You’ve set the menu, invited the guests, and decorated the house. Now it’s time to turn your attention to the often neglected table centerpiece. Picture the magazine layouts of beautifully set springtime tables, filled with food, plates, napkins, placemats, and dotted with lovely Easter centerpieces.
Feeling overwhelmed yet? Don’t be! You might not want to have a super-fancy table this Easter, but we have some easy ideas to bring elegance and beauty to your Easter dinner. They’re easy to replicate, so you can make as many pieces as you need. Are you a guest at Easter this year? Bring a centerpiece as a hostess gift.
MORE: 8 recipes to upgrade your Easter dinner party menu
1. Tulip, Peep and jellybean Easter centerpieces
Flowers are always a good idea for Easter, and nothing screams “spring” like tulips. These beautiful blooms originated in the Ottoman Empire; later, Dutch explorers exported them to the Netherlands, where about 3 billion bulbs are produced annually today.
The word “tulip” is believed to have come from the Persian word for turban, owing to the shape of the flower. It grows from a bulb, which means that its main organs are stored below ground. As long as the bulb isn’t pulled up, the tulip continues to grow, year after year. Planted in late summer to early fall in well-drained soil, tulips spring forth in the warmer weather of spring — just in time for Easter.
This lovely flower takes center stage with this imaginative centerpiece. Peeps top a base of jellybeans and a layer of edible grass, all surrounding a lovely spray of tulips.
To keep the tulips fresh, use small pebbles to anchor them, rather than more jellybeans. Of course, you’ll want to take care when filling the inner glass with fresh water; nobody likes wet jellybeans.
2. Religious cross Easter centerpiece
What a great idea this is: sticks gathered from the yard, trimmed and tied together to make a simple but meaningful Easter decoration for your table. Bonus: It’s a great time of year to shake off the winter doldrums and go out on a stick-finding expedition with the kids. Choose thinnish sticks of different lengths to lend interest and a rustic feel.
Tie the sticks together in a cross pattern with string or yarn to form three crosses, anchor them in floral foam, and arrange with fake grass in a decorative box — easy peasy! The three crosses represent those of Jesus and the two thieves who hung beside him. What an easy way remind others of the Easter story!
The uses for these crosses aren’t limited to centerpieces, though. They look wonderful displayed in an existing decoration or houseplant, or even hung from its branches — such a festive way to dress up your everyday plants this Easter. You could also attach them to a canvas for wall art.
MORE: 10 DIY budget Easter decorations for your home
3. Easter egg tree centerpieces
If you have a bit more time, pick up some inexpensive Easter ornaments or animal figurines at the dollar or thrift store and get cracking (literally!). Gather a few white eggs, makes some openings that are a bit larger than your ornaments, and drain the contents. Clean and dry the eggs, then paint them in Easter colors. When they’re completely dry, fill them with green-dyed rice and the ornaments.
Cake plates make a nifty tiered centerpiece, with toilet-paper rolls as columns. You can use cardboard covered in wrapping paper as plates, too, with juice glasses acting as columns for the layers. You can even skip the egg prep and use plastic eggs, candy eggs, Peeps and jelly beans.
