I can’t believe that Christmas day is only 25 days away!! Soon it will be time to entertain a house full of my dearest friends and family. My favorite thing to do during this holiday season is decorating our home for Christmas.

I love seeing the twinkling lights that glow from our Christmas tree, the burst of red poinsettias throughout the house, and the glow from the fireplace that displays our holiday trim. This year I wanted to get a bit crafty and create a beautiful centerpiece for our dining area in our home, but honestly, I did not know where to start.

After researching I came across a blog called The Idea Room and on this blog, she posted her thanksgiving Table centerpiece project. After reading through her project and learning how she created her beautiful centerpiece, I was inspired to create a Christmas themed centerpiece for our home. And, let me tell you that this project was super simple to create with the additional assistance from my hubby.

Supply List

1. Two 5.5 inch pieces of 1×4 poplar wood boards. (ends)
2. Two 35.5 inch pieces of 1×4 poplar wood boards. (sides)
3. One 34 inch of 1×6 pine wood board (base)
4. Hammer
5. 1.5″ Finishing nails
6. Wood Glue
7. Wood filler/putty
8. Clamps or an awesome hubby to hold in place while you hammer away
9. Sandpaper
10. Stain or paint (I use Minwax satin stain in espresso)
11. Polyurethane (satin finish)
12. Nail awl

You can find all of these supplies at your location Home Depot or Lowes. I only spent approx. $48 which includes the purchase of the wood, nails, glue, putty, and stain. The remainder of the supplies I already had in our home.

Directions

1. To save yourself some time have your wood cut to your specifications will you are at the Home Depot. They will cut your wood down for free!! That’s right FREE!!
2. Attached your wood pieces to the base and add some wood glue and then add a couple of finishing nails on each end of the 5.5-inch pieces. Let the glue dry and move on.
3. Attached the 34.5 inch side pieces to the base with glue first and then secure with finishing nails along each side. I completed about 6 passes along each side and then let the glue dry.
4. Important step. Utilize a nail awl to set the nail head 1/16” into the wood to fill it with the nail putty for a smooth finish.
5. Fill the holes with the nail putty or wood filler. Then sand out the filler and edges for a smooth finish on the wood.
6. Wipe down your box with a damp rag to remove any dust.
7. Once dry you are ready to stain it or paint it the desired look you are trying to achieve. The stain I chose for my centerpiece is the espresso color by Minwax in a satin finish. I chose this color since my kitchen cabinetry is similar in color. I guess I just love the look of espresso stained wood.
8. After my stain dried to the manufacturer’s specification, I added a coat of a satin finish Polyurethane. This will leave the wood with a matte finish. If you want your wood to have a glossy finish, then choose a Polyurethane and Stain with a Glossy finish.

Now you are ready to decorate your masterpiece, right? So now you are thinking what I can fill this beautiful box with? The sky’s the limit, but if you want to know what I use then keep on reading.

Décor Supplies

To decorate it I used the following décor items from my local Hobby Lobby Store. You can also find similar holiday trim at Michael’s Arts & Crafts or At Home décor center:

1. Seven Candles at different heights. I decided to use one 3×8, two 3×6, two 3×4 and two 2×4 in the Vanilla scent. You can be creative at this point.
2. Pine cones
3. Holiday flowers, mistletoe, and other holiday pines and berries.
4. 2 bag of Reindeer Moss-Green color 2.5oz
5. 6 pack of Dry floral Foam

Directions

1. Fill your box with the dry floral foam this will help hold your holiday flowers in place.
2. Next, place your candles on top of the foam and trace a circle around the base of the candle. Then carve out the hole to the desired depth and place your candle inside to secure in place.
3. Fill your box with the Reindeer Moss to camouflage the dry floral foam and begin to add your favorite holiday trimmings.

I am so excited to share with you my completed DIY project. I can’t wait to display it and see the reaction from my friends and family. It will definitely be a conversation piece for our Christmas dinner.

The other great this about this centerpiece is that it can be transitional. You can change it out to fit any occasion throughout the year. You can also create different sizes and trays for different areas of your home.

I hope that you enjoyed this post and if you would like to see more posts like this one, please be sure to leave me a comment below and share this post with your friends and family too! Until the next project…

Happy Holidays from Chic Home Life.