The term ‘full house' takes on an entirely new meaning during the holiday season. Between buying and wrapping, visiting and hosting, it's hard to keep our balance. The culmination of all the decorative effort is undeniably the holiday dinner extravaganza. This year, the words ‘low stress' should definitely be part of your entertaining vocabulary. Take your cues from our plan of action with chef and food stylist Ian Muggridge, and ensure a casually elegant country-style gathering is at hand. From make-ahead dishes to easy table settings to timeless sophisticated touches, we help you make the most of life's essential ingredients: family, food and fun.
merry in minutes
A little advanced planning goes a long way toward making the most of the time you have.
• First things first: lay out your tableware to determine what you've got, and what you need. Don't be afriad to mix old and new china for a fresh look, and likewise, update treasured holiday linens with new ribbon embellishments or monograms.
• Make it easy on yourself by blending holiday accessories into your existing decorating scheme. Take note of accent colours you want to emphasize, and build on them. Here, for instance, traditional reds and greens were an obvious choice to mix with the natural tones of wood and stone in this sophisticated house.
• Select a fairly secluded spot for a fend-for-yourself buffet table, and put out as many pieces beforehand as possible, keeping final prep to a minimum.
• Clean your classic silver and pewter serving pieces, as well as cutlery, two or three weeks in advance to let their patina glow prettily in candlelight.
• Make the vegetable dishes, poached salmon and serving sauces in advance, says Ian. The poached salmon can be served either hot or cold, at a sit-down dinner or on a casual buffet.
style in seconds
Easy touches get your table sparkling faster than you can say “pour me more eggnog.”
• New details don't always mean buying the latest trends. Place runners crosswise on the table, for example, instead of down the length, or attach personalized labels to store-bought Christmas crackers.
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