Choosing your Christmas table decorations

• How to lay the perfect Christmas table
• Preparing your Christmas table
• Choosing your Christmas table decorations

For shimmer and sparkle, buy inexpensive tree decorations, such as small baubles or glittery stars, and place them in bowls along the table, alongside co-ordinating napkins and a tablecloth. Plus, check out our video on how to create your own Christmas crackers.

Create a centrepiece
A festive decoration in the centre of the table always adds a little something extra. For a traditional, Christmas look, mix holly branches - complete with berries - with ivy and other greenery in a low vase or a group of small plant pots.

Or if you want a more modern Christmas table, bunch glass candles in the centre of the table and surround their base with sparkling silver foliage.

Watch our video on how to create the perfect Christmas centrepiece.

Include a personal gift
Place an individual tiny table present at each place setting. To make the shopping easier, buy the same item for all the men, and something different for all the women, or organise it by age, with all the children receiving the same gift.

Alternatively, get everyone to contribute an inexpensive gift for an anonymous Secret Santa.

Can't decide on what style to go for? Check out our Christmas table decorating ideas for every style. Plus, check out our essential guide to Christmas for more fantastic decorating ideas.

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