Christmas decor gift ideas: terrarium, candle holder, vase or bouquet

A good Christmas decor gift idea starts from the person: the space they have at home, and the time they want to give to a plant. For someone who likes bold objects, a bird candle holder. For a plant lover, a terrarium. For someone who never waters anything, a vase and a bouquet that never wilts. Here are our ideas, and what to check before you give.

Three questions before you choose

1. Where will the object go? A shelf, a sideboard, a table, the floor? A 65 cm candle holder does not fit on a narrow shelf.
2. Living or not? A plant needs light and a little attention. A dry object needs nothing.
3. To build or ready to display? A terrarium kit is an activity. Some people enjoy building it. Others prefer a finished object.

If you do not know the home well, choose something small that needs no care.

The gift that gets noticed: a Prisme terrarium

The Prisme collection brings together our geometric terrarium kits. The faceted glass is assembled by hand in a workshop in Europe. Each piece is a little different from the others.

The Prisme Jungle is the fullest. Its terrarium measures 28 × 26 × 24 cm. It holds six living tropical plants: a mini palm, a calathea, a coffee plant, a fern and two fittonias, on a carpet of living moss. A removable glass panel acts as a door and closes the terrarium.

Good to know before you give it:

• Order early. The terrarium is made to order. The lead time is written on its product page. Our guide giving a high-end terrarium suggests a timeline.
• Choose the version. “With tools” adds tweezers, a mister and a tamper: it is the right choice for a first terrarium.
• Think about light. The product page asks for bright light, without direct sun. The RHS advises at least six hours of bright, indirect light a day for a closed terrarium.

The other shapes in the collection are on the DIY kits page. To compare the shapes, read our guide to the geometric terrarium.

For someone who wants something living without effort: moss

The Moss & Light kit is a closed terrarium, planted only with living moss. It is the easiest to get right. The recycled glass bottle is 17 cm in diameter and 25 cm tall. Its cork stopper carries an LED, which lights the moss in the evening. The supplier does not specify the batteries.

Moss needs indirect light, never direct sun. You mist it when the glass no longer fogs up. Building it takes about half an hour.

The neck is 10 cm wide: a hand does not fit through, tweezers do. For a first terrarium, take the “With tools” version.

For someone who likes bold objects: a candle holder

A bird candle holder decorates the room even when unlit. It stays out all year round, long after the holidays.

• The blue parrot is 25 cm tall, on a 10 × 9 cm base. It fits on a shelf or a windowsill.
• The multicolour peacock is 65 cm tall. It is made of polyresin. It is a large piece, for a sideboard, a console table or the floor, in a corner.

Our candle holders are sold without a candle. The manufacturer does not give the diameter of the socket. So do not buy candles at random. To choose the model, see our guide to bird candle holders.

Also pass on Health Canada's rule: never leave a lit candle unattended, and put it out before leaving the room.

A vase, with or without something living

The face vase and its succulents

Our face vases are women's busts of 24 to 30 cm, with glasses, headbands and bold colours. The set brings together a vase and three living succulents, in 6 cm nursery pots. There are seven models to choose from.

Succulents need bright light, near a window, and very little water. The manufacturer does not say whether the bottom of the vase has a hole: the plants stay in their nursery pots. The method is in our guide planting succulents in a face vase.

The trio of porcelain vases

Three porcelain vases, pink, yellow and green, in three heights. The set comes on its own, with a small bouquet of real dried flowers, or with five artificial tulips. The filled version is ready to give. These vases are intended for dry decoration, without water.

The bouquet that never wilts

The Soft Spring bouquet brings together 18 stems of artificial flowers in pastel tones, about 85 cm long. It needs neither water nor care. It is sold without a vase, and its product page asks for a tall, heavy vase. Check that the person has one, or give both.

All our vases are on the design vases page.

Giving something living in winter

The plants leave the grower and travel in an insulated parcel. Here is how to avoid unpleasant surprises.

• Have it delivered to an address where someone opens the parcel the same day. The box should be opened on the day of delivery.
• Build the terrarium within 48 hours. This is what our product pages ask.
• Do not leave the parcel in a cold car or on a freezing landing.
• If a plant arrives damaged, send us a photo: we will replace it.

The little note that goes with it

Add three lines, copied from the product page: where to put the object, how to water it, and what not to do. For the moss: “Indirect light. Mist when the glass no longer fogs up.” For the candle holder: “Measure the socket before buying candles.”

In short

1. Start from the person: their space, and their time for a plant.
2. For a gift that gets noticed, the Prisme terrarium: order early.
3. For something living without effort, the moss terrarium.
4. For a bold object with no care, a bird candle holder, and no candles bought at random.
5. For a vase, the filled set is ready to give.
6. In winter, the plant parcel is opened on the day of delivery.

Sources

• Terrariums and Bottle Gardens, Royal Horticultural Society
• Sécurité-incendie chez vous, Health Canada (in French)
• Data sheets from the manufacturer and for the Small Eden kits (dimensions, contents, materials, care)