Party hosting tips to delight your guests (and preserve your sanity)

People who claim hosting is easy have either never done it properly or are lying. Having hosted professionally for 30 years, even with all my insider knowledge, I find it hard work at times.

One Christmas, some time ago now, I was doing a festive event at a certain famous London residence (with double digits on a black door) when I heard someone say, “Where’s the mulled wine?” The mulled wine was nowhere to be found, because I’d forgotten it. There followed a dash to a bottle shop in Westminster, then a rifle through the mantlepiece decs to retrieve a dried pomander and some cinnamon sticks – all swiftly crushed in a pair of tights – and voila! Mulled wine drama resolved.

I hasten to add the tights were clean, as a heavy denier size 10 is always part of our emergency kit. The sight of me dunking a pair of tights over a steaming pan did raise a critical eyebrow from the in-house butler, but the result was glorious! Hosting isn’t easy but it’s doable.

Festive family get-togethers are heaped with great expectation and the nostalgia for past times. We have a desire to make them the ‘best yet’ but there’s no need to put this pressure on ourselves. While you might want to impress, your guests are coming to spend time with you, not just admire your cooking. Nobody likes being left making small talk while you build a gilded croquembouche in the kitchen. With a little planning – and perhaps a tickable list to, ahem, avoid forgetting something important – I can promise a less fevered brow and more mellow moments, even at Christmas.

Party nibbles & starters

When it comes to entertaining, my mantra is ‘maximum impact, minimum effort’. There’s no shame in zhuzhing up ready-made items:

• Decant smoked fish rillettes or pâté into jars and serve with pickled beets, cornichons and a horseradish relish.
• Arrange red and green chicory leaves on a platter with crumbled blue cheese, walnuts pieces and pomegranate seeds scattered over.
• Serve a hunk of parmesan with truffle honey alongside Crosta & Mollica Bolli crackers and a small bowl of Fortnum & Mason’s figs in port.
• Good charcuterie like Tempus works well.
• Spread Roka Cheese Crispies with a vodka-laced crème fraîche and top with British caviar or roe.

The main event

A great deal of being a good host is engaging with your guests, so cook something straightforward that you know – a roast dinner perhaps. Serve the food on sharing platters rather than plating individually – this saves work, adds instant conviviality and is a great way to dress the table. It convinces me I’m reliving a Dickensian Christmas – but without the frock coat!

Something to drink?

For a pre-lunch snifter or festive drinks party, keep it simple with a top-up-able drink such as champagne, crémant or British fizz (see our top wine and drinks picks). Or for a make-ahead cocktail, try a white negroni: 25ml each of gin, Suze (the gentian-based French aperitif) and white vermouth per serving. Make a large jug and keep it in the fridge, then pour 75ml over an ultra-large ice ball in a tumbler to serve. For extra ‘Ta-da!’, add edible gold leaf flakes to the ice. Leave making margaritas to order for another time! And don’t forget non-drinkers – I rate Wild Idol, a brilliant alcohol-free sparkling option, and Botivo, a botanical aperitivo made in Hertfordshire – serve with soda or tonic.

Top presentation tip

Take time the day before to stage the table with the empty platters among the decorations. See if there’s enough space or any gaps for extra table garnishes… A dish of leafy clementines in a favoured piece of family silver; whole pomegranates dotted along the table; a bunch of plump red globe grapes in a pedestal bowl; a few small beakers of red or white amaryllis heads; and lots of tea lights or candles.

Above all… Think celebration over ceremony. People feel comfortable in homely environments with a relaxed host, so leave being run ragged to someone else this festive season!

Discover all our favourite cocktail and canapé recipes.