12 Unique Floral Arrangements That Set The Scene For A Lively Thanksgiving Gathering

A holiday without flowers is barely more than any old day. Valentine's Day has roses, Easter has daffodils and tulips, Christmas has poinsettias, and the Fourth of July has the entire garden bursting with blossoms. Thanksgiving, many people's favorite holiday, definitely deserves floral displays to honor the festivities.

Prep your home to host the perfect Thanksgiving with one or more of these flower arrangement ideas, curated for beauty, budget, functionality, and offbeat charm. Along with specific flower types and combinations, the arrangement methods themselves. There's no need to invest in expensive supplies to get the job done, either.

Prop stems up with the help of tape, wine glasses, pool noodles, casserole dishes, and pumpkins of all sizes. Cheap vases from discount thrift stores will do the trick for many of these creations, as well, since it's the cuttings that will get all the attention. Besides fresh, dried, or faux flowers, a few other fun accessories to gather up are fairy lights, candles, and ribbons. Throw in some foliage to fill out the ensembles along with a handful of other natural elements, and your bouquets may get more attention than the turkey this year.

If you've dried and saved your favorite flowers from summer's bounty, let them give an encore performance as part of your Thanksgiving decor. Dried hydrangeas with cascades of amaranth flowers and dried poppy seed heads punctuating the space around the bundle won't look a bit out of place — or wilted — after the big day, either. Other dried flowers that show off autumnal and festive flair in arrangements are goldenrod, ranunculus, gomphrena, and craspedia with their sunny yellow globes. Throw in dried grasses and leaves like dusty miller and broom corn for lovely contrast.

Large, wide glass cylinders are having their moment this fall. Pair it with a tall-stemmed wine glass and a collection of flowers for an unexpected composition. Turn the wine glass upside down, and place it inside the cylinder. Fill the gap between the two vessels with flowers and water. Atop the wineglass's base, set a candle that's tall enough to rise past the flowers for safe lighting. Or take away the risk by subbing in an LED candle to give off a flickering, worry-free glow.

On a dining table creaking under the weight of delicious dishes, we often have to move our painstakingly prepared centerpieces to make room for potatoes and rolls. With a grouping of three simple glass globes of fresh-cut blooms surrounded by small pumpkins or gourds, you have individual pieces that are easy to rearrange among the many dishes while still looking attractive. Just ensure to allow the curtain to rise on the arrangement splayed runner-style down the middle of the table before the necessary shuffling occurs.

Source two tall cylindrical vases, one very wide one, and one small enough to slide inside the other while leaving a gap of at least 2 inches between the two. For this clever doubling-up of glass vessels, fill the space between the two vases with miniature pumpkins or gourds. If you have trouble finding vases in sizes that allow enough space for mini pumpkins, give orange putka pods a try. Tiny and pumpkin-like, they'll fill the space marvelously, and you won't miss the mini pumpkins a bit.

The human eye loves symmetry, but a lack of it can be just as alluring, if not more. Instead of designing a perfect splay of flowers peaking at the top middle, plan some asymmetry by organizing blooms and leaves in a pattern that carries the gaze from one side of the bouquet to the other. Almost like two separate arrangements, the varying heights may make it easier to see and chat with the friend sitting opposite you.

No vase needed for this one: If you have a spare casserole dish that isn't stocked with sweet potatoes or green bean casserole, it can become a surprising container for flowers. Criss-cross the top with a gridwork of scotch tape, leaving square openings about 2 inches wide between the rows. Trim much of the stem from each flower, and fill the openings with a variety of flowers of any kind. This concept works equally well for fresh, dried, or faux flowers.

Ikebana is a Japanese flower arranging method that incorporates fruits and veg into the bouquets or relies on them as vases. We've seen plenty of centerpieces sprouting from hollowed-out pumpkins, and while it's hard to get sick of the look, new takes are always welcome. Drilling holes in the center of small pumpkins and gourds with flat bases makes adorably seasonal ikebana vases. Firm-stemmed flowers (or ones that are reinforced with floral wire) like orchids, lilies, and ranunculus are striking standing alone in an ikebana pumpkin but are even better when grouped in differing sizes.

Contrasts are fun to play with, and with all the richness and excess of a Thanksgiving meal, a simple and understated centerpiece can be refreshing. A basket with a tall, vertical handle is a classic container, but it also simplifies whisking it away to make space for the dishes. Cluster together uncomplicated flowers like white speedwells on one half of the basket, and fill the other half with greenery in a similar shape. Fill the "part" between the two halves with a small gourd or two to make the look complete.

DIYing a flower arrangement is a huge savings over purchasing the work of a florist. Sure, theirs typically is flawless, but the prices are out of reach for many of us. You can put together posies from grocery store goods and get surprisingly profesh results. Forego the pre-made bouquets in favor of individual bundles of flowers. Set them out as part of a clever presentation, or let the flower's beauty speak for itself in a simple glass vase.

Again, we love the pumpkin-turned vase Thanksgiving centerpiece, but twists on the classics are always welcome. Using a real pumpkin, save the stem section you've cut when cleaning it out, because it's going to be part of the bouquet. Bamboo skewers work nicely for this application: Fill the cavity with a vase or bowl of water and flowers. Poke skewers into the underside of the stem area. Either sink the other ends into the cavity, or cut them shorter to slide into the flesh around the opening as a sort of "roof" over the flowers.

Faux flowers most certainly have their place in Thanksgiving decor. After all, you've spent extra on the heritage turkey, right? For a budget-friendly way to decorate for Thanksgiving celebrations, head to Dollar Tree. Pick up a basketful of artificial flowers, a pool noodle, zip ties, and three glass vases. Fold the noodle in half, place a few vases between the two halves, and cinch zip ties around them. Poke faux flower stems into the noodle until you've hidden its surface entirely. Fill the vases with water, and place a floating tealight in each one.

Sliding one tall glass vase inside a larger cylindrical one provides a sort of "canvas" for decorating, and it's even better if there's light involved. Coil a string of battery-operated LED lights around a smaller cylindrical vase starting at the base and ending at the lip. Tape it as you go. The battery pack should be close to the vase's mouth. Set the smaller vase inside the larger one, and fill the space between them with small pinecones. Place a seasonal bouquet inside the inner vase, manipulating the flowers and leaves to cover the lights' battery pack.