The H&G advent calendar: Joyful ideas for the festive season, shared daily
Welcome to the H&G advent calendar! It’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed in the lead to up Christmas. There’s just so much to do – from decorating the Christmas tree and buying gifts to planning parties and getting creative with the kids – and we all want to do it all, beautifully. The best Christmas gift the House & Garden team can give our readers is a helping hand. Our digital advent calendar is just that: inspiration, cheat sheets, tried and tested how-tos that promise to take the stress away from the festive season, shared daily.
Want to decorate with Christmas lights without losing your mind? Or create your own gift hamper and wrap gifts like an expert? We’ve got you covered. From the dos and dont’s of being a good host (and a good guest) and thoughtful gifts for those who are hard to buy for to festive recipes that you’ll keep coming back to year after year – and even tricks to lure robins to your garden on boxing day – the H&G advent calendar is your one-stop guide to a joyful Christmas.
Return to this story daily, or subscribe to our newsletter to unbox the latest advent content, curated by our editors.
1/23Day 23: The best Christmas movies for interiors lovers
Is there anything that comes close to being as comforting or nostalgic as a Christmas film? The best Christmas movies are where miracles happen (especially on 34th street), log fires roar, prime ministers dance their hearts out and it is always – always – snowing. For those blissful 90ish minutes, it really is a wonderful life. Aside from being the ultimate antidote to a bad day (it's impossible not to feel better after watching a Christmas movie), they're also guaranteed to get you feeling festive.
Here we've gathered House & Garden's edit of the best Christmas films for homes and interior lovers.
2/23Day 22: How to be a good host (and a good guest) over the festive season
Hosting and being hosted is a practice as old as time, and we’ve been discussing the surrounding protocol for almost as long. There is no better time than right now, when we’re on the cusp of opening our homes to incoming merriment – or launching ourselves forth to overnight at other people’s houses in the name of seasonal cheer – to go over some very important codes of good conduct.
We’ve consulted some of the most hospitable people we know to put together the ultimate guide on getting it right.
3/23Day 21: How to pull Christmas out of the bag, even if you've done nothing until now
Well, there’s no point asking what you have been doing. But we do understand – sometimes life gets away from us, we think we’re in mid-November with bags of time ahead of us to write Christmas cards and organise monogrammed presents for our godchildren, and then suddenly, apparently without warning, it’s the 21st of December, and nothing – literally nothing – has been done.
In as little time as maybe half a morning – and without necessarily spending a fortune – you can pull Christmas out of the bag, even at the very last minute.
4/23Day 20: Gifts for book lovers (that aren’t just books)
Books make excellent gifts, and there’s nothing nicer than browsing your local bookshop on a winter’s afternoon. But, if you’re unsure what they might like, or which books they already have on their shelves, the experience can be more stressful than soothing – especially when you’ve left it too late and Christmas is just days away.
For the bibliophiles in your life, these are the perfect presents in time for Christmas.
5/23Day 19: 14 creatives reveal their most memorable Christmas fails
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, sometimes. At others, Christmas is almost comically stressful with the pressure to buy gifts, cook elaborate meals, decorate, go to parties (without catching a cold), see a carol concert or two and generally have the most magical and more postcard-perfect time. Naturally, this often leads to a number of ridiculous Christmas mishaps.
Here some of our friends from the design world share their incredibly relatable stories.
6/23Day 18: Five strange and surprising British Christmas foods and traditions to try this year
In much the same way that we have an unlikely abundance of different regional accents, there’s something about Britain which seems to generate an astonishing density of odd Christmas traditions. Perhaps it’s something to do with picking up and absorbing the (sometimes non-Christian) winter traditions of various different cultures, from the Vikings to the Normans to Lutheran Germans via Prince Albert. In any case, the UK is a veritable melting pot of Christmas oddities.
From house-visiting wassailing to a curiously dangerous game of snapdragon – these are the classic British customs to try during the festive period.
7/23Day 17: How to attract robins into the garden
Some sensible robins (mostly females, which look identical to the males) head to France for the winter, but the majority stay, keeping us company through the bleakest months. Their perky character makes them endearing: excitedly tail bobbing when they find food and following us around the garden. Brightening the frosty landscape with their red breast and beautiful song, Robins have become our beloved Christmas bird.
This is how you can entice them into the garden and help them survive the coldest season.
8/23Day 16: How Charles Dickens created Christmas as we know it today
The platonic ideal of a classic English Christmas: snow, candlelight and cheer. Do we have Dickens to thank?
Click here to find out.
9/23Day 15: Christmas gifting inspiration from our editors
Looking for some last-minute gifting ideas? From a bedding refresh and a camper van, to designer storage boxes and pumpkin-shaped cast iron pots, here are the items topping our editors' festive wish lists.
10/23Day 14: Christmas recipes by chef Anna Tobias
The talent behind the stylish Bloomsbury restaurant Café Deco rustles up an array festive dishes for House & Garden readers: from a roast duck that's perfect for an intimate Christmas dinner and her pumpkin and sage gratin – a delicious side dish – to a recipe for trout pate that makes a delicious alternative to the usual smoked salmon, and more.
Click here for Anna's go-to Christmas recipes.
