DESIGNER MUSINGS: HOLIDAY HOSTING

Spending the holidays at home? Whether you’re honouring or breaking tradition this year, there are plenty of ways to keep the festive spirit alive and thriving. Seasoned hosts and the names behind Lane Crawford’s own home and lifestyle brands share with us what they’ll be bringing to the table this Christmas.

“We had 14 for dinner last year, so it’s a busy time. We sing Welsh hymns and play board games—my son Cian and I are a Pictionary dream team. Last year we had a piñata filled with sweets to kick things off. My husband is the chef and the menu will be debated for months ahead of the big day. I set the table with my Lustre tableware collection. Its white base has a reinterpretation of my Dhow pattern applied by hand in black and 24-carat gold, so our colour theme is white, black and gold, with red and green thrown in for Christmas. A brass candelabra provides the centrepiece which is surrounded by leaves and berries collected from our local park. Massimo will pre-prepare key dishes and make more throughout the afternoon, with friends lending a hand. Our leisurely Christmas lunches often blur into dinner. The playlist includes Welsh hymns, 1980s classics and songs that make our guests feel at home. We even have a Finland-inspired playlist for our Finnish friends!”

– Bethan Gray, Bethan Gray

“There's nothing like serving fine champagne or mimosas (fresh squeezed orange juice is a must!) from a beautiful tray to set the mood for celebration. When hosting for the holidays, I like to serve champagne in the elegant flutes I received as a wedding present 36 years ago. This simple gesture creates instant ambience, marking the start of a festive journey with guests. Drinks go down even more smoothly with the right playlist—jazz is best, I find. Next stop: a beautiful table, set for a buffet. I skip the tablecloth. Instead, I like to arrange two of our deep blue Market Fringe table runners parallel to the length of my rectangular white table. Amidst the platters and bowls I'll arrange branches and mix in colourful sprigs, with everything placed directly on the table rather than in vases. Perhaps the most important ingredient for a successful holiday celebration is preparation. My younger son, who is a great cook, will be helping me in the kitchen this year, starting two days before our guests arrive. The platters, bowls and plates will have been chosen, cleaned and assembled. No last minute decisions because I want to be with my guests drinking champagne!”

– Sandy Chilewich, Chilewich

“Christmas is all about friends and family, bringing all the love together, sharing and celebrating. It’s also the height of summer here in Australia so we have lots of fresh salads and seafood, but we always have to have a turkey otherwise it’s not Christmas! We usually have a ham, too, which is specially glazed by Stephen (Dinosaur Designs co-founder) and my dad with cloves and honey. Steve has a great collection of Spotify “sormandy” playlists that even make us feel like dancing at the end of a long lunch.”

– Louise Olsen, Dinosaur Designs

“Together with my wife, we love organising aperitifs on Sunday afternoons. We serve eggnog or a mulled wine, the aroma and flavour of which is perfect for this period, as well as champagne. We also like to host dinners with unusual and rare foods alongside the more traditional ones. We love to cook everything ourselves and usually prepare ravioli, bread made with different flours and enriched with walnuts or with different spices, and also the traditional Italian panettone, which is accompanied by homemade cream. Everything must be special and out of the ordinary. Preparation is one of the most beautiful parts of hosting, with a lot of attention paid to the small details.”

– Giorgio Bagnara, GioBagnara

Shop Lane Crawford’s edit of home interior and entertaining essentials below to celebrate in style.