We don't mean to brag, but we think using some of our Christmas centerpiece ideas is probably the quickest way to get a Christmas table full of holiday cheer this year! Pretty, festive, and unique, these table centerpieces are the perfect way to lend some extra Xmas spirit to your Christmas dinner table.

Sure, a perfect Christmas dinner is always about wonderful food and even more wonderful family. And there are a ton of resources at our Christmas dinner party planner to help you cook up a perfect Christmas meal. But ambiance is a huge part of making Christmas feel special. It just wouldn't be the same without those twinkling lights and sparkling tinsel. Christmas centerpieces are a great place to start, but you'll also find a ton of resources at Christmas decor and tips, LINK including:

• Free Christmas Decoration Ideas
• Christmas Wreaths
• Fireplace Decorating for Christmas
• Fun Christmas Tree Theme Ideas (match one with your centerpiece!)

So read on for some great homemade Christmas centerpiece ideas that will fit just about any budget!

1. Cheerful Christmas Candy Centerpiece

This centerpiece is just full of sweet Christmas cheer! It's a great centerpiece for a modern and whimsical Christmas celebration-- a really casual, bold and contemporary centerpiece. And cheap. That's a definite bonus, too!

How to Make this Centerpiece: This Christmas centerpiece idea is really just an assemblage of everything Christmas. All you need to make it work are:

• Clear glass jars of varying shapes/sizes
• Christmas candies (candy canes, M&M's, peppermints, lollipops, etc.)
• Colorful Christmas baubles
• Christmas fabrics, napkins and tablecloths

Of course, for your Christmas fabrics and napkins, you can really do anything you want. But to recreate this look, it's best to opt for bold and modern patterns, such as stripes or squares, in Christmasy colors. And don't limit yourself to red, green, and white decorations. You'll notice the ornaments in this little set-up are actually blue, and they add a clean, fun, and modern feel to the overall look.

This Christmas table centerpiece is really easily adaptable to what you have on hand or what you like best, so play around with these different elements to make it all your own.

2. Candlelight Christmas Bauble Centerpiece

I love this simple Christmas centerpiece idea for, say, a quiet and personal Christmas dinner. Subtle and shining, it's the perfect centerpiece for an intimate family celebration. It's also really cheap, really easy, and uses whatever you've got floating around in your Christmas box. And wasn't an easy Christmas one of the things you asked Santa for this year?

How to Make this Centerpiece: This Christmas table centerpiece is really just how it looks: you start with a wide, shallow bowl/deep plate (this one is gold tinted to give it a holiday feel), add a Christmas-y candle in a glass jar, and surround it with multicolored Christmas baubles. A pretty low budget centerpiece that will shine beautifully in the candlelight.

Making this Centerpiece Your Own: Another thing I love about this centerpiece for a Christmas table is how flexible it is. Since the components are so simple, you can really play with color, tone, and style. Some fun ideas for changing it up might be:

• Start with a silver bowl and add a white candle and a rainbow of colored baubles
• Pair a candy-cane striped candle with red, green, and silver baubles
• Go modern with a silver bowl and baubles in a turquoise blue and silver, or purple and silver
• Go all white/silver/glitter or all gold for an elegant effect

3. So-Sweet Gingerbread Candle Centerpiece

If you love to bake, you're going to love making this sweet and edible Christmas centerpiece idea. It's fun, it's very cute... and it smells as good as it looks!

How to Make this Centerpiece: This is one of those cheap Christmas table centerpieces that takes a little baking prowess. To make it, all you need to do is start with your favorite recipe for gingerbread (you want the sturdy kind that's good for assembling gingerbread houses, for example), some cookie cutters, and some hard white frosting.

Create a large gingerbread base for the entire centerpiece out of gingerbread dough. Create whatever accessories you like, such as stars, snowflakes, gingerbread men, whatever. Be sure you have one with a hole punched in the middle to make room for your candle. When all is baked and cooled, assemble using a recipe for a hard, white frosting as glue.

For a really fun idea, you could make one of these for each of your guests as name cards, complete with candle, for them to keep.

4. Edible Christmas Tree Fruit Tray Centerpiece

I love this whimsical, almost silly Christmas centerpiece idea-- it's sure to make your guests let out a chuckle when they see it. It's also inexpensive, adorable, and best of all... deliciously edible. A great decoration, or an addition to the holiday buffet table.

How to Make this Centerpiece: Making this centerpiece is easy! All you need is a variety of sliced fruit of your choice, some fruit dip, and, of course, a pineapple. To make your pineapple Christmas tree, take the top off your fresh pineapple and invert it on your serving dish. Using a flat piece of pineapple, cut a star using a small star-shaped cookie cutter. Attach to your pineapple with a toothpick, and your centerpiece is done. And yummy, too!

5. Bright and Cheerful Gumdrop Tree Centerpiece

There something just so whimsical and fun about Christmas table centerpieces made from candy... just looking at them can make any adult feel like a kid again... even if just for a moment. Who didn't wish, as a child, that the game board in the game "Candyland" was a real place? Celebrate your childhood Christmas with one of my favorite low-budget Christmas centerpiece ideas.

How to Make this Centerpiece: This one starts off with nothing more complicated than a gumdrop tree. You can find these --which were really popular around Christmastime in the 60s-- just about anywhere, and there are tons of them available on eBay. Simply decorate with multicolored (or opt for red, white, and green) gumdrops for a pretty Christmas centerpiece that will take your guests right back to their childhoods. And have them snacking, too.

This version is surrounded by mini gingerbread houses made by members of the family (including the kiddos!). I love that idea for giving this centerpiece a sweet family theme.

6. Fruit n' Candles Centerpiece for Christmas

As far as Christmas table decorations go, you can't get more Christmas-y than cranberries and orange-and-clove Christmas pomanders. You also can't get much cheaper: the components of this centerpiece are all things you can buy in your local market, collect from your backyard, or make using things you probably already have at home.

How to Make this Centerpiece: This is a flexible centerpiece that can be assembled more or less however you like. In this version, small pine branches are laid into the bottom of a deep plate and decorated with candles, fresh cranberries, and pomanders.

But this is one of those classic Christmas centerpiece ideas that can't go wrong-- you can play around with it! Skip the bowl and lay your candles and fruit out on plain pine branches, or tucked in among holly leaves. Or skip the pine branches and opt for pine cones instead. Toss in some shiny Christmas baubles if you like, or some uncracked walnuts, pecans, and almonds. Combine with other fruit, such as shiny red apples or cute little kumquats... play around with combinations of things you have easy access to, and make this Christmas centerpiece idea entirely your own.