27 Ways to Use Flowers for Christmas Decorations and Arrangements

Flower arrangements add a fresh and festive touch to the holidays.

Flowers such as roses and amaryllis and vibrantly colored poinsettias make wonderful Christmas flower arrangements to add to your holiday decor. It does not take florist skills to make them. Here are 27 ideas for using flowers in Christmas decorations and arrangements.

Poinsettia With Silver Touches

The queen flower for Christmas decor and design, poinsettia is a must for your holiday style. The Ice Punch variety has white-and-silver leaves. You can create a variegated look by adding silver spray paint to a red poinsettia (like this Better Homes & Gardens 8-inch Poinsettia Live Plant with Ceramic Vase, $33, Walmart). Place these Christmas flowers in a pretty silver pot to show off the sparkle.

Paperwhites With Twigs & Cedar Sprigs

Go French country vintage with stark-white paperwhites and slender twigs arching from aged terra-cotta containers. Add flowing cedar sprigs along the base of your pots to create the perfect display for any mantel, shelf, or coffee table.

Evergreen and Flowers

A few cut evergreen branches add a seasonal touch to a simple red flower arrangement. Arrange large red blooms like ranunculus, peonies, tulips, or carnations to get the look. Accent the Christmas flower arrangement with cut branches.

White Parrot Tulips and Fern

Look beyond the typical colored flowers for Christmas decoration and flaunt the frilly, two-toned petals of the parrot tulip. Play off their chartreuse stripes by adding Plumosa fern to the bouquet and snippets of spruce at the base in a metallic serving tray. Continue the color theme by filling clear containers with blue, green, and metallic—new or old—ornaments.

Mini Woodland Setting with Roses & Hydrangea

Take cues from nature for a one-of-a-kind arrangement featuring red roses, white hydrangeas, hypericum berries, and pine branches. Be creative with your container by wrapping it with textured bark from fallen trees and accenting the base with various colors of reindeer moss.

Two-Toned Amaryllis With Greenery

Embrace the long stems of amaryllis by displaying its blooms in a tall and simple yet elegant pitcher or vase. Include various evergreen sprigs such as spruce and holly—bonus if your holly branches are still holding their berries! Finally, accessorize with decorations of the season: vintage ornaments, colorful bows, and keepsake tea towels.

White Roses & Pine

This Christmas flower arrangement is simple and sweet. Fill your favorite glass vase with cut roses and pieces of pine. For an extra merry touch, include cranberries in the vase.

Hydrangea & Eucalyptus Arrangement

This gorgeous Christmas flower arrangement commands attention with fluffy hydrangeas, fresh eucalyptus, and crisp snapdragon. Add touches of traditional red and green by slicing apples and using the slices to circle the base of your arrangement. Round ornaments in a variety of sizes create festive sparkle and shine.

Keeping Hydrangeas Fresh

To keep your hydrangeas fresh, store them in medium light at temperatures below 70 degrees.

Winterberry and Amaryllis Flowers

Nothing says Christmas more than traditional red-and-green decor. Simple arrangements of red amaryllis, tulips, and winterberries look beautiful on your Christmas mantel. Drape pretty ornaments from the winterberries.

The Best Place for Amaryllis

To keep your amaryllis fresh, expose it to bright light as much as possible.

Cymbidium Orchid

This long-lasting breed of orchid is the perfect flower for Christmas decoration and will last until early spring. A fresh and bright color helps lift the winter blues and makes for a gorgeous Christmas display.

Taking Care of Cymbidium Orchids

Cymbidium orchids do best in bright light and when they are watered weekly.

Dahlia With Greenery

Greet your holiday guests with a beautiful arrangement of potted dahlias. Use a pretty silver pot and tie oversize ornaments around the neck using a long red ribbon. A generous gathering of greenery fills out the display.

Long-Stemmed Red Amaryllis

A long-stemmed arrangement of red amaryllis is simple and elegant. There's a wide variety of red amaryllis plants you can choose from. The Benfica variety is rich in color, while the Monaco is bright. Make it a very merry Christmas display by tying a red ribbon around the group of stems.

Moth Orchid

Who doesn't love orchids? The wide range of colors and varieties makes them the perfect flower for Christmas decorations or a beautiful addition to any holiday floral arrangement. Moth orchids are easy to care for and bloom for as long as four months. Fill an oversize vase with your favorite color of orchid and a variety of small, shimmery ornaments.

Making Orchids Last

Watering once a week will keep your festive orchid fresh for the whole holiday season.

Hydrangeas & Candy Cane Arrangement

Pretty white hydrangeas are a beautiful complement to the vibrant colors in your indoor Christmas decor. Enhance an arrangement with cheerful ornaments and with too-pretty-to-eat candy canes.

