Canapes, crackers, Christmas playlists, flowing drinks, and a ripe brie cosying up to a firm gruyere on a cheeseboard surrounded by grapes and fresh figs: there is no better time of year to host guests, feast and be merry.
Even better, you can do almost everything in advance of the big day: decorate, prepare canapes, get your dinner oven-ready and even pre-batch your cocktails. We’ve spoken to chefs, wine experts and professional hosts – among others – to pull together a curated guide to every element of your Christmas dinner, from ethical turkey to table decorations that won’t spend the rest of the year at the back of a drawer.
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How to host Christmas dinner
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Tableware
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Vintage linens
“The table comes first,” chef Fergus Henderson once declared, and it’s certainly true when it comes to hosting. No matter the number or scale of jobs still to do, a smartly dressed table, like a smart outfit, will make you feel in control. Try to resist the pull of paper plates and napkins: they’re non-recyclable, look naff and are a false economy if you host regularly.
Investing in nice table linen doesn’t need to break the bank. Skye McAlpine, chef and author of The Christmas Companion, has a huge collection of napkins and tablecloths from years of scouring antiques markets and charity shops. “If you can’t get to a market or good charity shop, there are loads of amazing vintage linens on Etsy and eBay,” she says.
Food writer Anna Jones, whose eponymous newsletter is a treasure trove of tasteful things, also loves a tablecloth. Her favourites come from Block Shop Textiles and SZ Blockprints, but she suggests buying a couple of metres of cotton or linen from a cheap haberdashery – “there are loads of odds and ends in the bargain bin” – and just throwing it over the table as a more budget option. “You don’t even need hemmed edges. It works really well.”
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Fabric napkins
Fabric napkins always make it feel like a special occasion. If you want to jazz up your existing napkins, reuse ribbons from gifts or head to VV Rouleaux. “You can zhoosh any napkin by tying it with a nice ribbon,” says McAlpine.
If you’re buying new, opt for warm, earthy hues, advises writer, editor and serial dinner party host Alexandra Dudley. “[You want] things that can be elevated with the addition of a sprig of holly or leafy clementine but aren’t so [Christmassy] that they’re banished to the back of the cupboard for 11 months of the year.” Dudley believes the White Company sells “the best napkins in the world. They can handle a good wash, and there’s no need to iron them.” If you prefer a pattern, try Midnatt, a chic Swedish brand offering textiles in sustainably produced organic cotton. The ones below with red ribbons are subtle, but chic.
Rustic linen napkins
£45 at the White CompanyBow napkins
£40 at Maison Flâneur***
Mismatched tableware
If you need more serveware, consider supporting independent makers. “We usually have 12 to 14 people at Christmas – way more than I have most days,” says Jones. “I love adding to my collection. Favourites for me are Pip Hartle, Jono Smart and Emily Stephen and Rebecca Proctor. I don’t think people should worry about having [tableware] matching.” Try also Minnie-Mae and Rosie Gore for serveware, both available at Glassette, run by the queen of stylish entertaining, Laura Jackson.
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Edible table decorations
“I love decorating the table with things people will enjoy eating afterwards,” says McAlpine. “Fruits, sweets, glasses of candy canes, chocolate coins scattered over the table – Divine’s milk chocolate coins are delicious and Fairtrade.” Jones also sticks to edible decor such as “clementines, lemons [and] green mandarins. I also make posies from garden herbs, and put a sprig or two on top of people’s napkins.”
Divine milk chocolate coins
£3.20 at Divine £3.20 at Oxfam***
Fresh (British) flowers
Flowers enhance any Christmas table. “Think British-grown and seasonal. At this time of year, lean into the beautiful autumnal foliage we have in the UK – as well as winter flowering clematis and hellebores,” says Alex Head, founder of the Social Pantry, an independent catering company with an emphasis on sustainability and social impact. Garden centres are your friend, but so too are your local parks; just make sure you forage for your holly, fern and mistletoe (if you can reach it!) responsibly.
Certified B Corp Freddie’s Flowers offers responsibly sourced, seasonal posies through the post. One big bunch will fill many small vases, the likes of which fill many charity shops; though if you’re after new vases, the White Company makes the pomegranate-bud beauties below.
