• December 12, 2016

Edible Arrangements has nothing on this girl here, y’all. I have been making and gifting fruit bouquets and centerpieces for a few years now and it is such a special way to dress up an event or make someone feel appreciated. People always love them! I thought this would be a great time to share a simple tutorial on how to make one for your Christmas get-together. There are so many options to choose from as far as shape, size, and the type of fruit to use. I created a massive Christmas tree shaped one for a Ring Dunk (Aggie tradition) a couple of years back and we almost didn’t want to eat it, it was so pretty! Here’s a picture of it. Just please don’t judge me on the photo quality!

festive fruit centerpiece made with grapes, strawberries, and pineapples

With one of these, you will have a [temporary] décor piece and appetizer in one. It’s a fun way to add a healthy eating option to the mix at your own party or a potluck. I toted the one you’ll see me make below to a gathering a couple of weeks ago and it was a big hit. I also took cookies and gingerbread along with it because I didn’t want to be “that girl who just brought fruit”. 🙂 The components to create a fruit centerpiece are simpler than you might think and if you catch a sale and/or use a coupon (like I always do), cheaper than you might think as well! Last but not least, these make great host or holiday gifts.

Festive Fruit Centerpiece Supplies:

  • Fresh Fruit: Berries, grapes, pineapple, and melon work really well for this project. I’ve also used chocolate-covered fruit before and the result is so mouthwatering. It took about 4 pounds of fruit to cover the piece I made here, which is about two feet tall.
  • Foam Base: I usually purchase these at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby for 50-70% off depending on the active sale or coupons.
  • Toothpicks
  • Head of lettuce (optional): I sometimes cover the base in lettuce leaves to help the piece look more full. It’s completely aesthetic and a bit wasteful, so I prefer to fill up the piece with fruit that will get eaten instead! You can see some lettuce peeking out near the base of the centerpiece above.
  • Decorative Ribbon (optional)

washed green grapes and strawberries in colander

How to Make a Festive Fruit Centerpiece

Step One: Gather your components. Be sure to work on a large flat surface.

supplies to make a festive fruit centerpiece baseStep Two: Clean the base. I leave the plastic on the foam to keep fragments from getting everywhere and onto the fruit, and I clean it with vinegar or warm, soapy water then wipe it down and dry before using it. Since food will be eaten from here, I treat it like a dish.

styrofoam tree formStep Three: Add toothpicks. I use a lot of toothpicks and space them randomly but pretty close together. Use caution with the toothpicks to avoid sticking yourself with one!

toothpicks in styrofoam tree formStep Four: Add fruit. Add a piece of fruit to each toothpick in whatever pattern or order you desire. Green grapes and strawberries were a default Christmas color scheme choice here. Continue being careful when adding the fruit to the toothpicks.

Dash of Jazz assembling a festive fruit centerpieceStep Five: Fill in. There will likely be “holes” where the base peeks through, so you’ll need to add additional toothpicks here and there then fill them with fruit.

assembling festive fruit centerpieceStep Six: Decorate! You can add ribbon or other items of your choosing to finish it off.

Festive Fruit Centerpiecetop of festive fruit centerpiece

I hope this festive fruit centerpiece tutorial is helpful. Let me know below if you have made or eaten an edible centerpiece before. Thanks for reading!

Signature Dash of Jazz

P.S. more festive Christmas ideas:

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