A lot of time is spent in the kitchen during the festive season. Not just by the chefs of the house to cook up Christmas dinner – people generally gravitate towards this space. If you have a large kitchen with a table, island or breakfast bar, you’ll find guests naturally find a spot to sit and sip a glass of wine or champagne, while you cook up a storm. Furthermore, those with a kitchen diner are likely to be hosting Christmas dinner at the kitchen table, making it well worth the effort to make your Kitchen look extra special and festive. If you’re playing host this Christmas, there are lots of simple ways to add a festive feel to your kitchen…

     Tie Wreaths to Chair Backs

A lovely way to spruce up your kitchen table beyond your festive table setting is to tie wreaths to the back of your chairs. This is a lovely decoration that can stay put right through December into early January. Choose wreaths that are no larger than the back of your chair, and attach to the back by looping ribbon through the wreath and tying to the top back panel.

     Dress Windows and/or Doors

Hang garlands along the top of windows and/or garden doors to add a festive flourish. You can make your own, or head to your local florists for a more professional finish. Try adding pine cones, baubles and even string lights for that extra wow factor.

     Dress the Table

If you have a dining table in your kitchen or an open-plan kitchen-diner, dress the table with just a few pieces that you can leave on there for the festive season. For Christmas day, you can build on and around your simple centerpiece. Try using sprigs of fir arranged down the centre, and nestle in gold candlesticks and white taper candles. You could even add some battery-powered fairy lights – just hide the battery pack under the fir.

     Invest in a Festive Floral Arrangement

Put an order in with your florist for a large Christmas inspired floral arrangement. Choose a colour scheme for your kitchen that works with the rest of your decor – red, gold and dark green are always good festive favourites, but you could experiment with other shades such as pink, copper, teal, mint green…the list goes on. You can always add festive flourishes to unconventional Christmas colours with elements such as metallics, fir, spray snow and pine cones.

Create an Atmosphere

If hosting dinner or drinks in the evening, create a lovely warm glow with lots of candles dotted around. If you favour the less is more approach, a garland at the window, fairy lights and fir on the table and several white pillar candles in hurricane vases dotted around the kitchen are the perfect way to create a festive yet contemporary style.

     Bake Christmas Treats

When family and friends are coming over, put Christmas treats on display and make them part of the decoration to really get that festive feel. Try making star-shaped biscuits and spray them with edible glitter in gold. Plate them up onto a large platter and display on the island for guests to help themselves.

     Make a Christmas Cocktail

Not strictly decor, but you can create a lovely little arrangement and make the drinks you are serving on Christmas day part of the overall look and festive feel. For one serving combine 20ml Sipsmith’s Lemon Drizzle Gin with 10ml sweet vermouth in a champagne glass, add 50ml of orange juice then the top of champagne or prosecco. Add an orange twist to garnish.

Display on your island by putting the prosecco in a gold or copper ice bucket, glasses to the side and the orange twists on a dish ready to serve.

 Add a Festive Scent

Invest in a large bowl with a crackled gold finish, or whatever suits your Christmas theme. Add dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and pinecones to create a lovely subtle scent. You could even sprinkle the arrangement with glitter to add an extra festive finish.

     Add Garlands and Glitzy Pine Cones to Shelves

If you have open shelving in your kitchen, a really simple way to add a festive feel is to decorate with fir garlands. Simply place down the length of the shelf, ideally at the front, and nestle in pine cones sprayed gold, silver or copper.

     Introduce a Smaller Tree

Got an empty corner in your kitchen? This presents the perfect opportunity to introduce a small Christmas tree. This is ideal for those that have lots of decorations and are torn between two themes for their Christmas tree. This second tree is your opportunity to really indulge your festive spirit – you could even place the presents that won’t be opened on Christmas day under this tree, ready to be handed out to family and friends at a later date.

     Add a Wreath to Wall to Ceiling Cupboard Doors

Wreaths don’t need to be kept strictly for use on the front door – a lovely way to bring Christmas subtly into the kitchen is to hang a wreath on a door. This could be on your kitchen door, but as in many homes this is often left open, a more effective use would be on a cupboard door. Invest in a luxury faux wreath that you can use again next year, or pop to your florists to have something made bespoke.

The kitchen shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to decorating your home for the festive season. There are many ways that you can add a festive flourish to your kitchen, which is likely to be the most used room in the house at this time of year. Choose to go for a wow factor look with lots of decorations, or keep things simple and just add a subtle festive twist.