Chantelle Nicholson, chef-owner of the Michelin green-starred restaurant Apricity, opts for “plants or dried arrangements as they can be reused”. Harebell & Bee in Gloucestershire grow, harvest and dry all their flowers, and are members of Flowers from the Farm, a UK trade association that promotes a financially and environmentally sustainable local cut flower industry.
Bouquet of flowers
From £27.50 at Freddie’s FlowersPomegranate bud vases
£15 at the White Company***
Candles
“There’s something special about lighting candles at Christmas,” says Dudley. “Pott Candles are beautiful, and fully circular,” with easy-to-use candle refills that will see you well beyond the festive season. Less romantic, perhaps, but very reusable, are LED candles, favoured by the Social Pantry. “They’re really effective,” says Head. Candled is based in the UK and creates the most realistic LED “flames” I’ve seen.
If a strong sense of tradition rules those out, try organic beeswax candles, such as these from Skar: created in collaboration with apiaries dedicated to the careful management of their hives and surrounding environment; or these patterned beauties from Pygmalion, handmade from plant-based wax and natural dyes.
Candles are a great way of adding colour, too. McAlpine recommends buying them individually to create an eclectic mix. If you’re opting for patterned tapered candles, go for a classic holder, in brass or in stoneware, advises Dudley. If you’re more of a pillar person, these brioche tin-style candleholders from Rebecca Udall are perfect, she says: “They double up as a crisp bowl, too.”
Refillable candle starter pack
£69 at Pott Candles***
Crackers
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The days of blithely buying whatever crackers are on offer and chucking the plastic gifts in the bin post-Christmas are – hopefully – waning. Recyclable, refillable and plastic-free Christmas crackers have never been more widespread; in fact, any cracker you buy from John Lewis or Waitrose is recyclable, and the gifts inside have been plastic-free since 2020.
There are hosts of make-your-own or fill-your-own cracker kits available online, as well as other sustainable options. Crackers from the Little Green Cracker Company are plastic-free and tied with sustainable ribbons, and include usable gifts such as seeds, organic teabags or scented soap sourced from reputable, eco-conscious brands. The RSPB makes its crackers with sustainably sourced certified paper, with little wildlife pin badges as gifts, and the proceeds support conservation works. And crackers from Keep This Cracker don’t rip when you pull them, so you can reuse them every year; you just need to replace the contents and the “snaps”.
If you’re not bothered by a lack of bang, the velvet Christmas crackers below from Holly & Co are designed to be untied and reused year after year.
Cracker-making craft kits
From £2.24 at the Cracker CompanyLuxury velvet reusable crackers
£23.95 at Holly & Co***
Canapes
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For years, my one concession to the gods of ready-made food was canapes. Why faff around with filo pastry when a fiver can get you breaded prawns and mouth-burning brie and cranberry parcels? Then during Covid we made canapes to kill time, and now we mostly make our own (though we’ve still got a soft spot for Waitrose No 1 king prawn toasts).
Sophie Wyburd, author of the cookbook Tucking In and the Substack Feeder, likewise goes for a blend of homemade canapes with some Sainsbury’s nibbles thrown in. “My family has always bought the breaded cheese selection to cater to the veggies,” she says. For Nicholson, the best option is Cook “for ease and deliciousness, as well as an ethical brand that focuses on whole foods”. Its tomato and pine nut tarte tatins are one of her favourites.
Waitrose No 1 king prawn toasts
£8 at WaitroseSainsbury’s breaded cheese selection
£5.50 at Sainsbury’s***
Toasts and tapenade
Michelin-starred chefs and home cooks alike agree on one thing: keep canapes simple so you can prioritise time with people. “Some of my favourites involve small toasts (from old sourdough) and then creating delicious things to go on top,” says Nicholson, such as smoked trout – ChalkStream is the most delicious brand going (and sustainable) – or mushroom paté. Dips are an easy but impressive win. “Whip up Galbani ricotta with a little lemon juice and olive oil until smooth, then top with a salsa made with roughly chopped nocellara olives, chopped parsley, lots of lemon zest, chopped pistachios and olive oil,” says Wyburd.
