Top Tips for Christmas Dinner Continental Style

The French love their food! And the Christmas season is the perfect excuse for even longer, more leisurely meals than at any other time of year. But unless the hostess wants to spend the whole festive season in the kitchen, it's a good idea to make sure there are enough place settings to go round several times over. This gives the dishwasher time to catch up with itself, or if you've got out the best gold or platinum rimmed china, time to rope all the family in to help with the washing up.

Christmas tables in France will be exquisitely and artistically done out with Christmas decorations and possibly small Christmas gifts for everyone. Smoked salmon, oysters and turkey traditionally feature on the menu, with delicious chocolate Yule log for dessert. That's a lot of courses, so it's essential to stock up on matching tableware and glasses to avoid spoiling the overall effect of all that hard work with the Christmas decorations.

White porcelain is always dramatic, and easier to match in case of any accidents. A trim of gold or platinum adds just enough decoration to make it festive, without detracting from the star of the table - the meal. You can keep the matching theme by choosing wine and champagne glasses with matching bands of gold or platinum for the perfect coordinated look.

The main meal of the Christmas celebrations in France is le Reveillon, Christmas Eve and is a long and lingering affair, possibly broken by a visit to church, then back for more eating. In some places it is customary to leave a Christmas candle burning after the feast in case the Virgin Mary passes by.

There's one more essential part of Christmas decoration to consider before the feasting begins - stunning occasion-wear for the hostess. It's the perfect excuse to splash out on a sensational party dress - not forgetting a demure apron to cover up whilst making those last minute preparations in the kitchen!


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