Time Out : Christmas Decor : Decorating The Tree & More Decorations

When Christmas is so close you can almost hear sleigh bells, the final week is filled with festive gatherings and the last few preparations here at Couturenet HQ - my rural home. This week is "especially special" (can you say that in good grammar?) in England as often on Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day I can be on a flight to somewhere snowy in the States for a week of cosy festivities ensconced away in the mountains.

One of the best parts of Christmas is putting up the decorations. There's something about filling the house with sparkly lights, candles, garlands, winter greenery and shiny gold that makes the darker evenings so much more cheery. I have just put the finishing touches to the tree. I have a faux tree for two reasons 1. I don't like the idea of chopping down trees, I want to see them growing in nature especially when skiing in the mountains and 2. I am often away for the main festive week or so.

I wanted to really saturate the tree with gold this year, I did this by hanging lots of different shaped gold baubles from virtually every bough. I contrasted the really modern and smooth baubles with Victorian style ornate shaped with sparkle. The red frilled garland is what I use in place of tinsel which I have never been keen on. It's more understated and the perfect background for the flame coloured lights and gold balls. The only other decoration is the collection of peppermint candy canes scattered around the tree which are super pretty and fun.

Time Out : Christmas Decor : Liberty Print Christmas Napkins

After some blissful browsing in the Liberty of London fabrics department I was drawn to the Mitsi Valeria in red. I mused how cheery and stylish it would be to have some napkins from this fabric for a more modern take on the traditional Christmas table setting.

I purchased 1 metre of Tana Lawn Mitsi Valeria at £22 per metre. This made 4 napkins at 50x50cm (slightly smaller after the hem has been sewn) with a reasonable sized piece of left over fabric 37cm x 1m for something creative.

To make: I removed the surplus 37cm of fabric to leave a square 1m x 1m. This was cut into four equal squares 50 x 50cm. Using an iron I pressed the edged into double hems and then sewed them with red thread. Two hours of fun later, the result was four very fetching napkins ready for my annual pre-travel, pre-Christmas dinner with friends. The invitations have already been sent!

The perfect accompaniment...

Place Card Stamp Kit £19.95 from Liberty (Ships Worldwide).

From a formal dinner party to an intimate gathering, personalise your table setting with this stamp set. In waterproof, permanent ink, you can even decorate table cloths and tea towels with the design.

Time Out : Christmas Decor : The Prettiest Christmas Crackers

What a treat for the eyes! These blissfully pretty Liberty Print Christmas Crackers from Liberty of London caught my eye and found their way into my bag! Why do Liberty prints look desirable on just about anything? £45 at Liberty.co.uk

See more Couturenet Christmas Delights on Pinterest!

Time Out : Christmas Decor : An Elegant & Homely Christmas Mantle

The weekend after Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start decorating for the holidays and a comforting tradition. I made a start with the mantle, creating a traditional feel with a centrepiece that will be focal right up to Christmas Day. I will add more Christmas decorations to this up until Christmas Day.

This colourful advent calendar demands attention, so I kept the rest of the mantle decor low-key, I will add some greenery to the Grecian pots over the coming weeks. The bushy green garland brings warmth to all the hard edges, classic silver candle sticks are the perfect subtle lighting (re-purposed from my dining table).

Wooden advent calendar £70 - £125 at Fortnum & Mason.

Essential dinner candles £3.45 for 10 at Waitrose.

I wanted the daily opening of each advent window to reveal not only delicious chocolates but also something a little more fun than plain sweets. Little Lindt chocolate Santas, reindeer, snowmen, bears and truffle balls look perfect and offer a different delight each day.

Lindt truffles (box) £7.50 at Waitrose.

Lindt chocolate figures 2 packs for £4 at Waitrose.

Nutcracker £2 at Matalan.

These Nordic knitted stockings add a modern feel to a heritage look. A simple handwritten tag for each adds a personalised look. The stocking hooks are genius, they are weighted under the star so there is no need to drill holes, just rest the them on the mantle shelf and hang a stocking from the hook.