Stephen Harris, chef at the Michelin-starred Sportsman in Whitstable, Kent, makes tapenade in a hand blender. “Good black olives, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, maybe some anchovies, and you have a lovely spreadable texture – much better than being authentic and chopping it all,” he says. Wyburd likes her olives – Perelló gordal olives – threaded on to a skewer with Odysea semi-dried datterini tomatoes, an anchovy and a pickled guindilla chilli, also from Perelló. This novel take on the trendy gilda is “perfect for kicking things off”, she says.
Perelló olives
£3.50 at Sainsbury’s £5.10 at Ocado***
Blinis
Personally, I’m with TopJaw host Jesse Burgess: you can’t beat a homemade blini, topped with ChalkStream trout (or trout’s roe), creme fraiche and dill. Usually, I mix dill into the batter (my mum buys Waitrose frozen dill for this purpose), but it can be a garnish. “Try using WildFarmed flour – it’ll add so much more flavour and interest than bog-standard flours,” Head advises, and it means the grain comes from regenerative sources.
WildFarmed plain white flour
£2 at Tesco***
Cocktails
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Homemade pre-batched cocktails are easy and can often taste better than freshly made. “They can help you measure powerful ingredients with ease, and they can also mellow out and balance flavours in a different way,” says Ryan Chetiyawardana, AKA Mr Lyan, the genius behind a family of multi-award-winning drinks and cocktail bars. “You can also accent with your favourite or seasonal flavour, which is a great way to use up fruit and herb trims. Use a microwave for a quick and easy infusion into the spirits.” Mr Lyan’s nuked negroni uses rosemary, blackberries and pink grapefruit to accent a negroni base; my brother infuses our Christmas negronis with black pepper and rosemary.
For a crowd-pleasing Christmas twist on a classic cocktail, mix up a batch of spiced Christmas margs, says Max Venning, co-founder of the award-winning London cocktail bar Three Sheets. “This year everyone’s been going crazy for tequila, and margaritas are the ultimate party drink for getting things off to a good start.” To make it, mix 300ml tequila (Three Sheets choose Volcan), 150ml fresh lime juice, 100ml of Belvoir ginger cordial and 25g agave syrup with 2ml of Cholula hot sauce. On the day of the party, strain through a fine sieve, then serve by pouring a good glug of the mix over ice and topping with a small splash (50ml or so) of soda water. “Garnish with an orange slice and enjoy.”
Use pitchers or punch bowls to mix, rather than shakers – “shaking drinks is hard to do at a volume”, Lyan explains. Wayfair sells a variety of well-priced vessels for mixing. Also, don’t forget the ice. Freeze larger cubes at home or, for big batches, “fill a one- or two-litre ice-cream tub with water and freeze overnight (you can decorate it with fruits, herbs and edible flowers too) to chill larger-format drinks”. Run warm water over the back of the tub to remove it and add to your large drinks container.
Bovell three-litre pitcher
£19.99 at WayfairOxo Good Grips silicone large ice cube tray
£12.76 at Harts of Stur £16.30 at Amazon***
Wine
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Wine writer and broadcaster Olly Smith, author of Wine: Everything You Need to Know, knows his way around the frankly overwhelming range of wine that appears at this time of year. There’s no need to blow your budget on a fancy bottle (unless that’s your priority of course), he says: “Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Loire sparkling No 49 (12%) is a rich golden bubbly with fulsome depth that’s a smasher to pair with festive nibbles,” he says; for a crowd-pleasing white “that’s scented as orange blossom yet delightfully crisp and zippy, bag a bottle of Waitrose Loved & Found viorica 2024 (12%) from Moldova. And Exceptional By Asda Central Otago pinot noir 2023 (13%) is £8.97 and an outrageously good pinot from a top-notch New Zealand winery.”
If, like me, you run out of sparkling wine at a party faster than your poor fridge can manage, use the Vacu Vin wine cooler sleeve (below). “It lives in my freezer, and chills wine down fast,” Smith says. As for decanting? Don’t. “Just decant your wine into a jug and then immediately use a funnel to decant it back into the bottle – and you should try this on whites and roses as well as reds,” he continues. “It’s a trick that’s used in the wine trade all the time and opens up the aromas and flavours in your wine for free.”
