beyond decoration : Beautiful Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas for Your Table Display

Add fall flavor to your Thanksgiving table with elegant yet easy-to-make Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas.

From natural elements to candle displays, these centerpieces will be a highlight of your holiday table.

Wire Basket Thanksgiving Centerpiece

This stress-free Thanksgiving centerpiece makes a statement on a sage green table runner. Simply tuck pears, nuts, and fresh or preserved leaves in a large wire basket for an updated take on the cornucopia. Tip: A great part of this display is its portability -- simply lift and set elsewhere to make way for the Thanksgiving feast.

Cornucopia Thanksgiving Centerpiece

A light palette of soft gray, cream, and shades of yellow updates a classic cornucopia. Dress up a crafts-store horn of plenty basket by whitewashing it with pickling stain and trimming the opening with a strip of cotton fabric tied on with embroidery floss. Line the inside with cream burlap and fill with squash, apples, pears, quince, and cipollini onions. Tip: Set the cornucopia on a platter so you can move it easily to make room for the turkey.

Acorn Basket Display

Put acorns to use with this nutty basket. Hot-glue acorns (with and without caps) to a woven basket. When dry, line the basket with plastic or foil, and place florist's foam inside. Add five or six not-too-ripe pears using shish kabob spears to keep them in place. (Unripened pears generally keep for a week or more.) Fill with bold dahlia blooms and sprigs of crabapple, bittersweet, mountain ash berries, or any other fall foliage. Editor's Tip: If the basket is a bright color, first paint it dark brown to blend with the nuts. Keep extra acorns on hand in case any fall off.

Natural Table Runner

For a fresh-from-the-pumpkin-patch table runner, arrange a line of miniature pumpkins or gourds in the center of the table and weave double-faced ribbon around them. Top with a bittersweet stem for a blaze of color.

Simple Vegetable Centerpiece

Vegetables are good for more than just eating at your Thanksgiving meal; use an apple corer or knife to carve holes in sturdy vegetables. Place candles of different heights in each vegetable, light, and "serve.