Nordic knitted stockings £6 at Matalan.

Stocking hooks with star tops £18 at Fortnum & Mason.

The other accessories: mirror, candle sticks and pots are handed down over the years and very welcome. I have slowly added beautiful decorations and accents each year from gifts, carefully selected buys and hand me downs, this has built a sentimental and special collection to unpack each year.

Wallpaper: Wilton in dark linen £36 per roll at Laura Ashley.

Time Out: Re-Purposing Net-A-Porter Black Boxes

I am a super organised person and I dislike waste. Hence my vigour for re-purposing these smart black Net-A-Porter.com boxes for use as Christmas decorations storage. My need for everything to be "in it's place" and "neat 'n' tidy" coerced the label maker from the drawer to make an appearance for this project too!

Brother Label Maker £14.99 from Argos.co.uk

Net-A-Porter Boxes - a delightful perk from making a purchase at net-a-porter.com

Time Out: Simple Pre-Christmas Dinner Table Setting

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I will be on a flight. Today I am hosting a pre-Christmas dinner for a few friends. Getting a group together for chat and smiles is one of the big bonuses of the festive season, everyone feels jolly enough to make the time in their hectic schedules.

Knowing I would be here today, gone tomorrow! I wanted to set up an attractive but Christmas-sy table setting trying to use as much tableware I already had, to avoid waste of perishable items.

All I purchased for the table setting was:
1. A Bag of Fresh Cranberries £2.49
2. 6 Giant Gold Chocolate Coins @ £1.49 each
All from Waitrose.com

I strategically only used Italian glass tumblers on the table, leaving the wine glasses in the kitchen to serve wine as the guests arrived.

I used ribbon as napkin rings around starched linen napkins and garnished the "whiteness" of the plate setting with a gold bauble.

I like layering up a table setting, 1. Red raffia mat, 2, Gold Charger,  3.White bone china dinner late, 4. Porcelain heart shaped bowl all finished off with softer looking gold touches.

I decorated the desk in the dining room with a very large, chunky, porcelain bowl filled with fur cones (usually meant for the fire!) and red nutmegs.

The cake is a celebration cake ordered in advance from Waitrose.com Entertaining, Vanilla Sponge Celebration Cake 25cm £16.00 (a light sponge sandwich with a buttercream and jam centre, covered with smooth white icing). The Christmas decorations are from my store cupboard purchased a few years ago and re-used each year. The other items (Liberty snow globe, crystal jug, glass ice bucket etc. were gifts given to me in years gone by that I love and re-use each Christmas.

Giant gold chocolate coins are fun as coasters and party favours for guests to take home.
I purchased these fab hallmark crackers in the sale last year with 75% off!

The centre piece layered from the bottom up 1. A piece of slate, 2. A red raffia mat, 3. Lots of gold baubles, 4. A hurricane lamp, 5. A candle & 6. A bag of fresh cranberries.

I love to combine red and white at Christmas. This raisied white porcelain dish looks very festive with Lindor shiney red truffles in an enticing pile.

And by candlelight...

Including gold glittery elements to the table setting added a glisten here and there when the candles were lit.

I kept the food simple too, I wanted to spend time with my guests. I roasted a turkey crown - made easy by Waitrose.com - I ordered it online a couple of weeks ago, it was £23.19. Not only was the collection in-store seamless from handing over my order number to seeing the bird arrive on a tray in the lift! for me to take away, but I was overjoyed to see the turkey crown had been pre-weighed, the cooking time calculated and printed on the front, and it was supplied in a handy roasting bag! I proudly made Delia Smith's Pork, Sage & Onion Stuffing, with roast potatoes, a selection steamed vegetables and gravy of course.

Knowing that all guests would be pretty stuffed after the main course, we spent some time chatting. Then I then served a small piece of cake with coffee and cream instead of a rich Christmas pudding.

Waitrose.com