christmas at home
This is our first Christmas in this house, and we’re going to do our best to make it a good one. At the time of posting we’re having it here with our families. It’s the first time I have ever hosted Christmas and I wanted to make it really special. For me, it’s all about food, games and festivities. I suspect Ocado will think a 4 year old got hold of my order and made amends, but oh no - that refined sugar was all my decision. Here what else we’ve done to try and make our home as festive as possible.
Please note this post contains brand gifts (marked with an asterisk) and affiliate links.
rechargeable lamp, Pooky / candle, Jo Malone / tablecloth, H&M / napkins, Etsy / napkin rings, Cox and Cox / placemats, Primark / water tumblers, Dun Elm / crackers, Homesense / plates, West Elm* / cutlery, West Elm* / wine glasses, West Elm* / salt and pepper mills, West Elm* / small tree, Patch Plants*
Our kitchen is a really sociable space, it’s what drew us to the house to start with. I really love that people can cook, chat, eat and relax all in the same room. We haven’t decorated in here yet and plan to replace the kitchen at some point, but as thats all part of an extension into the garages next door we’re holding off for as long as possible.
Just before Christmas I’m going to put a big vase of festive flowers on the kitchen island, and give my Connock’s Ceramic Tile a spritz (seriously, as a stocking filler this really is brilliant - scents the whole ground floor for days and only £15).
I don’t often talk about cooking, but I absolutely love it. I’m planning on making a clementine meringue (found the recipe here), cinnamon buns (recipe here but the cheater’s way is to just buy pre made dough and roll it in cinnamon powder and brown sugar, tie in a bun shape and cook - voila!) and roast a load of nuts with honey and sesame seeds (I buy them in bulk from Aldi).
Our advent calendars this year are really good - my parents bought us a Lindt and a Dairy Milk one, and then we bought each other a Tony’s Chocolonely (him) and I got a Cowshed one which so far has been really good - even got the cuticle oil I was after and had sold out online! It’s a bit late, but if you have another countdown to look forward to (lets please say not a lockdown) then it’s half price now, here.
I found the little mouse decorations on Amazon here, would have much preferred to get them from a small store but they were £10 more expensive everywhere else! The Santa Claus was bought in Stockholm years ago, he was Lopez’s arch enemy when he was a puppy - whenever I came home somehow, no matter where he was place, Santa would be on the floor.
As we have faux trees (my husband is allergic to pine needles) I love Jo Malone’s Pine and Eucalyptus range throughout the house. It really tricks you into believing there is a real tree in the room. I’d much rather have real ones, but this is a brilliant alternative. If nothing else, try and room spray here although the candles really are beautiful. I also have the diffuser in the living room, but more on that later…
rechargeable lamp, Pooky / candle, Jo Malone / tablecloth, H&M / napkins, Etsy / napkin rings, Cox and Cox / placemats, Primark / water tumblers, Dun Elm / crackers, Homesense / plates, West Elm* / cutlery, West Elm* / wine glasses, West Elm* / salt and pepper mills, West Elm* / small tree, Patch Plants*
For the table, I bought a tablecloth from H&M ages ago. I like that it looks like mistletoe but could probably pass as a generic floral print for the rest of the year. H&M is really good for long tables, they do the 320cm length and they’re often in sale, here.
I bought the napkins from Etsy ages ago, I got them in green and in white. Much, much cheaper than anywhere else and a lovely seller who does tons of that kind of thing, check her out here. The napkin rings are from Cox and Cox here, and are currently half price in the sale.
You must be sick of me going on about the rechargeable lights, but they’re my best purchase of 2021 and so useful for tables. They’re from Pooky Lights and I can’t recommend them as a company enough - super fast delivery too. On the day itself I want to go out and pick some holly from our tree and slot it amongst lots of tea lights (see the holders in the living room later in this post that I bought from Home Barn).
rechargeable lamp, Pooky / candle, Jo Malone / tablecloth, H&M / napkins, Etsy / napkin rings, Cox and Cox / placemats, Primark / water tumblers, Dun Elm / crackers, Homesense / plates, West Elm* / cutlery, West Elm* / wine glasses, West Elm* / salt and pepper mills, West Elm* / small tree, Patch Plants*
I was thrilled when West Elm offered my new crockery and cutlery as I’d been on the look out for a while. We use our Falconware for everyday and I love it, but it’s somehow not special enough for Christmas and we wanted something thats better in the dishwasher (the practical person that I am).
