The ultimate Christmas hosting guide

Christmas parties promise champagne, glitter and the joy of all things kitsch. But they can also induce a feeling of panic in even experienced hosts as they grapple with planning an intimate gathering for friends or a larger, multigenerational bash at home.

If you haven’t yet secured a live jazz band, hand-tied a floral display for every guest or ordered the components of your medieval multi-bird roast, don’t despair. Simply give in to the festive magic and follow our experts’ tips on how to dial up your hosting at speed.

“A festive gathering is the perfect opportunity to engage all the senses,” says Charlotte Hodges-Peck, associate director at Savills Interior Services. “Work in beautiful floral and foliage displays, festive scents and wonderful music.” This is not the time of year to debut out-there new ideas – it’s about long-held traditions refreshed with style.

Keep the drama to the décor
Prep your interiors well in advance. If you plan to use more than one room, consider multiple Christmas trees – all the rage this year, according to the designer and artist Luke Edward Hall. Decorations that reflect your family’s passions and pursuits make great ice-breakers (think space travel, polar bears or vintage cars). Hall also suggests trying the latest bauble trend: glittering fungi.

Impact is crucial for a memorable Christmas party, says Oliver Gilberthorpe, director of operations at Cotswold-based Lauren Gilberthorpe Interiors. As well as a showstopper wreath on the front door, he recommends “adorning mantelpieces, cabinets and side tables with taper candles, rustic bells, greenery and miniature trees. Add a beaded garland along the stairway or twinkling lights around door frames to create a magical atmosphere.”

Got it covered?
When it comes to tablescaping trends for Christmas 2023, Mathilde Maitre, director of events at Claridge’s, notes a resurgence in silvers, greens and golds – styled for maximum impact. Faye Wilkin, senior consultant at Savills Interior Services, suggests choosing a theme for linens and tableware. “You could create a winter wonderland with sparkling white décor, snowflakes and ice candles,” she suggests. Continue the theme outside, with sparklers and LED-powered candles in the garden.

Be creative with your tableware. The vintage look is big this Christmas, with John Lewis’s design team taking inspiration from the firm’s archives. The sellout Flora tableware collection is back, with delicate festive designs. Or scour your local antiques market for artfully mismatched crockery.

What to serve
Work in the wow factor on the catering front – which means, counterintuitively, keeping things relatively simple, according to the award-winning food writer Felicity Cloake, whose recipe books include Perfect and Perfect Host. “A friend of mine always serves a pair of huge Fortnum & Mason Christmas Pies at her annual bash, which is very festive,” she says.

“Anything big works, though, whether it’s a truckle of cheddar, a side of smoked salmon or a leg of jamón ibérico. People appreciate abundance at this time of year, rather than a few tiny canapés that never seem to touch the sides.”

Carefully arranged cornucopias, glass bowls of crystallised fruits and chocolates “create a picture of decadence and luxury that will encourage even the most buttoned-up partygoer to let their hair down”, Cloake adds.

Let it flow
Instead of offering a full bar, says Cloake, a chic (and more manageable) option is to serve a single cocktail that puts everyone in a party mood (with a non-alcoholic alternative, of course). A rum recipe is her preferred option this year. “Usually associated with summer cocktails, rum is actually a perfect winter pairing,” she says. “Those warm notes of brown sugar, caramel and spice go so well with cinnamon.”

Natural wonders
This Christmas, bringing the outside in is very much “in”, says the interiors stylist Rachel Loos, so consider foraging for greenery in the wild. Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, founder of the London-based online flower shop Flowerbx, recommends “seasonal varieties in traditional tones”, including ruby reds and ivory. “In December,” she says, “keep an eye out for tulips, berried hypericum, anemones and ranunculus – as well as a year-round favourite, red naomi roses.”

Fresh pine, fir, blue-toned eucalyptus branches and skimmia provide fragrance, while vases of towering florals such as amaryllis and calla lilies add glamour. For a subtler look, simply pop a few stems in delicate bud vases along a mantelpiece or on the dinner table.

Luke Edward Hall
Lauren Gilberthorpe Interiors
Felicity Cloake
Flowerbx

Pictures from top: multiple trees are a hot festive trend for 2023 (Luxxe); Flowerbx recommends ‘seasonal varieties in traditional tones’, including ruby red blooms; a festive table in silvers, greens and golds (Luxxe); keeping it cosy for a small family gathering; and the individual touch for Christmas lunch