Centerpieces for holiday celebrations are an important element of traditional Christmas décor.

Creating custom plant combinations for your home is a special way to add the perfect warm and inviting touch.

Get family members, especially children, involved in preparing your special work of art. Perhaps this fun and easy project will become another family holiday tradition for your family.

Display holiday poinsettias by combining them with small houseplants in a special holiday container. A wonderful array of poinsettia cultivars is available today.

Choosing a plant to fit any color scheme is a breeze.

Combine poinsettias with other holiday flowering plants such as Christmas cactus, kalanchoe, paperwhite or amaryllis.

Another way to display holiday plants is to combine them with larger tropical plants that you are overwintering indoors. Large arrangements always add a warm and welcome holiday feel to a table in a front foyer.

Another idea is to place a large brass container or even a standard galvanized bucket from the hardware store full of greenery on the floor near a seating area. This will make a big and beautiful impact as well as make the perfect conversation piece.

Begin by lining the bottom of your container with a sheet of plastic and/or a clear plastic saucer as protection from moisture damage.

Sometimes it is necessary to raise a plant up if a container is too deep. To do this, place the plants on an upside-down flowerpot, a block of Styrofoam or even crumpled newspaper.

Place a large poinsettia, Christmas or other specimen holiday plant in the center of the container. This will provide a focal point for your work of art.

Surround the plant with smaller containers of decorative foliage or even cool-season bedding plants with differing heights and textures.

Make sure that the plants fit snugly into the arrangement for a lush, full look. This will also keep them from shifting — in case, a festive guest bumps the arrangement.

Plants included in your natural holiday work of art should be thoroughly watered and left to drain before utilizing them.

You will also have to remove the plants occasionally to water them again.

Fortunately, most plants only need to be watered every few days when indoors.

Keep holiday arrangements away from drafts and doorways, and in a location with adequate light. This will help the plants last through the holiday season.

If you just hate to throw away a broken branch from a poinsettia, place it into a vase with water.

First, recut the stem and sear the cut with an open flame from a match. This will condition the stem so that it will last for several days in the vase.

Use your imagination and harvest stems and leaves from your own landscape to create a unique southern holiday arrangement.

Better yet, make it a family affair!

Traci Maier writes a weekly garden column for The Natchez Democrat can be reached at ratmaier@bellsouth.net.