Helpful information
Timing: November / December (although you could make a seasonal display any time of the year!)
Where to do it: Indoors
In this guide we show you how to make a festive table top decoration at home using a tin can and garden greenery.
- The opportunity to be creative, making something beautiful from items found around the home and garden
- A quick activity to do, suitable even if you are feeling a little low on energy or motivation
- Filling the decoration with greenery allows the beauty of nature to come into your home
Essential items
- Empty tin can (a clean, used, baked bean can, for example)
- A little compost or sand
- Water
- Evergreen foliage (holly, ivy, rosemary, conifer branches) cut into short lengths
Optional items
- Material to decorate the outside of the can (e.g. acrylic paint, ribbon, glue and hessian fabric, raffia or string)
- Gardening gloves
- Secateurs or scissors
- Other natural items for the display e.g. pine cones or coloured twigs
Take care
If you're using holly and ivy be aware of sharp leaves and toxic berries. Keep your display out of reach of young children and pets.
Follow these steps to create your festive tabletop decoration with ease.
Step 1. Gather your equipment together
Equipment for a festive decoration, including can and decorating materials
Find a suitable space to work. Have everything within easy reach.
Step 2. Decorate the tin can (optional)
A tin can wrapped in hessian and ribbon
You may like to leave the tin can undecorated. It will still make an attractive display!
You could also choose to decorate the outside. There are lots of ways you could do this. You could:
- Use acrylic paint and do festive stripes of red and green around the tin
- Glue a piece of hessian fabric to the tin, then tie a red ribbon around it
- Wrap a metallic ribbon all around the tin, gluing each end
Step 3. Put some sand or water in the empty tin
Wet sand put in the bottom of the tin
Add some sand or compost to the bottom of the tin.
Fill the tin to around half way with sand or compost. Add a little water once in the tin. You want your sand or compost to be damp, so it will hold your greenery, but not waterlogged.
Step 4. Arrange the foliage cuttings in the tin can
Foliage including holly arranged in the tin can
You may want to wear gloves for this stage, especially if you are using greenery with sharp leaves, like holly.
Arrange the foliage in the tin. Try not to use pieces that are so big that the tin can could fall over. If necessary, cut smaller using secateurs or scissors if the branches are not too thick. Remove some of the bottom leaves so that you have a clean stem to stick into the sand or compost.
Gradually build up the arrangement by adding different pieces of foliage until you are happy you have enough. Keep stepping back and looking at it to make sure you are happy with the decoration.
Step 5. Put it on display
A finished festive tabletop decoration
Once you are happy with the arrangement, place it somewhere for all to admire. A shelf or the middle of a table are both good ideas.
Keep the water topped up in the tin can over the festive period. This will help keep the foliage fresh. If you can keep it somewhere a bit cooler, this will help it last longer. You can also remove and replace any pieces of dried out foliage with fresh pieces as and when required.
After Christmas, the foliage can go on the compost pile if you have one and the tin can in the recycling bin. Remove any non-recyclable material from around it first.
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