One year in late November, as I was pushing my cart around a local garden center, trying to decide between an amaryllis and paperwhites, I discovered something sitting among a table of poinsettias: a mini poinsettia! I brought it home and popped it into a tealight candle holder. It was such a cute addition to my mantle, it sparked an obsession with mini holiday houseplants. Now each year when I go to purchase the usual festive assortment of plants, I also grab some minis to display in various ways. In this article, I’m going to share some easy mini holiday houseplant projects.
A few easy projects for mini holiday houseplants
What I love about miniature houseplants is that you can buy a few to play with and not break the bank. For these projects, I worked with a lot of materials that I already had. The most expensive item I bought was black reindeer moss, but I was able to use it for two projects, and I’m sure I’ll make use of it again. (Side note: If you get dyed raindeer moss wet and, say, try to wipe it off a table, the dye comes off. It does come out with a wet cloth, but be warned!) Mini holiday houseplants also make great hostess or teacher gifts.
Tabletop centerpiece with mini cyclamen and mini winterberry houseplants
Plant cost: $2.99 x 3 and $3.99 x 2
I had a wooden box kicking around in my garage that I’d saved from some gift or other (I knew it would come in handy someday!). I painted it with some red acrylic paint, filled it with indoor potting soil after the paint dried, and planted the minis. Then I nestled a bit of black reindeer moss around the plants to conceal the soil. I love how the cyclamen’s patterned leaves and dark stems complement the winterberry foliage. Then there’s the pop of white with the blooms and the red berries. You could use other mini holiday houseplants for this in various combos, too. Both plants like moist soil, so they should live happily together.
Mason jar flowerpot with mini frosty fern
Plant cost: $2.99
You gotta love the versatility of Mason jars. This one was the perfect size for my frosty fern. I placed some potting soil in the jar, put the plant inside, and tied some festive ribbon around the top. A grouping of these would look nice in a shallow tray on a table with pinecones or baubles placed about. The jar could also be used as a place card holder, too! The frosty fern likes moist soil and humidity, but prefers indirect light.
Tealight candleholder placecard with mini poinsettia
Plant cost: $2.99
I do love a traditional red poinsettia, but I fell in love with the variegated cream and pink of this little beauty. For this poinsettia, I pulled out a festive tealight candleholder and put together a place setting with an Ikea placemat and napkin. You could add a little name tag here, as well. Poinsettias like a lot of light, so place them near a sunny window. Check to make sure the soil remains moist.
Hanging ornament with mini kalanchoe
Plant cost: On sale for .99 cents, but regularly $2.99!
I had a lovely glass hanging ornament that I used for a succulent terrarium article a few years ago, so I decided to dust it off and place a different type of plant inside. The kalanchoe was featured alongside its succulent cousins at the garden center, so I knew it would work (though I double-checked with an employee to make sure). For this one, I used a bit of cactus potting soil around the root ball and added some of that black reindeer moss around it. Then, I simply looped some ribbon through the top, tied it to my curtain rod in the window of my dining room, and voilà, a hanging ornament. This window gets lots of light, which the plant will like. To care for the plant, the soil should dry out between watering.
Mini houseplants were also featured in a post I wrote called Indoor plant love: The coolest houseplants. I couldn’t resist because they are pretty cool. Do you have any project plans using mini holiday houseplants?
Leave a Reply