Taste the Difference Crémant de Loire white wine
£12.50 at Sainsbury’sVacu Vin rapid wine and champagne cooler sleeve
£17.98 at Nisbets***
Glasses
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Anna Jones favours low glasses, like Yod & Co’s Eddie Glasses, so people can make eye contact. For excellent value, elegant wine glasses, Smith opts for Stölzle Lausitz. “The 12-piece Quatrophil Lindenberg set gives you six white and six red glasses of impeccable calibre, decent durability and which are safe to put through the dishwasher,” he says.
As for cocktails? “The smaller and thinner, the better,” says Mr Lyan. This is true whether you’re serving a negroni (best in a heavy tumbler), a margarita (served in a sombrero glass or a coupe if it’s straight up, a tumbler if it’s on the rocks) or a martini in – of course – a martini glass. Glassette stocks a good line of cocktail glasses: these from LSA are Mr Lyan-approved, as are those produced under the Nude brand – these vintage margarita glasses are a kitsch take on the cool kids’ drink – or make a statement with a bold martini glass from the Gravity range.
Eddie glasses
£24 at Yod & CoQuatrophil Lindenberg 12-piece glass set
£79.95 at Amazon***
Christmas dinner
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Turkey
“A lot of people don’t like turkey, and there is a good reason for that: there are lots of poor-quality turkeys out there, and lots of people not cooking it well,” says Nick Jefferson, founder of online farmer’s market Wylde. “You want a slow-grown heritage turkey, which has more muscle and fat, and lives for twice as long as your industrial equivalent.” A dry brine – AKA rubbing salt into the surface of the bird before covering it and refrigerating it for a day or two – really makes a difference to the flavour, he advises.
Look for heritage or traditional breeds that have been reared in free range farming systems, and dry plucked after dispatch. This means the bird hasn’t been plunged in hot water before plucking, as is common in industrial production. It’s more time-consuming for the producer, but the dry plucking results in a much better texture and taste, because there is no risk of trapped additional moisture.
Bronze, Norfolk black and bourbon red are among the most widely available, and if they’ve been well reared, they’re likely to have been dry plucked. Try Daylesford’s bronze turkeys, which are “free to roam and feed off fruit, clover and worms”, or Ginger Pig. Apricity’s Nicholson, who favours slow-cooked turkey legs over a crown, heads to the Ethical Butcher to source them. A bronze from Paul Kelly at KellyBronze – both easily available online – has been the go-to in our house for years.
Whole organic bronze turkey
From £150 at DaylesfordBroad-breasted bronze turkey
From £128.25 at the Ginger Pig***
Cooking and carving
If you’re spending a fair whack on a fine bird, you want to make extra sure you’re cooking it properly. First, you need a good roasting tray, one that can accommodate the bird both breast down (as it should be for half the cooking time) and the right way up. Ed Smith, whose cookbook on chickens, Peckish, comes out next year, recommends Borough Kitchen. Avoid anything “so thin or cheap that heat is lost (so, not a foil tray)”.
The second is a meat thermometer – many swear by Meater. The final internal temperature should be between 73C and 75C in the thickest part of the leg, and remember to let the turkey rest for 30 minutes before carving, as the temperature will rise during this time.
Poor carving can make even the best bird look bad. “You need a nice long blade, with a bit of rigidity to it – try Katto,” says Ed Smith. Tim Wilson, founder of the Ginger Pig, always ensures he has a good, sharp knife to hand: “I use an inexpensive 10in Victorinox butchers’ steak knife for almost everything. But it’s the sharpness of the knife that matters most. “Invest five minutes in sharpening your knife well. Robert Welch’s knife sharpener is cracking,” says Jefferson.
Finally, good pans are worth their weight in cast iron, keeping your sides warm while you carve the meat. Wilson recommends Staub. “They’re expensive, but they’ll last several lifetimes, and well-made cast iron will keep whatever is inside nicely hot for some time.”
10in Victorinox butchers’ steak knife
£30 at M&S Butcher EquipmentRobert Welch handheld knife sharpener
£28 at John Lewis £28 at Amazon***
Meat-free centrepieces
If you’re cooking Christmas lunch for vegetarians or vegans, pastry is your friend, says Anna Jones. “I want the main event to be a bit of a showstopper but not take too much time. So I’m going to sprinkle puff pastry with spice, then layer finely sliced vegetables, onions, citrus on top.” The result is a quick and easy tart that looks beautiful and tastes delicious, she says. “I use delica squash and citrus from Natoora, ricotta from Westcombe, and herbs from my garden.” The cheese doesn’t have to be fancy – cheddar would work as well – and you can make these ahead of time (the full recipe is on her Substack). “Serve at room temperature or warm slightly in the oven.”
