Festive Table Settings with Herbs, Fruit and Fabric Crackers

Table Settings Using Herbs, Fruit and Flowers

The holiday season is a beautiful time to slow down, gather around the table and bring a little bit of the garden indoors. With a few simple, natural elements you can create a setting that looks and smells wonderfully festive.

Instead of plastic décor and disposable trinkets, reach for herbs, fruit, flowers and a handful of foraged treasures. Your table will feel grounded, seasonal and full of life.

A holiday season celebration

Decorate your table using simple, seasonal elements:

• Large leaves or other greenery as a natural runner down the centre of your table.
• Seasonal fruit such as oranges, apples, pears or pomegranates.
• Your favourite flowers – a few small bunches in jars or bud vases work beautifully.
• Sprigs of fresh or dried herbs for fragrance (think rosemary, lavender, thyme or sage).
• Pine cones, baby gourds or coloured pumpkins for texture and interest.
• Succulents, mushrooms, acorns or anything you have foraged on a walk.
• A few candles, individual gifts or handmade crackers to finish the setting.

How to style your nature-inspired table

• Start with a simple tablecloth or bare wooden table as your base.
• Lay your large leaves or greenery in a loose line down the centre.
• Tuck fruit and pine cones between the leaves, mixing colours and heights.
• Add small jars or vases of flowers, then nestle in herb sprigs for a soft, scented feel.
• Place candles at safe intervals so the flame is away from leaves and flowers.
• Finish each place setting with a handmade fabric cracker or a tiny foraged detail.

Making Reusable Fabric Crackers

Fabric crackers are great fun to make and can be colour co-ordinated and themed to match your table setting or any special occasion. They’re reusable, low-waste and feel wonderfully thoughtful at each place setting.

What you will need

• 1 rectangle of fabric of your choice, approximately 30 cm x 18 cm (you can customise to suit the size you like).
• 1 empty loo roll or paper towel roll, cut to size, about 15 cm long.
• 2 pieces of pretty ribbon or twine, about 40 cm long and 10 mm or less thick.
• Homemade gifts to fill the cracker – herbal soaps or fizzers, homemade cookies, sweet treats or other small treasures.
• Scissors or pinking shears – a great way to use up scrap fabric.

Directions

• Using pinking shears, cut the two short edges of the fabric (these will become the cracker ends). If you don’t have pinking shears, machine or hand edge the fabric, turning under about 1.5 cm.
• Place the paper roll in the centre of the fabric. Wrap the fabric around the roll and secure one end with ribbon or twine, tying a neat bow.
• Fill the open end of the roll with the treats you have planned.
• Gather the remaining fabric at the open end, tie with matching ribbon or twine and finish with another bow.
• For a more professional finish, fold the fabric in half with the right sides together and stitch along the long edge. Turn inside out, press lightly and then fill and tie as above.
• Once your crackers are on the table, tuck in a touch of greenery or a sprig of lavender to tie the whole look together.

These simple, reusable crackers and nature-inspired decorations are a lovely way to celebrate the season – gentle on the planet, kind on your budget and full of warmth for the people you share your table with.