8 Christmas flower arrangement trends I'm copying from professional florists this year

Now is the time to get creative with your Christmas flower arrangement ideas. After all, what could be more enjoyable than channelling your inner florist by artfully arranging some luxurious blooms at this time of year?

Whether you're a fan of the more classic Christmas combo of red and green to match your Christmas wreath ideas, perhaps have a desire to go modern with romantic pink, or feel the urge to bring a touch of woodland into your home this festive season, there's a floral design idea that's right for you. 

With so many beautiful seasonal stems and foliage to take your pick from, it can be hard to know where to start. But with the right ideas and advice, creating a stunning centerpiece for your festive displays can be easier than you think. 

Sarah Wilson

As the content editor for Gardeningetc, Sarah loves to write about the latest gardening trends, for both indoors and out. For this feature, she spoke to a number of leading florists to get their unique take on the key looks for Christmas flower arranging this year, with insight on color trends, themes and how to pull together some stunning looks to match your home's decor. 

8 key Christmas flower arrangement ideas to try in your home

Whether you favor a more traditional look or want to go super contemporary this year, you're guaranteed to take your festive decor up a notch with these stunning Christmas flower arrangement ideas from top floral designers. 

Use them alongside some of your favorite Christmas plants for a truly colorful holiday look this festive season.

1. Go for a woodland-themed flower arrangement

The wild and natural woodland look is shaping up to be a big trend this year. Stylish flower arrangements that encapsulate the look are very much the way to go for your DIY Christmas decorations. 

'Inspired entirely by a crisp, Christmas morning walk through a beautiful woodland, the scent of this bouquet will transport you there from the comfort of your own home,' says Rosebie Morton of The Real Flower Company. 'Crisp berries, rich green foliage and flowers in wintry shades of smokey blues and pinks come together with freshly picked herbs in this stylish and seasonal arrangement.'

Rosebie creates beautiful bouquets using sustainable practices and flowers from carbon negative farms. Sustainability has never been more important. So when considering how to decorate your home for Christmas why not take a walk in the woods rather than heading for the nearest store.

2. Try the opulent tablescaping trend this Christmas

Christmas tablescaping is the art of setting a scene for your guests at the dinner table by telling a story through textures and colors using winter's latest trends, explains Dobbies stylist Abbie McCann. Flowers play a key role in the story you want to create.

'For an intimate Christmas dinner setting, consider a soft and dreamy natural theme that uses different heights and textures around the dinner table,' says Abbie. 'Choosing opulent pink, gold and neutral tones emboldened with charcoal and anthracite will give a modern and fresh spin on a romantic tablescape.' 

Every table needs a statement centerpiece of gorgeous florals. 'We used a mix of Phalaenopsis (orchids) alongside moss and trailing ivy. To create a whimsical trail, try adding eucalyptus and asparagus fern at the end.'

Abbie's top tip? Help your foliage and florals last longer by misting them regularly to keep them fresh.

3. Opt for a subtly different color combo

'I’m not a huge fan of traditional green, red and white Christmas tables,' says florist and designer Willow Crossley. 'I try to bring in as much color as I can at this time of year. Using the predominant color of the tablecloth as my starting point, I’ll begin to build up a similarly colored collection of flowers and vases.'

Willow is a big fan of using small bud vases arranged along the table, all at varying heights to make the whole floral display look more natural, rather than being too precise and manicured. 

'My Christmas table this year is going to be covered with a beautiful floral, deep purple-lilac tablecloth, so I want the flowers to be quite tonal,' she says. 'Anemones and ranunculus are two of my top choices for the Christmas table. I will mix Anemones 'Mistral' and Anemones ‘Frilly Knickers’ in with with beautiful 'Hanoi' ranunculus, paperwhite narcissus, Dutch-grown clematis (brilliant for little bud vases) and hellebore ‘Winter Bells’. A scattering of nuts and some burnished gold tapered candles completes the look.

4. Choose a contemporary Nordic-inspired display

Although traditionally thought of as Christmas houseplants, cut poinsettias can be used to create beautiful winter arrangements. 'The colorful bracts form big mock flowers that look great, either on their own or combined with other blooms,' says Dr Susanne Lux of Stars for Europe. 

In this design, poinsettia stems are combined with carnations, poppy heads, scabious seedheads, limonium, thistles (eryngium), ornamental grasses and larch twigs with cones. There's an additional twist, as some of the floral elements are placed on the outside of the simple glass vase and held in place with rustic twine.

Another break with tradition as shown in this arrangement is the color. 'If classic red poinsettias epitomise the traditional Christmas spirit, the softer pinks, amber and cream varieties bring a lighter and more contemporary feel to festive floral arrangements and table décor,' says Suzanne. 'Delicate cream and white blooms help to achieve a beautiful Nordic look with a natural rustic feel, while the updated Scandi-chic trend favors pastel highlights.'

