Move over Washington, you ain’t seen nothing ’til you’ve had a peek at the Christmas decorations at The White House in Reading … ho, ho, oh, no … ’tis the season when stylists have steam coming out of their ears. This year we are creaking open the advent door to reveal Christmas decorating in our house …

Step-by-step operation: Christmas Jumper

How to customise an old woollen into an interiors designer Christmas Jumper!:

Step 1: Make a pattern of holly leaf design with end of wallpaper roll; Step 2: pin pattern to (Romo) fabric and cut out; Step 3: Sew fabric onto old jumper with thread; Step 4: Make and attach pompoms as berries and add a ribbon bow. Sorted.

Front door welcome

Super large fir cones tied with red and white ribbons to an antler doorbell – alternative wreath idea …

Deck the halls – Christmas past and present

Homemade Christmas

You can get the ‘home made’ look on the high street, but if you have the time, there is something very rewarding about making your own decorations and presents.

Homemade Christmas presents

Download this free Christmas stocking knitting pattern I styled for Erika Knight/John Lewis, Photography: Yuki Sugiura, Christmas 2016. For another chance to read about Erika’s fab new collection of patterns for John Lewis, please read here.

Evergreens for decorating lighting

I leave it until nearer the 24th before cutting evergreens from the garden. Holly lasts longer but ivy wilts quite quickly when brought indoors.

Outdoor tree

The Bodleian Library in Oxford shows us how to do it – for the beauty of scale and simplicity.

Fairy on top of the of the tree

Introducing the fairy who graces the top of our tree each year. I can’t help feeling that her name might be Gladys – not sure why. Gladys certainly doesn’t look like a pink be-tutu-ed ‘sugar plum fairy’ who has just walked off the set of The Nutcracker. Gladys’ hair is blue-rinsed (well lilac actually) and she is sensibly attired in a no-nonsense dress made from a 1930s tablecloth.

Oh Tannenbaum …

Christmas is a time when stylists go into overdrive – it’s a time that we adore but for us, Christmas is more often than not, produced for clients on the hottest days of the year in June or July. Fires are lit and trees are cut to order from tree farms in the Home Counties (sometimes the bright green young shoots are tricky to decorate as they are too soft and the wrong colour!). I am staggered to hear that some of my styling colleagues have decorated up to 34 Christmas trees in one year! My maximum pre-Christmas has probably been 7 or 8 before it comes to the time when I do my own.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas tablescape

(Birch wood tealight holders, felt snowflake tablemats, Santa Claus paper napkins, scrabble letters for place names, white linen tablecloth – worth the ironing!)

The Red Shoes

These miniature red ballet shoes are from Freed in Saint Martin’s Lane in London. Sometimes I hang them from the tree, or just have them as decoration on a side table. It is always a treat to see some live ballet at Christmas. If you are quick, you might just be lucky enough to get some tickets for Matthew Bourne’s new production of The Red Shoes at Sadler’s Wells.

I would love to hear how you like to decorate each year. Are you a traditionalist who has family decorations going back decades or are you a New Year, new decorating theme sort of person?

Charis’ Christmas decorating board on Pinterest

For more Christmas styling inspiration, take a look at my Pinterest board:

I hope you have a really lovely Christmas and don’t forget, my blog is the best stocking filler ever. It is totally free and is the present that just keeps on giving! If you have enjoyed this post and would like to receive emails for future posts, then please share with your friends and press the big blue button at the beginning or end of this. With many thanks, Charis x