When you sit down to eat, how often do you include table centerpieces? Not often? Well, these decorations can be simple, inexpensive and available on a moment's notice! Using table centerpieces for every day use, you can brighten your table considerably, making even a casual family supper a little bit special. How can you have a choice of ready table centerpieces? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Now, there are any number of table centerpieces that can be selected. If you have your own garden, you could take a large vase and fill them with fresh flowers every day. No garden? Forget it! It is too expensive to keep buying flowers every day! Yes, a vase in the center would attract everyone's attention to it. But if this is not possible, there are other centerpieces that one can think of. The objective is to focus everyone's attention on the entire meal setting, not on the centerpiece alone.

Along with large vases, you can use baskets, decorative boxes or tins, tiny vases, luminaria, votive candles and candlesticks to create your theme.

The size of the gathering at the table is also to be taken into consideration. If only two persons are going to be at the table, a slightly taller vase full of roses can be used as the centerpiece. It is to be kept at one end, to give that romantic tinge to the atmosphere!

If there are plenty of guests, a big vase with flowers will only be in the way. An individual would have look above or around the vase to see the other person he/she is conversing with--not a pleasant exercise by any means! So, avoid such blunders when giving large parties.

It makes better sense, with a large group, to have several small votive style candles or luminaria down the length of the table, with small vases or glasses of small dried flowers, each tied with a colored ribbon bow. A table runner underneath, running the length of the table attractively unifies and completes the centerpiece.

In case it is to be a little more formal, make use of ornate candlesticks. These should be large, but with thin profiles, and kept at either end. When combined with several shallow baskets containing silk flowers, the table gets a classy appearance! The baskets should be placed such that they move towards the inward direction.

Want the table to look more glamorous? Go in for garlands, icicles and strings of beads! These are decorations used on Christmas trees. If they are interwoven amongst the candles and flowers, they give a very glitzy look to the table! If you do not want such decorations, use small figurines instead. But what has to be kept in mind is that the table is not overcrowded with decorations--just a few of each should do. The idea is to provide visual appeal, not clutter the table with as many items as you can find!

Some people like to decorate the table with baskets that contain fresh fruits. These can be taken by the guests whenever they feel like it. Others prefer to keep one shallow and long basket as the sole centerpiece. There are glittering fall gourds as well as "Indian" corn kept in this basket. The effect is truly marvellous!

So you can see there's a world of ideas for table centerpieces. Some people set aside space in a cupboard or sewing room to store all their "props" to choose on a moment's notice, ready to put some pizazz on your table.