Quick and Easy DIY Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece
This plant-powered Thanksgiving table centerpiece comes together in minutes - no potting soil required!
Looking for a nature-inspired Thanksgiving table centerpiece that’s fast, flexible, and fabulously low-effort? This plant-powered design brings the magic of the forest floor right to your holiday table - no potting soil, floral foam, or complicated floral arranging required.
With just a few live houseplants (they can even be the ones you already own), plus natural elements like bark, lichens, dried flowers, and leaves from your garden or neighborhood walk, you can craft a woodland-style centerpiece that feels personal, seasonal, and completely unique.
The trick? It’s all about hiding the pots with organic materials so your creation looks like a patch of autumn forest, with plants and gathered treasures artfully emerging from the “leaf litter.”
This isn’t a rigid project - it’s a template you can adapt with whatever you have on hand. In just minutes, you’ll have a Thanksgiving table centerpiece that feels warm, wild, and wonderfully effortless.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the materials you need, give simple step-by-step assembly tips, and share how to care for your centerpiece through the holiday (spoiler: it’s super easy).
Whether you're hosting a formal Thanksgiving dinner or a laid-back Friendsgiving, this quick DIY project helps you create a stunning, sustainable centerpiece with your own creative spin.
This woodland-style Thanksgiving table centerpiece comes together in minutes.
Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece Materials List
Here are the materials used to create the Thanksgiving table centerpiece featured in the photos throughout this article. Feel free to use this list as inspiration - not a strict recipe!
You can easily swap in houseplants and containers you already have on hand, along with your own foraged or saved dried plant materials, seed pods, bark, and craft supplies to make it uniquely yours.
Materials:
1 trough-style planter, approximately 5 inches wide × 16 inches long × 5 inches high
3 small houseplants in 4-inch nursery pots:
1 Begonia ‘Black Lightning’ (Begonia bowerae)
2 Peperomia ‘Quito’ (Peperomia caperata)
(See below for easy plant swaps and pet-safe alternatives)
3 small containers (like 4 oz porcelain ramekins) to catch water under pots
Bubble wrap (to lift and stabilize pots inside the trough)
Dried sheet moss
2 mini pumpkins (approx. 3 - 4 inches wide)
Bark with lichens (found or DIY using craft lichens and bark)
Dried leaves (foraged or purchased)
Dried and preserved reindeer moss, natural color
Dried craft sponge mushrooms
3 faux acorn picks, or DIY by gluing acorns to 6 inch twigs
Natural-colored floral binding wire
Dried Phalaris grass (aka canary grass), light blue
Make mini bundles by trimming stems and binding flower tops together with floral wire
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Binding the dried flowers together into a mini bundle, using floral wire, adds a bit of weight and helps them to rest more securely in your centerpiece without shifting around.
Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece Assembly Instructions
1. Place the porcelain ramekins inside the trough planter. Tuck a wad of bubble wrap under the center ramekin to slightly raise it and add height to the middle plant.
2. Place the plants, still in their plastic pots, into the ramekins.
3. Secure the plants in place by stuffing bubble wrap into the gaps around them.
4. Cover the bubble wrap with pieces of preserved sheet moss.
5. Set the two pumpkins on top of the sheet moss. Tuck the lichen-covered bark and mushrooms along the edges so they peek out visibly from the sides.
6. Hide any visible bubble wrap or pot rims by tucking in reindeer moss, small leaves, acorn picks, and phalaris bundles around the plants and edges of the trough.
Easy Plant Substitutes for your Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece
Can’t find the ‘Black Lightning’ Eyelash Begonia or Peperomia ‘Quito’? Don’t stress - your Thanksgiving table centerpiece will still look stunning!
Whether you're having trouble sourcing these exact varieties or just prefer to keep things budget-friendly, you’ve got options. Repurposing plants you already own is not only thrifty, it also adds a personal touch to your arrangement.
This project features 4-inch pots, which are a perfect fit for our trough-style container. But feel free to get creative! You can adapt the design to suit whatever vessel you're using - just make sure the plants fit snugly and don’t overcrowd the space.
Pro tip: avoid trailing plants for this one. While they’re gorgeous in the right setting, cascading stems can spill over the edges and make your centerpiece look messy rather than festive.
If you’re in the mood to treat yourself to something new, there are plenty of 4-inch houseplants with upright habits that will work beautifully in your Thanksgiving table centerpiece. These vertical growers add height, texture, and structure without overwhelming the design.
Here are some great alternative plants to consider:
Begonia*: any Rex Begonia or Eyelash Begonia cultivars.
Calathea: Dottie, Freddie, Musaica, Pin Stripe, Rattlesnake, Wavestar, White Star, and Zebra Plant.
Fern: Bird’s Nest Fern, Cretan Break Fern (Pteris), Crispy Wave Fern, Kangaroo Fern, Lemon Button Fern, Rabbit’s Foot Fern, Staghorn Fern.
Peperomia: Upright cultivars like Abricos, Frost, Luna Red, Piccolo Banda, Schumi Red, Ripple, Silver Ripple, and Variegated.
* Begonias aren’t pet-safe, so avoid them if your cat or dog likes to chew on plants. Calatheas, ferns, and peperomias are safer choices. Learn more in our posts about pets and plants:
Thanksgiving Table Centerpiece Care Instructions
Both ‘Black Lightning’ Eyelash Begonia and Peperomia ‘Quito’ thrive in bright, indirect light - perfect for that sunny corner near a window.
But don’t worry if your dining room isn’t drenched in light. These beauties can tolerate short stretches in lower light, which means you can still feature them in your Thanksgiving table centerpiece.
Just keep the arrangement in a brighter spot day-to-day, then move it to your table when you’re ready to entertain. One important note: keep them out of direct sunlight, as their delicate leaves can scorch easily.
To keep your centerpiece looking fresh, check the soil every 5 - 7 days. Water only when the top feels dry, and always aim your watering at the base of the plant.
Since these plants are sitting in ramekins or containers without drainage, it’s especially important to water lightly - too much, and the roots could sit in water and start to rot.
A narrow-spouted watering can, succulent bottle, or even a turkey baster (seasonally appropriate 😉) can help direct water right to the roots and avoid soaking the rest of the arrangement. These plants dislike soggy soil and do best when not overwatered - think lightly moist, not swampy.
This style of arrangement is meant to shine as a short-term seasonal display - perfect for celebrating the cozy, festive vibe of Thanksgiving.
Once the holiday passes, you can gently remove the plants from your Thanksgiving table centerpiece and repot them into containers with proper drainage. Choose decorative planters that complement your decor, or give the plants new life in your home’s everyday plant collection.
The dried flowers, moss, and other decorative accents? Tuck them away to reuse next year - they’ll be ready when your next Thanksgiving table centerpiece comes together.
Follow Plant and Bloom Design Studio on Pinterest for more ideas!