A decorative bowl is the easiest thing in the house to make feel like Christmas. You do not need a new centrepiece, a florist or a free weekend. You only need to decide what goes in it. This guide answers what to put in a decorative bowl for Christmas: ideas that cost very little, a few that use our own decorations, and the things to keep out of a paper bowl at this time of year.
What to put in a decorative bowl for Christmas: the short answer
Dry things, one or two kinds at a time, filled to just below the rim. The ideas that work best:
- Baubles, taken off the tree or bought for the bowl, with their hanging loops tucked underneath.
- Pine cones, on their own or as a base under baubles.
- Whole clementines or red apples, skin on and dry.
- Dry Christmas potpourri: cinnamon sticks, star anise, whole cloves and bay leaves.
- Dried eucalyptus, or artificial sprigs of fir or holly.
- Spools of ribbon in red, green and gold, next to the wrapping paper.
- Nothing at all, if the bowl has a shape worth looking at.
What are bowl fillers?
Bowl fillers are whatever you put in a decorative bowl so that it looks finished rather than empty. For most of the year that means decorative balls, dried flowers, potpourri or whole fruit. At Christmas the contents change: baubles stand in for decorative balls, pine cones and spices take over from dried flowers, and clementines do the job lemons do in summer.
The rule that makes any filler work is repetition. Twelve pine cones in a bowl look chosen. Two pine cones, a bauble, a satsuma and a roll of sticky tape look like the kitchen table on the twenty-third. Pick one or two things and use plenty of them.
Bowl filler ideas for Christmas
Baubles, out of the box and into the bowl
A bowl of baubles takes a few minutes and can use decorations you already own. Lay them in loosely, best side to the room, loops tucked underneath. If the bottom of the bowl still shows, lift them on a bed of pine cones rather than buying more.
Keep the colours tight. Two colours and a neutral reads as a choice; six colours reads as the box the baubles came in. Several of our handmade Christmas decorations work as well in a bowl as on a branch:
- The Christmas ornament set at £34.99: dotted baubles, stars, a striped candy cane and a white gift box with a red ribbon.
- The bell set of 6 (£29.99): white bells ringed with red dots, each hanging from its own braided cord.
- The toadstool set of 4 (£19.99): bright red caps with white spots, on jute loops.
- The goose, drum and bauble set (£19.99), for a green and white bowl.
These are decorations, not toys. If the bowl lives on a low coffee table and you have small children or a dog, put it on a sideboard or the dining table instead.
Pine cones
Free on a winter walk and good on their own. Cones picked up outside are often damp, so leave them on a tray in a warm, dry room for a few days before they go into a paper bowl. Point most of them the same way; cones facing every direction look tipped in rather than placed.
Dried or artificial greenery
A few sprigs of dried eucalyptus or artificial fir laid across a bowl of baubles soften the edge and stop it looking like a box of decorations. Keep fresh-cut stems out of the bowl itself: they are damp and can drip sap, which is the last thing a paper bowl needs.
Christmas potpourri ideas
Christmas potpourri is the filler that does two jobs at once: it fills the bowl and it smells of the season. You do not need a recipe, only dry ingredients in roughly equal handfuls. Three mixes that work:
- Spiced: cinnamon sticks, star anise and whole cloves over a base of small pine cones.
- Forest: dried bay leaves, dried eucalyptus and tiny pine cones, with a few cinnamon sticks for warmth.
- Red: dried red rose petals with star anise scattered on top, which shows up well in a pale or natural bowl.
Everything in it should be completely dry. Do not drip scented oil onto potpourri in a paper bowl: oil is a liquid and can mark the inside. To freshen the scent, give it a stir or add a new cinnamon stick. Potpourri is for looking at and smelling, not eating, so keep it where pets and small children cannot reach it. The RSPCA lists potpourri among its Christmas dangers for pets.
Stovetop potpourri, the kind simmered in a pan of water, is a different thing altogether: nothing from the pan belongs in a decorative bowl.
Can you put fruit in a decorative bowl?
Yes, as long as the bowl suits it. In our paper mâché bowls, whole fruit with the skin on is fine: clementines, satsumas, apples and bananas all sit happily in one. A few habits keep the bowl looking right:
- Whole fruit only. Nothing cut, peeled or soft enough to weep.
- If you have washed it, dry it properly before it goes in.
- Check it every day or two and take out anything going soft.
- Keep to one or two kinds. A bowl of clementines is a colour choice; a bowl of everything is the shopping.
Keep everything else in it dry, too. Our bowls are not waterproof, and a dishwasher is never the way to clean one.
What to put in a decorative bowl on a dining table
A Christmas dining table needs a bowl people can talk over, so keep it low, wide and in the middle. Baubles on a bed of pine cones work well here, with dried or artificial greenery running out from the foot of the bowl.
When the meal is ready, lift the bowl onto a sideboard. Paper mâché weighs very little, so moving it takes a moment, and it keeps the bowl well clear of spills and gravy.
Christmas decorative bowl ideas
Three combinations to start from, each with no more than three fillers.
Red and white
The red-dotted bells and the toadstools together in a pale or natural bowl. It reads as Christmas from across the room.
Green and white
The goose, drum and bauble set in a pale bowl, with dried eucalyptus tucked round the edge. Quieter, and it suits a room that is mostly white or wood.
Spice and clementines
Whole clementines in one bowl and spiced potpourri in a smaller one beside it. No decorations at all, and it still says December.
What to keep out of a paper bowl at Christmas
- Candles, tealights and anything with a flame. Not in the bowl and not beside it. Keep our Christmas decorations away from open flames and heaters too. London Fire Brigade's candle safety advice says to keep candles away from paper and all decorations away from naked flames.
- Water and anything wet: fresh-cut greenery, wet moss, water for flowers.
- Oils and sprays, including scented oil for potpourri and spray-on snow.
Dust a paper bowl with a dry cloth or a soft, dry brush, never water or cleaning spray. There is more in how to look after paper mâché.
Choosing the bowl
Our paper mâché bowls are made by hand in Jaipur from recycled paper and painted by hand, so each one varies slightly. For Christmas fillers, an open shape gives baubles and cones room to spread. The natural mud set of two (£79) is a pair of footed bowls in two sizes whose earthy colour sits well under red and white decorations or green and white ones, and the wide-rim design gives baubles a broad edge to sit against.
For the rest of the year, what to put in a decorative bowl goes room by room, and how to style a coffee table with a decorative bowl covers the table around it.
