DIY decor using boughs fresh from the farm

Boughs from trees, not bows for gifts

It's that time of year again: queue up the pine needles, stocking stuffers, and homemade snowflakes all around. To keep up with the festivities around town, it's time for you to deck the halls, trim the tree, and get your holiday decor on. Unless of course, you're a scrooge, in which case you likely wouldn't have made it this far. So if you're like us, you want your holiday scene to be festive and fabulous, but you don't want to spend a fortune in the process. Here we are, your holiday miracle, guiding you to holiday table centerpiece on a budget. All you need are some simple supplies and a little bit of creativity. So gather up your materials and let's get started.

Where to go for your goods:

• Local plant nursery
• Store with long table runners—or Amazon of course
• Christmas tree farm: (Kindly) ask a tree trimmer if you can go through their trimmings. Pick from the boughs that were cut off. One (wo)man's trash is another (wo)man's treasure.

What you need:

• Juniper or pine boughs
• Twinkle lights
• Pine cones: real or faux
• Ornaments
• Mercury glass photo frames

How to decorate your table:

1. Start with your boughs: lay, arrange, stack, and display them throughout the center of the table.
2. Lace ribbon and/or twinkle lights securely throughout the branches. Tuck and weave.
3. Add candles where applicable.
4. Set pine cones, ornaments, mercury frames, and any other favorite holiday add-ons (Granny's adorable Frosty the Snowman, maybe?)

With that, your dinner scene is set. Remember to keep in mind what sort of gathering you are hosting for. If you have guests sitting down for dinner, be sure to leave room for large serving platters (or start with placing them as centerpieces). If your party is cocktail style, decorate away. The more boughs the better.

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