Dressing the table for Christmas dinner doesn't need to be expensive

Setting the perfect festive table has always been a highlight of my Christmas Day. There are many effective ways to decorate the Christmas table that needn’t break any banks. I seem to have gathered a collection of festive linens, serving plates and bowls which I look forward to bringing out each year as every piece evokes nostalgic memories. For me, the table sets the scene for Christmas and I take immense pleasure in perfectly presenting every element.
An adult Christmas could command the finest china, the most elegant of stemware, fine decanters of margaux and heady scented Christmas candles. Marks and Spencer’s Cinnamon, Clove and Clementine candle and The White Company’s Winter are presented in practical tumbler glasses which can be positioned on the table or a nearby dresser to create a festive aroma. Light these a few hours before you intend to serve lunch so the room can be filled with the scent of Christmas.
I particularly like the contemporary effect of all white linen (which can be used year round), white china, Philip Starck ghost chairs, oversized stemware with a stunning centrepiece of a crystal candelabra. Cargo has a number of colours available this season, reasonably priced at £32. A single piece works well in the centre of a round or square table, or position three along the length of a rectangular table. Accent to dramatic effect by setting an oversized different coloured fluorescent glass bauble on each plate.

Safety first
Ever mindful of having over-excited little ones at the table, this year I shall be using decorations that are safe, effective, festive and fun.

Rule Britannia
Throughout the year there has been a huge trend towards Cool Britannia – red, white and blue glitter, where Vivienne Westwood meets Elton John for real rock glam. For a truly Cool Britannia Christmas lunch, invest in some Union Jack melamine beakers from Emma Bridgewater, perfect for every age they look fun and festive set on a clean white tablecloth but can then be used all year round.
Weave a long strand of red tinsel down the centre of the table and stud with Union Jack baubles (Selfridge’s £8.95 each) and large red diamond shaped table decorations (M&S £9.50 box of 12). For an added touch of rock glam kitsch add five-inch high red or silver glitter reindeer (Selfridge’s £10.95).
Keep the rest of the table simple and uncluttered with plain white china, white napkins and red coloured wine glasses – Marks and Spencer and Cargo have a good selection.
Cutlery should be clean, classical and unfussy – Muji have a fabulous range of brushed or polished stainless steel, with the essentials laid neatly for each guest.
For the finishing touch make your own mini Cool Britannia Christmas cakes and place one in the centre of every plate – [quint pics] with hand decorated candy stripes in red, white and blue finished with a glitter hand moulded sugar rose.

Recycling begins at home
We have seen a renaissance of home crafts and an abundance of recycling; try to think of some great money saving ideas to involve the children. This year we are making our own placemats. Starting with a sheet of A4 coloured card we are using old Christmas cards, wrapping paper and material to create a collage. The children will personalise every placemat before I laminate them ready for the big day. This is a truly memorable and individual way to set the Christmas table that the guests can keep and reuse Christmas after Christmas.
You might like to consider making your own runner and napkins. John Lewis has a great selection of Christmas fabrics, so too do quilting experts Cottonpatch. You can order material by the metre or a fat quarter (quilting term and just about the size of a napkin), which can be simply hemmed with a sewing machine.
For the centrepiece of the table present a home decorated Christmas cake on a footed cake stand. Bake your own towards the end of November and cover with marzipan and icing the week before Christmas. Alternatively Sainsbury’s now stock Little Venice Cake Company simple iced celebration cakes for you to decorate yourself. Available as five inch (£9.99) and eight inch (£14.99) these tiers can be stacked centrally to create a two-tier cake. Change the white ribbons for festive red ones, and stack stars stamped out from green sugar paste icing to form a Christmas tree for the top. Use ready filled icing tubes to pipe red, white and green pearls on the cake to create an effective masterpiece.
Dress around the base of the cake with gold and silver foil covered chocolate coins or hand baked Christmas spiced cookies cut into snowflakes and covered with white icing and edible glitter.

Burning light
Advent candles for me were a great way to count down the weeks running up to Christmas when I was a child. I have adopted this idea for my own children and this can form a strong alternative focal point of the Christmas table. Position four white sturdy church pillar candles or Kenneth Turner scented ones on a silver heavy-duty plate. Lay small branches of fresh pine between and around the candles together with sprigs of fresh cut holly and berries. Finish with star anise, fresh cranberries, cinnamon sticks and kumquats studded with cloves as these aromas are so indicative of the traditional Christmas.
You can continue this theme with nature by filling two hurricane glass lamps with pinecones entwined with battery operated pea lights. These can be safely positioned on the table and offer a subtle glow as Christmas evening draws in.

Crackers or no crackers?
There is always a debate in our house – crackers or no crackers. While they can look effective on the table I find they take up valuable space and create a huge amount of litter after all the bangs, pops and whistles have expired. Unless you can afford the ultimate in luxury crackers from Asprey, consider instead little boxes of trivia or jokes. These can be wrapped in festive paper and beautifully ribboned and accompanied by an individual wooden nutcracker for every guest. I visit the Christmas market in Munich every year where they have an amazing collection.

Count your blessings
This year, like so many other families I will be spending Christmas entertaining my young family and my in-laws and I am actually really looking forward to it. After a turbulent year of cost cutting and tightening our belts I intend my Christmas lunch to require the opposite – a loosening of the belt to indulge in a hearty and well deserved Christmas lunch. As Bing Crosby suggests in White Christmas – my favourite Christmas movie of all time – “count your blessings!” And I for one intend to do just that!