Hosting a Christmas dinner party

[Wildwaterfalls]

For the first time in my life (!), I'm hosting a Christmas dinner party. Not on the day itself, but in the weeks leading up to it.

I'd like it to be a bit special and am looking for tips - not on the food front but home / table decoration ideas. Also ideas for games and small gifts welcome.

Please let me know anything you ever noticed at a dinner party that you really liked. Happy to buy a few new things or try to make them.

TIA

Well, this one is sort of a food/decoration cross-over (depending on how far in advance you make them), but individual gingerbread houses with a slot in the chimney for the place card go down well. Alternatively a larger house, with a lift-off roof can be used to present dark-chocolate roasted coffee beans for nibbles with the coffee course.

The actual ginger-bread is only edible for about five days - after that it is really not nice to eat (but you can varnish and use the following year. )

Oh brilliant idea! Thank you. I will definitely do that as I have a soft spot for gingerbread houses.. Find them very nerve-wracking to build though. One big one probably better for my sanity than 10 small ones.

Indeed - although once you get the practice...I've found that adding some lemon juice into the icing mix for the cement really works to keep everything upright too!

Just checking if there are any other tips... I somehow have started imagining personalised / embroidered napkins that people can take home but maybe people don't want to take used napkins home...