How Sweet It Is: Create a DIY Holiday Centerpiece In Three Short Steps

Don’t overthink it. Like the Nike commercial says,”Just do it.” That’s the advice Carol Gibbs gave us when she met us at WILLIAMSBURG Celebrations for a one-on-one lesson in how to make a holiday centerpiece in three easy steps.

What You’ll Need

• 1 square ceramic brick available at WILLIAMSBURG Celebrations and online at Williamsburgmarketplace.com
• Approx. 15 red roses or your favorite red flowers.
• Candy canes
• English boxwood
• Baby’s breath
• Six-inch floral picks
• Floral tape
• Pruning shears or scissors

STEP #1 Prepare Your Plant Materials

Clean and remove unattractive parts of boxwood. Soak flowers and greenery overnight in a finisher that can be purchased with your flowers at a floral shop. Remove any dead petals or other unattractive parts of your flowers.

STEP # 2 Add Your Plant Materials
There are two ways to arrange stems in a flower brick. The first is by adding three single red roses in the center of the brick. These roses should be about an inch-and-a-half taller than the height of the brick. Next place three slightly shorter roses in each of the remaining large holes. Trim boxwood to height and fill up the smaller holes in the brick. You may need to remove small knots in the boxwood to make it fit in the brick properly. Add baby’s breath a small clump at a time. The white flowers serve as a nice contrast against the dark reds and greens.Remember, no rules: Experiment and see which you like best. The second way to approach an arrangement in a flower brick is by reversing the placement of roses and greenery as described above.

STEP # 3 Prepare and Add Candy Canes

Floral picks help candy canes stay in the arrangement. Take a candy cane and wrap the wire end of a floral pick around the candy cane. Secure with floral tape. Add to arrangement.

Enjoy for the holiday season!

Tips: Add items to your arrangement in odd numbers. Our eyes are naturally attracted to odd numbers. For instance, add three or five candy canes to the centerpiece.

Variations:  For the holiday season, try using holly or evergreen foliage instead of boxwood or instead of candy canes try glittered snow flacks on stems.

Change up the candy canes by size or color!