West Elm’s stoneware range is beautiful, and what I like about them is they keep them for years and years meaning its easy to replace breakages. We got the large plates, small plates and bowls - they have a lovely feel to them. The wine glasses are stunning, I’ve asked for the matching tumblers for Christmas - I love the shape so much. They do red, white, champagne and water glasses - absolutely stunning, check them out here.
Cutlery wise I’ve wanted brass coloured cutlery for ages but most of the ones I’ve seen are too yellow or orange. The Sidney range is sort of a champagne colour, looks lovely and warm on the table but not too golden. It’s all in their sale here.
mug, Loaf Home / napkins, Etsy / fork, West Elm* / tray, Sunbury Market / plate, Sophie Conran / mince pies, Panzers
It’s not Christmas without something from Panzers - thats my North London heritage speaking. We went to the store a week ago and picked up supplies; mince pies, granola and ordered bagels for the week of Christmas itself (you can shop via their website). I find myself constantly opening cupboards to find treats - sod it, it’s Christmas!
The stair decoration sort of happened by accident, I had a left over garland from Homesense and tried it out - liked it but it needed more so I bought some simple faux eucalyptus and vines from Amazon here. Had no idea what was going to turn up but the quality isn’t bad for £9, really pleased! I bought two packs to do the whole staircase.
For the living room, I really wanted to go for it. I love this room and am pretty proud of the changes we’ve made. Before we painted it it was really cold (probably the windows) and dark and felt unloved; it’s now the hub of our home. I can’t wait to curl up with a Christmas movie, or play a board game on the Ottoman. For details on the decor, read this post.
Our tree is from Balsam Hill, I bought it during the summer when it was massively reduced from £799 to £200. It’s so easy to put together, comes in three parts that neatly pack into a bag and is pre lit. The decorations are a mix of Sass and Belle (they do lovely felt animals), Cox and Cox (the baubles) and The White Company. We have “Lopez” at the top of the tree, which was originally a broach from Anthropologie.
stockings, Tillyanna / garland, Homesense / diffuser, Jo Malone
I bought the stockings from Tillyanna a few months ago after seeing them on Pinterest, you can get them in several fabrics and with different coloured embroidery. I hooked them on to the fireplace with stick-on picture hooks I found on Amazon, they don’t damage the paintwork and peel off after use.
I bought a garland from Homesense and looped it around the top of the fireplace, and added my Snowman ornament (can’t remember where I got it but I’ve had it for years and a polar bear decorations from Anthropologie thats too heavy for the tree.
I also placed my Jo Malone diffuser here, again the Pine and Eucalyptus scent. I can smell it the minute I walk through the door and it totally tricks your brain into thinking it’s coming from the tree. I absolutely love it, I turn over the sticks in the diffuser every few days - not sure if you’re supposed to but it works for me!
One thing I love in our living room is our ottoman, it’s custom made from Love Your Home and we’re asked about it all the time. We found an old Swedish bakers tray at Sunbury Market to go on it and I love having a big vase of flowers on it. We’re lucky in that the room is positioned in a way that it doesn’t block the view of the TV.
This bunch are from Freddie’s Flowers, a subscription. I used to pay for it in my old house, so when they got in touch and asked if I’d like to be gifted one recently I jumped at the chance. The bouquets are always beautiful and last about 2 weeks. This bunch are from their Christmas selection. You can get 50% off with my code 50ANNA if you’re interested.
Last but by no means least, the candle. Fancy candles are my jam, I love them. We had Jo Malone ones for our wedding (Wood Sage and Sea Salt) and there’s just something very special about them. This Pine and Eucalyptus one keeps being moved around the house, but for the purpose of this blog post lives on the living room ottoman.
There are plenty of cheaper versions, but none fill the room and burn as well as Jo Malone’s in my opinion. Find this one here, but it’s a special edition so you may need to go into a store as last time I checked it was sold out online.
So thats all, folks! This interiors stuff is all very new for me, so thank you for reading. If you like my interiors posts please do follow my interior’s Instagram account here.
