life & style want something more contemporary, try hot pink, lime green and orange.” Bailey suggests playing with scale - even going “big” in a small flat - and using windows, windowsills, ceilings and balconies and banisters if you have them. “You can get some fabulous snowflake stickers from stationery shops that you can stick onto windows, or boughs of greenery with battery powered fairy lights entwined in them that look great running up a banister,” she says. Nor does having children mean you have to abandon all sense of style, even though they often have a homing instinct for picking the most garish, gaudy decorations they can find. Bailey suggests allocating them their own corner to decorate, giving them a box of pre-selected decorations that they can use in any way they like, or letting them go wild in their own bedrooms. (Or you could discreetly change the choice and placement of tree ornaments and decorations once they’ve gone to bed). “I would advise not going overboard multicoloured flashing fairy lights are a definite “no” in my book,” says Bailey. As with room decoration, similar rules apply to your table setting - don’t overdo it, invest in
a couple of key festive pieces to go with what you already have, and keep it simple. Candles, fresh foliage, a table runner and sprinkles of table confetti are all relatively inexpensive elements that can easily be used to jazz up a table; coordinating napkins, name-cards,
Having children doesn’t mean you have to abandon all sense of style.
placemats and crackers add to the elegance. Try filling a clear vase with baubles or fresh clementines, or a assembling a tower of crackers. Stanley market is a great location for sourcing good quality, snow-white table linen; or try Sham Shui Po for inexpensive lengths of silvery fabric for table runners.
“Be careful with the height of your centrepiece,” says Bailey. “It should either be low down on the table or very high. If it is at eye level, it will only get in the way.” If you are entertaining children at the Christmas lunch table, incorporate table games like Secret Santa, or tactile centrepieces such as a nativity scene with wooden animals. Personalised messages and gifts at each person’s table setting create are also nice touches.
What’s hot this winter Pastels - combine pale blues and greens with pale grey and white, translucent, metallic and frosted. Rustic materials - go for a homemade approach with hessian, twine and brown paper packages. Vintage kitsch - bring on turquoise, hot pink, canary yellow, red and lime; the brighter, the better. Geometrics - delicate, angular baubles in gold and silver. Beautiful birds - peacoks, owls and birds of paradise as well as mini bird houses.
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