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Ideal Home
Ideal Home
Heather Young

New & Now

Blue striped background with red writing.

I can't quite get my head round the fact that it's less than a fortnight until Christmas and I'm feeling woefully behind with my to-do list and am starting to get that sense of overwhelm I've been trying to avoid.

I haven't managed to finish all my gift shopping yet, but there's a pile of stuff that I can definitely start wrapping, so that's on the agenda this weekend – this clever tape dispenser from Amazon is a recent purchase I've been loving that promises to speed things up. I also need to blitz the house and get it party-ready as I'm hosting the Ideal Home team's festive do at mine next week. That 'hostess with the mostest' crown is destined to be mine!

I hope your to-do list is looking better than mine right now – but if not, here are some of the problem-solvers and hosting must-haves that'll make your life easier and help you catch up.

05/12/25 Embracing the tacky Christmas trend

I'm going for it with a gold Christmas tree in my kitchen, adorned with a selection of food-related baubles and kitsch decorations. I'll be throwing on handfuls of tinsel lametta (I'm thinking pink from Amazon) and topping the tree with a striped bow I've been stalking on John Lewis.

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