“If you knew what you know now,” I ventured to hubby over a rare, slow lunch yesterday, “would you still have thought it was a good idea to get married at Christmas?” We got married, thirteen years ago, just before Christmas. Many of our friends were getting married that year and the summer weekend slots were getting booked up fast as we dithered and pondered over what we should do. One of us (I can’t remember who) suggested that a winter wedding would be magical - and a wedding celebration at Christmas would be the icing on the cake, particularly for a Christmas fanatic like me. So, the date was set: 17th December. It was magical. We awoke on the day to a crisp and cold morning with a perfectly cloudless bright blue sky overhead. We were married at the Assembly Rooms in Bath and as I took the short stroll from my hotel to the venue, fairy lights twinkled in darkened windows and there was a palpable excitement in the air, as happy revellers filled the winding streets, wrapped in scarves and woolly hats. A few years later, when we decided to start growing our little family, both our children arrived - three years apart - in the weeks preceding Christmas. We hadn’t celebrated our wedding anniversary properly since our son was born. Last year we managed to exchange cards, but this year - in the spirit of slowing down, consuming less and celebrating spending more time together, I decided to arrange a festive afternoon tea for the whole family.

As ever, I wanted to keep the menu simple. I prefer to spend time prettifying the table and creating the perfect party atmosphere than in the kitchen. I made cheese scones, pesto and parmesan pastry whirls, mini quiche filled with stilton and mushroom and blinis topped with smoked trout that I dusted with edible gold lustre. For dessert (there was only one - this was a pared down afternoon tea!) hubby and I made a snowy meringue Christmas tree tower in homage to our own wedding cake, which was a towering pavlova filled with forest fruits. The children love meringue and were mesmerised by this candlelit wonder (the inspiration for this came from the wonderful Twigg Studios - the recipe can be found here .

There was a pot of tea on the table but we also made peach bellinis (a dry run for Christmas day when this will be our tipple of choice before the main meal). To make these, simply whizz up some fresh or tinned peached and mix with some sugar syrup. Put the mixture in the bottom of the glass and top up with prosecco or champagne. I’ve also been experimenting with instead pouring in a dash of Edinburgh Gin pomegranate and rose liqueur, which makes a beautifully fragrant champagne cocktail. I can’t resist its beautiful colour and the bottle is so pretty, too, so it had to stay on the table.

As much as I love a bit of Christmas sparkle, I wanted the golden elements I picked out to be a dull rather than bright gold tone. The fringed chandelier hanging overhead is from Meri Meri (as are the little crackers with beautiful old gold glitter dipped detailing). The brass candlesticks are from Rowen & Wren. I sprayed some leaves (I found beech and oak worked best) with Rust-Oleum metallic spray paint in “brilliant gold” and scattered them around the table. The foliage I laid down the centre of the table is a mixture of fir and some ivy (with ivy berries) from my garden.

The little vases and plant pots I filled with the bracks of the palest pink poinsettia that I found at my local garden centre and some bunches of white wax flower and skimmia that’s still in bud. For me, part of achieving a table setting that is calming and relaxed is getting the balance of colours right. I had picked out some napkins that I dyed with avocado stones and skins earlier this year, but once I got the flowers on the table I found that their strong pinky tones just weren’t right and I had to substitute them for oatmeal ones. The glassware I’ve chosen is from LSA.

I’m in love with these tinted champagne saucers, and they look even more lovely when the fairy lights shine through them. And that’s it! A festive table fit for a small and intimate family gathering. The bonus is that I’ve saved all the foliage in a bucket outside the back door so it can all be easily and quickly re-created on Christmas day - another tick off my “keeping Christmas simple and easy” to-do list.

All I Want for Christmas