Pies are a great shout, says Nicholson. “If you’ve got a guest list that includes veggies and meat eaters, then a mushroom pithivier (assembled in advance) is both delicious and a bit of a centrepiece.” Ottolenghi has a mushroom pithivier recipe that makes the most of pre-rolled pastry and takes mere minutes to assemble.
Fish is another option, whether for pescatarian guests or seafood lovers. Mitch Tonks, founder of Rockfish and chef-owner of several seafood restaurants around Devon and Cornwall, is a big fan of turbot over turkey. “It’s incredibly easy to cook, with a rich, meaty texture,” he says. “Roast onions, fennel and leeks, pour in your choice of riesling and place the turbot on top of the roasting vegetables. Finish with tarragon leaves and lemon juice and serve.” You can ask your local fishmonger to source turbot, or try Pesky, an online fish market dedicated to regenerative fishing.
Harris of the Sportsman recommends a large monkfish tail, roasted whole. The most important thing, once you’ve found a good fishmonger, is telling them in advance what you want and how you’d like it prepped, he says, “so they can get it all ready to just put in a large tray in the oven”.
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Gravy
Taz Sarhane, head chef of the Michelin-starred Cycene, advises asking your butcher for bone marrow and buying stock there too. “The bone marrow helps the fat emulsify beautifully into the gravy. Finish with a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, and a touch of lemon for brightness,” he says. If you can’t get to a butcher’s, quality bone broth exists in most supermarkets. Mushrooms are also worth adding. “They’re packed with umami and add a really lovely earthiness,” says Ben Boeynaems, executive head chef at the Beaumont Mayfair hotel in London.
For vegans and vegetarians, bone marrow is obviously a no-go, but that doesn’t mean forgoing delicious gravy. Anna Jones makes hers with red wine, mushrooms, root vegetables and woody herbs; Felicity Cloake opts for white wine with vegetables and mushrooms, as well as a splash of port and a few teaspoons of her beloved Marmite. The joy of vegetarian gravy is that it can be made in advance and will store for up to three months in the freezer.
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Potatoes
Chefs are divided on which fat is best. “I love the flavour of beef fat, and it gives you a super crispy and fluffy roastie,” says James Wilson, head chef at the House of George in the Cotswolds. “You can pick it up from any local butcher, and at a much better price compared with duck or goose fat from a supermarket.” For Poppy O’Toole, whose latest cookbook focuses on her beloved tuber, Christmas is an excuse to splash out a little. “Normally, I’m all for a neutral oil, but when else do you get the excuse to bring out the fancy stuff? Goose fat gives roasties that naturally rich, savoury flavour that feels instantly festive,” she says.
Jones uses olive oil, because it’s suitable for vegans as well as vegetarians; ghee gets a good crisp, but tastes rather buttery (and isn’t suitable for vegans). Jonny Lake, head chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Trivet, agrees that the best fat to roast potatoes is olive oil. “I find duck and goose fat to be just too much,” he says.
As for potato varieties? It’s maris piper all the way. “They’re starchy, easy to find and crisp up beautifully,” says O’Toole. “Cut them into big, equal sizes, and make sure you salt your boiling water properly – it should taste like the sea!” Jones recommends a boiling time of 12 minutes. “In order to get those craggy bits that crunch up, you need to boil them long enough so that you fluff up the outside before roasting them,” she says. To achieve an even craggier texture, drain the potatoes, shake them up a bit, and let them steam dry in a colander. “It gives you that dry, rough surface that turns gloriously golden and crunchy in hot fat, while keeping the inside light and fluffy,” says O’Toole.
More important than the type of fat you use is that you heat it in the tray before adding the potatoes. You can achieve peak potato – “crisp on the outside, fluffy within” – with any fat, says Ed Smith, so long as you avoid using a high-sided tin or adding too much salt, both of which encourage steam, and thus sogginess. “Spread the potatoes out so there’s gaps between all of them, using two trays if necessary.”
