It's the most wonderful time of the year – but if you're hosting Christmas at home for all your friends and family, it can also be somewhat of a stressful experience.
For Helen Ward, however, planning the perfect event is what she does best. With 15 years working in event management, working across a range of luxury hotels and venues including London's Firmdale Hotels and Hampshire's Lime Wood Hotel and Chewton Glen, she set up her own business, What Peggy Did Next, four years ago.
She loves planning so much that Helen has recently opened her own space, called HOST, at Shallowmead Arcade in Lymington, where she stocks a carefully curated range of party supplies from local producers, offers advice to customers and even runs workshops on creating the perfect party pieces for your bespoke event. In the run-up to Christmas she is planning 'How to wrap the perfect Christmas present', 'Christmas tablescaping tips and trends' and 'Styling a cheeseboard' sessions.
'I think you just have to plan early,' is her first piece of advice. 'A key thing, if you're the host and you're solely responsible for entertaining, I think starting early is the best thing because you then have a chance to source and find things in all sorts of different places.
'You can find real treasures in charity shops now, and local antiques fairs. That's why starting early helps, because you have more time to go and source the things that you're missing. There's brands where you can hire really good crockery for special occasions. Look into that in November. If you've hosting 20 people, speak to a local events company and hire 20 chairs from them, 20 plates, 20 sets of crockery.
'Each week, set yourself a "to-do" list of the things you need to source. That helps you manage your cashflow. Hosting won't seem like a stress at all, because week by week you'll tick things off.'
But before you spend a single penny, Helen advises going through the cupboards at home to see what could be used.
'We always put our nice things away in the cupboard,' she says, 'there's so much in the cupboard that you forget you've got. Have a declutter, go through and see if you've got things that could work.'
As well as the overall theme or colours you choose, Helen recommends thinking about what your guests would be comfortable with.
'I truly believe that how you decorate your home at Christmas is such a personal thing. I like my styling to tell a story in some way, with items gathered over time, adding to my collection each year.'
Setting the right ambience is key, says Helen, from lighting a festive, scented candle at breakfast to filling your lunch table with glowing candlesticks to create a luxurious ambience, makes things different to your day to day dinner set up.
'Consider candlelight at varying heights, add tall taper candles and lower level tealights to add depth.' she suggests. Tying silk or velvet ribbons around candles in deep reds or burgundy shades can make them feel extra special — the same goes for baubles.
Fresh fruits and nuts can also be used at decoration. 'Stick to one colour palette and fill vintage dishes or bowls, let them tumble onto the table. We have some beautiful shell footed dishes, perfect for creating this look.'
When it comes to the dinner table, combine fabrics and textures to create warmth and different points of interest, with luxurious details such as silk ribbon bows on linen napkins, or thoughtful extras like handwritten place names or personalised crackers.
'We've been collecting vintage Champagne coupes for years and they're a staple in our house at Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we may use them as intended, for a special bottle of Champagne. On Christmas Day, I love to create a berry tower, filling the coupes with jewel toned cherries, raspberries, grapes and blueberries and using them as another element for guests to interact with.'
When it comes to flowers, these can play a huge part in your Christmas decor too, with 'bringing the outside in' proving to be a popular theme year after year.
'We live in an extremely beautiful place,' says Helen. 'Perhaps you've foraged some natural winter branches and foliage with real berries from the garden or have invested in some fresh cut flowers, or even dried flowers from a local farm shop.
'At breakfast and for the leftovers evening buffet I like to keep a large centrepiece display in the middle of the table. Over Christmas lunch, arrange your flowers or foliage in low vases down the centre of the table (if they fit in amongst all of the delicious food), it’s important not to block people’s view of each other.
'Don't forget the fireplace, we like to fill ours with tall candlesticks, tied with flowing red ribbons and plenty of foliage.'
'At HOST, we have a workshop session coming up in November that focuses on how to wrap the perfect Christmas gift, which will feature the use of fabric and ribbons - the perfect time to move away from paper,' says Helen.
Most important of all though, she says, is not to get caught up in all the stress of planning the event, and to remember who you're doing it all for.
'You're at home, not at a hotel. It's your family and loved ones.'
STOCKISTS:
82O Gin Distillery
Beach Huts n Boats
Forget Me Not Florist
Grey to Green
HOST
Secret Solent
Tilly D
Years in the Making
hosthampshire.co.uk
Shoot styled by Helen Ward at What Peggy Did Next. Everything featured is available to purchase at Shallowmead Arcade, located at Shallowmead Nurseries in Boldre Lane, Lymington.
