How to host the best Christmas ever?

Hi there! Welcome to my little Christmas Guide. A few tips to help you along to host a wonderful dinner, that is easy but impressive.

First, we are going to talk about the tablescape.

I would suggest choosing 2 or 3 colours that work well together or pick one colour-scheme, where you can vary in shades of a colour. Don't know where to start? Start with a tablecloth, use the one you already have or visit your local thrift or fabric shop. Same for napkins, invest in a few nice ones and stay away from the paper ones (this will 100% level up your hosting game). For the menu set-up I will to suggest to you, use a big dinner plate and a small one on top. I like to switch up the colours or even the material, in the example of the picture I used both glass and ceramic dinner plates. Add the wineglasses for the wine and to make it extra fancy, use small wine glasses for water. Not to forget for Christmas: use candles (obviously). If you don't have candleholders that fit the aesthetic of the dining table, you can also use vegetables as candleholders. 

Are you not happy with the things you have at home? You can either buy or rent vintage tableware at Magasin! Also for the holidays!

 

Ofcourse, we are adding flowers 

But not too much. Something that annoys me often is the fact that there are too many flowers in my sight when I try to talk to someone. I think there are two options in case of flowers during a dinner party: use only a few or make a flower arrangement that is close to the table. I would avoid putting large vases in the middle of the table. To make a flower arrangement, you can buy either a oasis or use chicken wire to add to a shallow bowl. Buy some flowers in theme with the tablescape and put them in the oasis or the chicken wire to your liking! I would suggest buying a few big flowers (such as hydrangea) to fill in the gaps and mask the material you're using. 

Obviously, serve a welcome drink

Here you can go as crazy as you'd like. You can keep it simple and serve some cava in some nice champagne flutes. But if you want to do something impressive, check out the page of Evie. She makes the most insane cocktails. The one you find in the link is one made with butter (still need to try it but it is a NEED). Do what you like, in a nice glass everything looks cute. 

 

Most important, start with some easy bites

My friends are always asking for whipped butter. It has become a bit of my trademark, but as always I am not gatekeeping. All you need to do (easy version) is make sure that the butter is room-temp and whisk it in a bowl, to make it extra smooth add a little bit of warm water. You can add things in it, like salt, anchovies or chili oil. 

But we are going to offer your guests more than just butter, we need more. Another asset I often use is smoked salmon belly. It actually is more of a waste product of the salmon, but it is so fatty that it melts on your tongue. Visit your local fishmonger and ask if they have it! They have it at the Albert Cuyp (acrosss the bar Flamingo), you can buy a big bag that you can freeze!

Other things that are a must have ofcourse (and feels a bit like an open door but here I go anyhow): a few cheeses (go to your local cheese shop), sourdough bread, dips from your local Mediterranean shop.

 

Almost done, a few dishes to share

 

I rather share dishes than have my own. I think it brings some connection to the table and makes it more dynamic. I would suggest preparing 3 'main' dishes that can be shared. In the list below I do a few suggestions for some nice plates:

• Miso charred cabbage
• Confit leek
• 1000 layered potato
• Grilled romaine with caeser dressing (add fried capers and anchovies if you like)
• Cacio e pepe butter beans

Finally, a cherry makes everything pop

You can make any desert you like and add a maraschino cherry on top. It will pop in every picture and it is also a nice treat. The desert in the pictures is Baba au Rhum with whipped cream. The recipe suggest using dark rhum, however I did not have any so I replaced it with Tia Maria. 

You can buy the cherries at Sterk in Amsterdam. If you can't find it at your local store, I would suggest ordering them online! They are very hard to get ;)