Finally, if using olive oil, Jones advises adding citrus zest as well as garlic cloves to the tray before roasting to add “a hint of freshness, which is nice in a rich meal”. Boeynaems infuses thyme, garlic and rosemary into the rendered fat, “to get your flavour into the potatoes”. But if time is tight, follow O’Toole’s approach: “Grind together fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, sea salt and garlic, and add to the potato pan. It’s festive, fragrant and such an easy way to elevate your Christmas dinner.”
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Dessert
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At this stage, there’s nothing wrong with chocolates – even just the chocolate coins and sweets you’ve scattered on the table. But if you love puddings, Christmas is the perfect reason to rustle up a recipe that might otherwise feel a little excessive. Both my mum and grandma gravitate towards a Mary Berry meringue roulade filled with a homemade cranberry sauce instead of summer strawberries. It’s light but impressive, with the white whipped cream mingling with the scarlet sauce.
If the idea of baking and rolling a meringue is too daunting, chef Helen Goh – author of Baking and the Meaning of Life – suggests a chestnut ice-cream roll, her take on the perennially kitsch arctic roll. “It’s not super easy, because you still make the sponge, but the filling is chestnut paste and ice-cream, both of which you can buy,” she says. “Make sure you ‘train’ the cake first,” she says, “which means when it’s warm, you roll it up. It could crack it if you let it cool down before trying to do that.”
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Cheeseboard
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The cheese
There’s only one thing that makes me feel more festive than watching The Grinch, and that’s assembling a festive cheeseboard. My top tip is to tell your cheesemonger your general preferences, ask them what’s tasting great at the moment, and go from there. Artisan cheese can vary from batch to batch, so it’s worth trying before you buy, and most good cheesemongers will insist you do so.
“One thing I love to do is get a largish slab of ripe, melting gorgonzola dolce and put it into a bowl surrounded by crisp charcoal cheese biscuits for guests to dip into. That is usually when everyone arrives, and it’s served as an appetiser with a glass of champagne,” says Patricia Michelson, founder and owner of La Fromagerie, in London. “I don’t like to add any honey or other toppings as gorgonzola is so delicious it stands on its own.”
Angus D Birditt, author of A Portrait of British Cheese, also likes to support lesser-known artisan cheeses. Doddington is “a lovely alternative to cheddar, with strong caramel notes”. Fat Cow, from Scotland, is “somewhere near emmental”, while Balcombe Blue Clouds (below) is “bright and creamy – an interesting alternative to stilton”.
Though I’ve never knowingly worried about leftover cheese, I appreciate others might. Fear not, says Head of the Social Pantry: “There are so many great things you can do with any leftovers. We do a Sparkenhoe red leicester and cauliflower cheese croquette.” Dudley transforms brie and leftover cranberry sauce into filo tartlets. Nicholson favours gougères, which can be made with pretty much any leftover hard or blue cheese, and frozen for your next party. And if you’re still stuck as to what to do with the cheeseboard remnants, the Guardian has 46 different suggestions covering almost every cheese style.
Gorgonzola dolce
£7.95 at Pong CheeseMiller’s Damsels charcoal wafers
£3.05 at the Fine Cheese CoBlue Clouds cheese
£6.90 at the Cheese Hut***
The board and knives
Birditt favours Triangle for a range that’s “affordable, lightweight and durable”, and Fortnum & Mason’s set(below) “to cut most styles of cheeses” if you want to treat yourself. For boards and platters, head to the Fine Cheese Company. “They’re outstandingly good, and have bags of character,” he says, particularly the blue-and-white ceramic platter below.
All this said, most good knives will do. I’m a huge fan of Allday Goods knives: the handles are made from recycled plastic waste; I would happily use one of the colourful Petty knives for cheese. Birditt loves Pallarès Solsona for all-rounder knives that “make cutting all that more special”.
Cheese knife set
£65 at Fortnum & MasonCeramic platter for cheese
£34.10 at the Fine Cheese Co***
Clare Finney writes about food and drink, dreams about cheese and loves Christmas so much that she makes Buddy the Elf look like Scrooge. Her award-winning book, Hungry Heart, tells the story of food and love and has many pages dedicated to the love inspired by Christmas dinner traditions. When not concocting canapes or searching for cheese-themed tree baubles, she writes features focused on sustainability, culinary trends, the emotive importance of eating and drinking, and women in the food industry
