Advice for Christmas entertaining

From fridge and oven conundrums to last-minute vegan recipes and easy puddings, the experts have everything covered in this handy guide to Christmas cooking

We have asked seasoned hosts for their top tips to help make the experience as seamless and stress-free as possible

Fiona McKenzie-Johnston enlightens the holiday procrastinators and plan-averse among us as to how to pull together a last-minute Christmas… and who knows, it may just be your best one yet

If you’re more prone to Christmas fails than Christmas triumphs, you are not alone. Here some of our friends from the design world share their incredibly relatable stories

Some people aren't natural hosts and others make terrible guests. As we all prepare to welcome and be welcomed into each other's houses this season, here's the ultimate guide to not being a pain, whether you're hosting or being hosted

Our resident columnist Fiona McKenzie Johnston helps a reader stop panicking about hosting a magical family Christmas in a not-quite-big-enough house

Entertaining can be stressful, but there are plenty of ways to make the experience easier and more enjoyable. Here, Matthew Shaw, founder and creative director of luxury event planner Sauveur, offers his top tips

Lucy Clayton considers what makes a party swing, with reference to Regency ballrooms, Salvador Dalí's cookbook, and Truman Capote's legendary Black & White Ball

Our columnist reflects on the etiquette of hosting over the festive season, and how to treat your guests as you would wish to be treated

Throwing a festive bash? Ditch the blinis and go for something more on trend

Fiona McKenzie Johnston finds solutions for a reader who wants a traditional Christmas for her young children, but whose in-laws don't want to co-operate

Nicky Haslam may be best known for his interior design talents but his not-so-secret skill is being a consummate host who has thrown numerous memorable parties over the years. He lets Fiona McKenzie Johnston in on his formula

Interior designer Nicola Harding shares her pearls of wisdom on stress-free entertaining during Christmas

Frohe Weihnachten! Henriette von Stockhausen tells us about her inspiring Christmas in the Austrian mountains, with the Krampus, the Christkindl, gluhwein, fondue, and Dinner for One

From sickly Christmas pudding to wasteful wrapping paper, coloured fairy lights to an extended build-up, these are the parts of the holiday season that we could do without

Lucinda Chambers and Serena Hood share their hosting tricks

Buon natale! Bianca Arrivabene lets us in to her family Christmas on Venice’s Grand Canal, with feasting, exquisite glass, regattas, and La Befana

Our columnist Sophie Dahl on the madness and joy of hosting at Christmas

Tips, tricks, hints and hacks to throwing a dinner party