Pink is a key Christmas decorating trend at the moment. It comes hot on the heels of this year's popular Barbiecore fashion, which has made pink one of the hottest shades of the season. From soft pinks and vintage faded blush tones to pale candy and sugar plum inspiration, Christmas flower arrangement ideas in these colors are having a real moment right now. 

If you're also planning to make a poinsettia centerpiece this year, why not go for one in this color scheme too? 

5. Add an opulent touch to your festive flower arrangement

Opulent vintage types of roses in shades of red and pink are like sumptuous velvet and will add a very special touch to your Christmas flower arrangement ideas. When decorating the Christmas table, think about how to create a signature look that's unique to you.

'By combining differing shades of florals, and shapes of petals, each bloom in this arrangement stands proud with a whimsical, yet luxurious feel,' says Matthew Clawson of this bouquet he designed for Lavender Green Flowers. 'Red is a traditional color choice for Christmas, yet can sometimes be quite overpowering. By carefully selecting other accompanying florals in more muted shades it's possible to turn a red composition into a mix of velvet and vintage tones.'

6. Create a flower wreath for the Christmas table

Every table needs a striking centerpiece to add wonderfully festive warmth, especially one like this Christmas wreath, which is finely adorned with burnished colors of rich red, antique and soft yellow roses. It's perfect for setting the scene for Christmas gatherings by candlelight.

'This striking centerpiece brings together a selection of 'Deep Secret', 'Caramel Antike', 'Café Latte' and 'Golden Mustard' roses, alongside textured layers of hypericum, scabious seed heads, coppery dried bracken and wintry foliage sourced from sustainable farms,' says Rosebie Morton of The Real Flower Company. 

7. Include dried flowers in a Christmas flower display

Dried flowers are more often associated with late summer and fall but can add an interesting new spin to your Christmas flower arrangement ideas. This design features fragrant eucalyptus with burgundy and pink tones of foliage and cloud bush with unusual black glixia flowers for some modern definition and drama.

It picks up on the trend for all things pink and plum too. 'This year we've seen more customers choosing flowers for their home in deep jewel tones like burgundy, mauve, plum and magenta,' says Katherine Whitchurch, chief creative at Shida Preserved Flowers. 'These shades bring rich warmth and femininity to interiors.'

If you're thinking of getting creative with dried flowers and foliage start by sorting your stems and placing them on the table in groups so you can see how much of each variety you have to work with to make a nice, balanced arrangement, suggests Katherine. Your vase should be roughly half the height of your stems and with an opening wide enough for your bunch without the stems being too tightly packed. Then you can begin building up your arrangement. Start with structural stems to create the basic shape and continue adding layers until you’re happy. 

One of the best things about using preserved and dried (over fresh) is that you can rearrange and play around with different vase shapes, arrangement styles and placement every couple of weeks. If you love the look of dried flowers don't miss Katherine's top tips on how to make a pampas grass wreath too.

8. Celebrate an outdoor Christmas with flowers

In recent years Christmas has been celebrated outdoors much more, so if your climate is mild enough why not continue the trend? 

'We have shaken up our options for Christmas flower arrangement ideas this year, looking at alternative more contemporary materials, color palettes and shapes to create something fresh yet familiar,' says Garden Trading's Francesca Morris.

Stylistically, modern bouquets have more of a minimalist end-look when compared to a traditional style. 'Modern is all about the new and the unexpected which gives us opportunities to get creative,' she adds. 'Think dried flowers instead of holly to offer a more neutral rustic palette, or using a cluster of baubles or dried fruit and fabric instead of traditional foliage. The options are endless!'

When it comes to creative flower arrangements for your outdoor Christmas decor centerpiece stick with a natural theme like this one. Go large and opt for branches of coppery toned leaves, long stems of different types of ornamental grass and one or two bold blooms in burnished colors. Simple but perfectly chosen for Christmas!

What's the easiest way to create a unique Christmas flower arrangement? 

A few stems of greenery and berries simply arranged in a vase can look stunning. Matthew Clawson of Lavender Green Flowers suggests using dried Pimpernel hydrangeas. 'Known for their ability to dry perfectly, this is a trend setter that adds texture to create a vintage look.' Sprays of rosehips offer a burst of berried vitality.

Foraging in the garden is a big trend. 'I love hanging a branch from the garden. It could be silver birch, hazel – anything you might be giving a prune at that time,' says plant expert Sarah Raven. 'Use it either horizontally above a table, or over the top of a fireplace. Decorate it with mainly natural things that you can pick from outside. I use ever-lasting strawflowers, alliums and Chinese lanterns, then attach warm-toned lights, which I have on all day as well as night. As the days get shorter this is wonderful right through till after New Year.' 

Don't forget about adding some rustic twig decorations too – they're another great way to add a natural touch to your festive scheme.