A cornucopia, also called a horn of plenty, is a cone-shaped basket that symbolizes bounty and abundance. It’s often used as a symbol for the Thanksgiving holiday, which is why it’s popular in the autumn season. If you want to decorate your Philly home with something special this year, try one of these fall cornucopia centerpiece ideas. You can find a beautiful cornucopia basket at a local craft store (try Fabric Row in downtown Philly) or online.

Traditional Cornucopia

A traditional cornucopia uses a wide variety of the season’s “bountiful” harvest, including vegetables and fruit. It often includes grapes, apples, pumpkins, and even colorful autumn leaves. Place an orange or maroon napkin down on the table in front of your cornucopia basket, then sprinkle it with a colorful bundle of leaves. Fill the basket with a large bunch of green grapes first, then a diverse assortment of fruits and veggies including green pears (or peppers), red apples, yellow bananas, and orange pumpkins. Allow the “harvest” to fall generously out onto the napkin so that it appears to be overflowing. If you want this display to last longer than a week, use plastic fruits and vegetables instead.

“Flowering” Cornucopia

You can also make a cornucopia basket that looks like it’s bursting with flowers. Instead of leaves, layer the napkin (preferably a white one) and inside of the basket with bright green wheat grass or bear grass. Fill it with popular seasonal flowers or flowers that have fall colors, like mums, sunflowers, and New England asters in purple and white. Your “flowering” cornucopia should also overflow onto the table — you can even sprinkle a few flowers on top as well if you’d like.

Image Source: Flickr/terren in Virginia

Stylish, Sparkling Cornucopia

If you prefer to make a more stylish cornucopia that sparkles, first you’ll need to grab a few supplies from your local craft store:

• Metallic spray paint in various colors (including copper, gold, and silver)
• Glitter
• A few small “munchkin” pumpkins or plastic pumpkins
• Crafting glue or a glue gun

Also, go outside and grab as many pine cones or acorns as you can find. Spray paint the cornucopia basket with metallic paint (preferably copper or gold) and allow it to dry. In the meantime, use the various other colors of metallic spray paint you purchased to add color to your acorns or pine cones, then quickly sprinkle them with glitter so that they’ll sparkle. Lightly coat the top of your munchkin pumpkins with gold spray paint. When everything is dry, arrange it inside of the cornucopia and add a few white candles around the sides for a beautiful display.

Remember that a cornucopia basket is not only pleasing to the eye, it also has meaning. It’s a way to send a positive message to the Universe that your Philly home is a place of abundance, prosperity, and happiness. This might inspire you to create a special cornucopia display every year for your table or mantel.

Main Image Source: Flickr/Luke Jones

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