Christmas Coffee Table Decor for a Table You Still Use: 5 Ideas

Put it all on one tray. A tray turns five separate things into one object. Your eye reads it as a single arrangement, and when you need the table, you lift the tray to the floor and everything goes with it.

• The rattan tray is 11.8 inches across, so it takes up less than half of a standard coffee table
• It has cut-out handles on two sides, which matters when it's loaded and you're carrying it one-handed
• The listing comes in several sizes. Pick the small one for a table under 40 inches long
• Rattan is light, so the tray itself adds almost nothing to the weight you're lifting

Pick a round tray for a rectangular table. The contrast in shape is what makes it look intentional. A rectangular tray on a rectangular table just looks like a second, smaller table.

Where on the table? Off center, pushed toward one end. That leaves a clear stretch on the side closest to the sofa for drinks.

A light-up ceramic tree. It's the one at your grandmother's house, the glazed green tree with the little plastic bulbs, and it's back for a reason. At 15 inches it fits on the tray, and it lights up the room enough to switch the overhead light off.

• It's 15 inches tall with a star on top and multicolor bulbs pressed into the glaze
• It plugs in, so place the tray at the end of the table closest to an outlet
• Run the cord down a table leg and under the rug instead of across the floor
• In daylight, it still looks like a Christmas tree with the light off

Pick this if there is truly no corner for a real tree. In a studio or a one-bedroom where the tree would block the TV or the walkway, the coffee table is the one place a tree can go.

Too nostalgic for your room? If the rest of your living room is calm and neutral, the multicolor bulbs will be the loudest thing in it. Let it be the one cheerful thing (it's December) and keep the rest of the tray quiet around it.

Put something tall at the back. An arrangement where everything is the same height looks flat from the sofa, because you see it from above. One tall group at the back gives the eye a place to start.

• The nutcrackers come as a set of three, each about 10 inches tall
• Stand them as a group of three at the back of the tray, not spread out
• They're painted wood with gold detail, so they carry the color for the whole tray
• Turn them slightly toward each other so they look like a small crowd, not a line-up

Pick these if the tree feels like too much. The nutcrackers give you height and color without a plug, and they look as much like Christmas from across the room.

Use both? Only on a long table. The tree goes on the tray, and the nutcrackers stand at the far end of the table on their own. Two tall things on one small tray start to look crowded.

Put a berry ring around it. A plain pillar candle is a plain candle. Drop a ring of red berries and greenery around the base, and it becomes the Christmas version without any other changes.

• The rings come as a set of two, and the inner opening is 3.25 inches
• That fits a standard 3-inch pillar or a large votive holder, not a thin taper
• Check the candle you already own before ordering. Most grocery-store pillars are 3 inches
• Keep the flame at least a few inches above the berries, and blow it out before you leave the room

Add one jar candle for scent. If you skipped a real tree, the smell is often what you miss most. A balsam fir candle in a jar gives you that, and the glass keeps the flame contained on a table where people put their feet up.

Pick the jar candle if you have kids or a cat. A pillar with an open flame on a coffee table is a risk when something can knock it. A jar is far harder to tip.

Use a short stack as a riser. Two or three books laid flat lift a small candle or ornament a few inches, which breaks up the line of the tray and gives the arrangement layers.

• The decorative books come in red and green covers, so they match without any other color
• They're a box made to look like books, so the stack opens and hides a remote or coasters inside
• Lay them flat, spines facing the sofa, slightly offset so they don't look like a brick
• Put the smallest object on top. A large thing on a short stack looks top-heavy

Pick these if your real books are paperbacks. Coffee table books look good because they're large hardcovers, and most people don't own any. A decorative stack gives you the shape without the shelf space.

Real books work too. Pull two large hardcovers with dark red or green spines off your shelf. If the covers are bright or busy, flip them so only the page edges show.