White Amaryllis With Evergreens

Pretty white amaryllis blooms look festive in a simple red vase. Place it on a round mirror with mini Christmas presents and ornaments to complete the holiday feel. Complement the classic Christmas flowers with pieces of evergreen.

Red Poinsettias & Clear Jars

Simple groupings of a flower or leaf in the same color make a big holiday design impact. Try arranging red poinsettia leaves in three or more vintage jars. Place them in a matching serving tray to create a gorgeous centerpiece.

Winter White Roses & Fresh Fruit

Nothing beats the fragrance of fresh roses. So include an arrangement in your holiday decorations by placing your favorite variety in a pretty, festive pot. Fill in with bits of fern and evergreen. Crisp fruit, such as pears or apples, make great fillers for this Christmas centerpiece idea.

Pretty Pink and White Poinsettias

Display pastel-tone poinsettias in pretty white pitchers and vases for a softer take on flowers for Christmas decoration. A string of seashells or a bowl of delicate ornaments is a simple complement. Cut poinsettias can last up to two weeks.

Roses, Tulips & Hydrangeas

This oversize Christmas dinner table arrangement is simpler than it looks. The roses and tulips add a spectacular pop of traditional color while the hydrangeas create volume. Let the pepperberries drape over the side for more texture and depth. Use extra pepperberries to create pretty place settings.

Cut Poinsettias

A holiday favorite, the poinsettia is a great flower for Christmas decoration. Step away from the traditional potted poinsettia and create an arrangement with tiny vases. Mix and match varieties (like this Better Homes & Gardens 8-inch Poinsettia Live Plant with Ceramic Vase, $33, Walmart) for a fantastic look.

Laurel & Poinsettias

California laurel, available from your local florist, looks lovely when arranged with pink poinsettias. Finish the grouping with sprigs of evergreen, Christmas bush clippings, and cut branches. Place the arrangement in a tall gold vase ($18, Hobby Lobby) for a dash of glitz and glam.

Related: 15 Pretty Ways to Display Poinsettias Throughout Your Home

Cut Roses

Cut roses short for a coffee table arrangement and place single stems in mini vases around a large pillar candle. Surround with ornaments and other greenery to bring in the traditional colors of Christmas.

Paperwhites & Cranberries

Paperwhites are among the easiest flowers to grow and maintain. Place your variety in a glass pot and fill with cranberries. Scatter evergreen pieces and cranberries around the arrangement for a pretty centerpiece or elegant side table display.

Red and White Amaryllis

Pick a multicolor variety of amaryllis like Candy Cane instead of the usual solid red or white flowers for Christmas decorations. Place in a pretty white vase and accent with a small wrapped present.

Star-of-Bethlehem, Tulips & Roses

Full and merry, this arrangement welcomes the season in style. Gorgeous red tulips, fluffy white roses, and perky pieces of Star-of-Bethlehem blend to make a bountiful Christmas flower arrangement.

Red Amaryllis in a Silver Vase

Classic and beautiful, a simple arrangement of red amaryllis looks festive when placed in a shiny silver vase. Surround with other holiday elements for an easy Christmas display.

Red Poinsettia & Silver Leaves

A stand-alone poinsettia is pretty and poised. Blend with shimmery silver sage leaves and winterberries to make this festive plant even merrier.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I keep my Christmas flower arrangement fresh for as long as possible?

First, start with the freshest flowers you can find. That can be challenging because most flowers have spent quite a bit of time in transit but if the flowers already look sad at the shop, they won’t look any better when you bring them home. Second, cut the stems at a 45-degree angle with a sharp knife before placing them in lukewarm water. Add flower food to the water and change the water every two days; don’t wait until it turns cloudy. And lastly, keep the flower arrangement away from hot radiators and cold drafts. The cooler the room, the longer your flowers will live so consider putting them in the coolest room of your home overnight.

Because fresh flowers are expensive in the winter, are there any I can grow myself?

Certainly. There are many gorgeous flowers that you can force indoors so they bloom around Christmastime: hyacinths, grape hyacinths, paperwhite narcissus, snowdrops, and amaryllis, just to name a few. Except paperwhite narcissus and amaryllis, the bulbs need to go through a chilling period of 10 to 15 weeks which means you’ll need to start the process around August or purchase pre-chilled bulbs.

What type of Christmas flower arrangement lasts the longest (not taking into consideration artificial flowers)?

Any potted flower arrangements—of which you find several in the list above—typically last longer than cut flower arrangements. Provided that you water them regularly without overwatering them, they will grow and thrive for weeks if not months after Christmas.

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