5 things you need to host an unforgettable Christmas

If it’s your turn to host Christmas this year, why not make it one to remember?

After all, there aren’t that many occasions where you can activate sparkle mode, decorate the house and go full glam.

But that doesn’t mean putting yourself under pressure for the day to be perfect. Instead, have fun in the lead up and indulge your inner ‘event planner’ but don’t sweat it if you run out of time to carve the ice sculpture. (Let’s face it, in the Queensland climate, it would have melted before it even made it to the table.)

Ultimately, Christmas is about sharing a very special time of year with your nearest and dearest, which means that everything else is a bonus.

So, if you’re hosting the big day this year, here are our essentials for hosting a sparkly, slightly extra, no pressure Christmas that everyone is guaranteed to remember:

1.    A festive mood

The quickest way to create a festive and ‘Christmasy’ mood is with decorations. You don’t have to cover your house with kilometres of tinsel, or light it up like the Griswold’s (there’s a flashback for some of us).

But for the magical month of December, you do have full authority to glam it up or go little bit extra and no one will question it. Ah-mazing.

When choosing your decorations, one design tip is to pick a theme and stick to it. That theme might be a colour such as red or silver, or you might choose a style like ‘coastal’.

If you’re feeling crafty, handmaking some of your decorations will give your Christmas style a lovely personal feel. One option is to try making your own wreath for the front door with gorgeous green foliage from the garden. Or you could even make your own bon bons and trade the usual plastic novelties.

2.   A killer Christmas playlist

Don’t leave this one in the hands of the Spotify gods. Given that the music you play can really help to create that Christmassy mood, instead of pulling up a random playlist as your guests walk through the door, take some time with the family to curate a ‘no skips’ list that will have Nan humming, and the teenagers asking you to share it with them.

Just putting the list together can be a fun activity itself and help to get bring the Christmas spirit to your house a little early. Chances are you might build it on a solid foundation of Bublé and Bing Crosby, but make sure you weave in some modern classics like WHAM’s ‘Last Christmas’, or Ariana Grande’s ‘Santa Tell Me’, to help bridge the gap between generations. If you want to spice things up a little, throw in a bit of 80s Run DMC with ‘Christmas in Hollis’. (If you haven’t heard that one before, you’re welcome.) And of course, it wouldn’t be a Christmas playlist without including the number one Christmas song of all time – Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You.’

3.   Food made with love

What you serve on your Christmas table doesn’t have to be worthy of a Michelin star, as long as it’s delicious and made, or served, with love. What really matters is that you’re sharing a meal together, and everyone is having a good time – even the host.

If eating is more your thing than cooking, choose a menu that will put your discerning palette to the test rather than your cooking skills. For example, you could opt for an indulgent fresh seafood buffet (and delegate the salads to your guests), otherwise what about the ultimate Christmas ‘spread’ in the form of a spectacular grazing table? And if you know your way around a cheese board, you’ll be able to use that hard earned knowledge to curate a truly delectable selection that everyone will enjoy. You’ve got this.

Then, when it’s time for dessert, you could continue the theme with a sweet grazing board. Ask your guests to bring some Christmas-themed goodies and then gather the troops to assemble it together.

If you are feeling inclined to cook, try doing some digging in the family archives to see if there’s a recipe you could make for a bit of nostalgia. You never know, it might just be your new family Christmas tradition.

4.   Something to share

Now we don’t mean asking your guests to bring a ‘plate’. What we’re talking about is sharing an experience together that everyone will remember.

It could be as simple as jumping in your backyard blue lagoon for a pool volleyball tournament.

Or what about collectively decorating a gingerbread house and then collectively demolishing it. Even if there are no little ones in the house, this could still be a fun activity to bring out everyone’s inner child.

And last but not least, dare we suggest, some Christmas karaoke? After a couple of bottles of bubbly at lunch, you might be surprised how many in your group are keen. Who knew Aunty Kath had it in her?

5.   An incredible location

Imagine looking out over panoramic ocean views right from your Christmas table. While it’s obviously not an essential element for an unforgettable Christmas, it sure wouldn’t hurt. Endeavour Foundation’s luxurious $3 million Prize Home at Yandina Creek on the Sunshine Coast is the stuff very grown-up dreams are made of and perfect backdrop to a life-changing Christmas story that will begin this December for one lucky winner.

Endeavour Foundation’s spectacular $3 million Christmas Prize Home is sure to put you in the mood to celebrate

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