Topiaries are a nice way to dress up a tabletop for the Christmas holidays, and making them is relatively simple and fun to do. (Be sure to watch the slide show at the end of this article.)

Basic materials needed to create a holiday topiary:

• A pot or small urn
• Twigs (trunk for a round topiary)
• 4 - 5 inch Styrofoam balls
• or 10-12 inch cone
• Florist Clay or foam
• Toothpicks, ball head pins,  glue (Styrofoam or hot glue gun)
• Decorative material to cover Styrofoam (see ideas below)

Christmas topiary assembly directions:

• Cut florist clay to fit pot or urn and secure in pot with glue or two sided tape.
• Cut twig sticks to 8 to 10 inch lengths, depending on size of pot.
• Use four or five twig lengths to form truck of topiary, which is inserted into florist clay in pot and bottom of Styrofoam ball. 
• If using a cone, the "trunk" is not necessary. 
• Cover the Styrofoam with chosen decorative material.

Holiday Topiary themes

The ideas for a topiary is limitless.  Create topiaries with:

• Cranberries or kumquats - attach by using toothpicks to attach to ball or sphere
• Fresh  magnolia, holly, mistletoe or dried bay leaves - Attach with hot glue and/or ball headed straight pins, overlapping leaves
• Dry beans, rice, nuts, peas or macaroni - add hot glue to Styrofoam, and push onto glue, compacting with a square of wax paper.
• Silver confetti and bows - spray Styrofoam with spray glue or drizzle hot glue and sprinkle confetti over glue, compacting with wax paper.  Tie bows from thin satin ribbon and attach with ball headed straight pins.
• Pine cones, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves
• Fresh herbs - rosemary, sage leaves, etc.
• Buttons and 1-2 inch strips of fabric - cover Styrofoam with fabric by securing strips of material close together with a straight pin, allowing material ends to stick out. Add buttons randomly or in a pattern using hot glue or a ball headed pin that does not slip through the button hole.
• Shiny craft beads, small craft apples, and craft "picks" - cover with an equal amount of beads and apples and fill in any exposed Styrofoam with moss or baby's breath.
• Furniture nail heads - use brass nail heads to divide the ball or cone into sections and fill in between nail heads with other decorative items.

Christmas topiary toppers and finishes

• Top it with orange peels that drape down from the center of topiary.
• Top it with a flower bloom or arrangement of leaves
• Top it with a craft apple or two.
• Top it with a spring of mistletoe.
• Top it with curled ribbon that cascades down the sides.
• Top it with a craft pick that contains a white dove or red cardinal.
• Tie a raffia ribbon around the trunk right below the topiary ball.
• Trail ivy from the pot or urn.
• Fill the pot or urn with dried moss, polished rocks or colored glass.

There are many ways to use one material or a combination of material to create a beautiful topiary for the table this Christmas.  The rules are: 1) take it slow 2) use some type of a design rather than randomness, 3) assess periodically and alter as needed, and 4) take care not to burn fingers with glue gun. 

That's all there is to it!  Creating a homemade topiary to sit proudly on the dining room or hall table is a project that can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike!