop for all my Birthday (eldest kid), day-to-day and Festive (Christmas, New Years) settings. With my new ‘Jungalow’ Feature Wall in the background, I thought towards wild fruits and berries, branches from the yard and beautiful fairy lights and VOILA – a ‘Base’ for my centerpiece was born!
Starting with an old Bread Trough and some burlap fabric I had laying around, my first elements were placed. I love elevating ANYTHING with Food Trays, and this was yet another perfect spot. It’s easy to clear off if needed for condiments during a meal, too. Other than a quick trip to my favorite floral spot, Granville Island Florist, everything for the Base was found around the house and yard!
Vintage Bread Trough
Old loose Burlap Fabric
Fairy Lights (2)
Cedar and Boxwood clippings
from the front yardOld dried Straw Flowers
Old and new Eucalyptus and
Wild Berry clippings from FloristFood Table! (of course!)
Tree ‘Bird’
Brass Candlesticks (from my own thrifted collection)
the BASE
the BLING
Next up, the Food BLING!
I knew the colors in the dried Straw Flowers would go perfectly with dried Blood Oranges, so that started to set the accent color tone. I also dried some orange peel and dehydrated some apple slices with red peels.
PRO tip
Choose both light and dark (skin)
colored Blood Oranges for the best mixSlice 1/8″ thick and place on a parchment
oven trayBake at 200d for 3hrs, flipping halfway through
Dried Blood Oranges
It’s not Christmas without POPCORN of some sort, so I popped and sprayed with gold paint, breaking up some pieces to reveal bits of white, and sprinkled them around. Red large Artichoke leaves get all dried and curly, adding some visual texture. AND, yes, I sat and poked holes in QUAIL EGGS, blowing out the inners, to add to the ‘wild birds at Christmas’ theme!
Dried Blood Orange slices
Satsuma holiday Oranges
(with leaves)Dried Mandarin Peels
Chestnuts
Artichoke Leaves
Dried Figs
Dehydrated Apple Slices
Rosemary sprigs
Blown-out Quail Eggs
Gold-sprayed Popcorn
(yes, the ubiquitous Popcorn!)Pomegranate
the BLING
So?! What do you think??
I’m LOVING it. Simple, foodie, classic centerpiece – it hits all the 2020 buttons for me.
Some other inspo:
– small snowflake gingerbread cookies
– bay leaf branches
– dried corn husks
– planter herbs
– gold-sprayed cheesecloth
– cooked vermicelli ‘ribbons’
– cinnamon sticks
– cranberries
Have you tried decorating with Food?! Let me know your inspo/ideas!!
