Want to be the hostess with the mostess this Christmas and create a feast your family will be raving about for years to come?
Check out the helpful tips from our Home Buyer, Kate – who has friends on speed-dial from RCR Crystal, Culinary Concepts and Parks London to name a few. Plus, you can shop to deck your halls (and table) in our home event sales on now with delivery in 2-4 working days.
Over to you Kate:
Step 1: Pick a colour theme to work across your table, tying in all of your décor and accessories. Gold or silver will be sure to wow, be bold and mix the two metallics or keep it classic. Gold works particularly well with red Christmassy tones while silver balances itself magically against white.
TIP: Why not try decorating the outside of clean jam jars with gold glitter or spray, then pop a tea light candles inside each one and voila – your dinner lighting is sparkling.
Step 2: Lay the foundations and set the festive mood of your table. Christmas crackers are practically an essential, while matching napkin holders with your candle pots will create a luxurious look. So too will plates done properly – see our illustration below for a formal dinner setting. Napkins can be placed in the centre of the plate or on the left hand side, saving space for a favour on the dinner plate instead, if you’re really keen to impress. Not included in the illustration are the champagne flutes everyone has been sipping from pre-dinner. Oh wait, that’s because they’re empty. As we were…
TIP: If there’s not a table cloth or runner of your liking, how about buying your favourite fabric and having it cut to size? Festive and frugal.
Step 3: Centrepieces. Depending on the size of your table, centrepieces can be a deep bowl full of oranges, pine cones and cinnamon sticks; great for all the senses. Or to save valuable space (for more serving dishes), perhaps pick candelabras or tall vases with narrow bases so guests can still see across the table to pull their crackers. Fill vases with single-stem seasonal flowers. Nothing says Christmas more than freshly-cut Amaryllis. The long stems and red tones really set the festive feel – these flowers come in all sorts of fabulous shades, but look particularly Christmassy in red velvet (a classy single) and red dragon (a fiery double).
TIP: To save on fuss, perhaps make your turkey the focus of the table? You spent enough time perfecting it after all. You can always add holly trim details around the rim to keep it looking decorative.
Step 4: Beverages are an important element to complement the meal itself and also to bring the décor to life. Different glasses are essential for different drinks. If we’re talking the most formal of layouts, each guest will have five glasses: one for water, a champagne flute, one for red wine, one for white wine and one for sherry. Glasses needn’t match in size as it can look opulent having different glass tiers per setting for your guests and lets them know they’re in for a treat.
TIP: Make a mini-bar setting close to your dining table with bottles on ice and any extras ready to serve. This will save on time leaving the table to fetch extra refreshments as the meal goes on. How about a formal drinks trolley? If you’ve had your eye on one for a while, this is your perfect excuse.
Step 5: Now for the finishing touches. This is where you can really have some fun decorating and making your colour theme come to life. If your crackers are lacking in the fancy department, add your own sparkly ribbon to the ends and use the same ribbon to tie a delicate touch to each guest’s place setting – we like little twigs of holly. Name cards are also a fun way to make the dinner setting special, and feel more like an occasion, plus you can make sure everyone is sitting exactly where they’ll get along best. Other touches can include scented candles and festive confetti, used sparingly or lavishly depending on your taste.
TIP: Make crackers unique to your guests by swapping the gift inside for one of your own. Just make sure everyone knows which one belongs to whom, so your grandad gets his engraved lighter and not your sister’s Elizabeth Arden Eight-Hour Cream.
So there you have it. We hope you’re feeling a little more festive and ready to tackle your table of treats? With our Home Event and Christmas Shop sales on site now with 3-5 working days’ delivery, shop all your Christmas favourites now to make you the hostess with the mostess.