11/23Day 13: How to wrap presents like the professionals
It's that time of year where we all have to devote some hours to wrapping presents for our nearest and dearest, and it can be one of the most labour-intensive parts of the festive season. To help ease things along, we've gathered advice from some of the tastemakers of the gift-wrapping world: paper designer Fin Fellowes of The Kensington Paperie, stylist Twig Hutchinson, and Annalise Fard, Head of Home at Harrods.
Click here for the top gift wrapping tips.
12/23Day 12: Christmas books our editors love to read over the festive period
We all have our own festive traditions, and for many of us, one such ritual is sitting down with the same Christmas books year after year. This might be a classic Christmas Eve story that we remember from our childhood, a cosy crime book (the ending of which is no longer a surprise), or an absorbing, thrilling tale that helps to fill those often empty days between Christmas and New Year.
These are the House & Garden team's go-to Christmas books to add to your library this year.
13/23Day 11: How to make a Christmas hamper
In shop-bought Christmas hampers, there's always an item or two that doesn't quite makes sense for the recipient of your present; it might be a chilli oil for the spice-averse friend, or the artisanal jar of peanut butter that ends up in front your family member with a nut allergy. So, if like our commerce editor Arabella Bowes, you too are determined to make a Christmas hamper – where every item is just right, follow this guide to create a brilliant basket of goods.
14/23Day 10: Five ideas for homemade Christmas presents that everyone will love
The idea of a homemade present, while charming, doesn't necessarily fill the recipient with joy. If you’ve had a hankering for a new blender all year, then ripping off the wrapping paper to reveal a novelty t-shirt with an ironed-on picture of your dog just isn’t going to cut the mustard. But with purse strings tight and a growing concern about the impact of waste on the environment, there’s never been a better time to turn to our own skills (and craft box) rather than heading out on a shopping spree.
Here, the experts show us how to make stylish gifts – that will be appreciated – yourself.
15/23Day 9: Christmas mantelpiece ideas for a festive fireplace
A Christmas mantelpiece is undoubtedly one of the most alluring of all festive decorations. For one, a mantelpiece is a period feature we so often desire in our homes for many reasons; the promise of a fire, the ability to display trinkets on them and their general charm. One decorated for Christmas, therefore, can provide a brilliant focal point for the room.
Click here for Christmas mantelpiece ideas from the House & Garden archive.
16/23Day 8: How to make paper star decorations this Christmas
What better festive craft project could there be on a quiet Sunday afternoon than to make some paper star decorations to hang on your Christmas tree?
Follow this simple step-by-step guide to make your own this year.
17/23Day 7: Budget-friendly Christmas decoration tips
Christmas is one of the most wonderful times of the year and, if you are not careful, also one of the most expensive. Between food, cards, gifts, wrapping paper and decorations, you can easily rack up one hefty bill. So, we asked some crafty creatives to come up with enterprising ways to make the most out of relatively little; from using leftover wrapping to create festive garlands and foraged branches to bulk a tired old wreath to repurposing last year's Christmas cards to make this year's place cards, we've got you covered.
Click here for DIY Christmas decorations that can be done on a budget.
18/23Day 6: The 9 best Christmas 2025 hampers to gift (or receive)
Looking for a perfect gift for that special someone? Our round up of UK Christmas hampers for 2025, from The White Company and Selfridges to Snowdonia Cheese, will help you find something that's sure to be appreciated.
Click here to discover the season's most festive hampers, tried and tested by our team.
19/23Day 5: The dos and don'ts of decorating a Christmas tree
Decorating a Christmas tree should be, first and foremost, about joy. And indeed, there really are no rules when it comes to decorating a tree, but if you want to create maximum impact, we have some sage advice for elegant, classic, foolproof schemes.
Click here for our expert's key principles for decorating your tree in classic style.
20/23Day 4: What to buy for an outrageously maximalist Christmas
Every year House & Garden heads off to the houses of stylish tastemakers for our Christmas shoots, and it's a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of what's on trend as the years pass by. While we certainly have a soft spot for a tasteful, minimalist scheme, we've been noticing things taking a turn for the showy in recent years: Colourful lights, glittery metallic baubles, and even, dare we say it, tinsel have made it back onto our moodboards and we're very much loving the maximalist Christmas look.
This is your guide to doing kitsch and colourful Christmas right.
21/23Day 3: How to choose the right Christmas tree
In the following days and weeks, many of us will make our annual pilgrimage to the local Christmas tree farm, garden centre or nursery to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. But what exactly is the perfect tree, or more precisely, what is the right Christmas tree for you? We have asked the experts for their top tips to help you make the best possible selection.
Click here to find out how you can choose a Christmas tree that's right for you.
22/23Day 2: Nina Campbell answers your Christmas decorating queries
Where should the tree go in the house? Are themed Christmas trees still a thing? How do we decorate and host in a small space? Nina Campbell, interior designer and lover of all things Christmas, solves your festive decorating conundrums: from dog-friendly decorations to what to do with the stairwell.
Click here to read the full feature.
23/23Day 1: Christmas decoration ideas that bring joy
Christmas decorating ideas for every room of the house. Our archive is full of elegant Christmas wreaths to greet your guests as they arrive, opulent table settings, and of course the jolliest baubles and Christmas tree decorations to set off those carefully collected Christmas gifts. Whether you're planning a traditional festive season full of red, green and gold, or prefer something a little more contemporary (we do love a tree full of kitsch ornaments, as well as alternative colour schemes such as blue and brown), our gallery of inspiration is sure to have something you can bring to your own house.
Click here to read the full feature.
