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IKEA’s formula for the perfect Christmas lunch table

December 17, 2015 1 Comment

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Everyone wants to enjoy the perfect Christmas lunch, from the family eating it, to the host serving it, so making sure the table is a welcoming place for guests to linger is just as important as the food itself. An imaginatively laid table presents the perfect opportunity to spend more time with your loved ones.

ikea christmas 1

This Christmas, spending time with the family and arranging a brilliant Christmas get together couldn’t be easier thanks to these top tips from IKEA.

1. Laying the table is fun

When we think about the fun of Christmas we think about putting milk and cookies out for Rudolph and decorating the Christmas tree. Laying the table for Christmas lunch can be seen as a chore, but there are ways to turn it into a popular exercise for all.

ikea christmas

Make it an occasion and allocate a job to each member of the family, including guests who might be staying for the holidays.

Jobs can include:

  • Writing and decorating place cards
  • Deciding where everyone will be seated and creating a hand-drawn seating plan
  • Scattering table decorations, using items found in the garden or beach to bring the outdoors in
  • Creating imaginative shapes for napkins using online how-to tutorials

2. Make the table the new couch

We often think about the Christmas table as a place we simply eat lunch and more often than not, as soon as the food has disappeared, guests will quickly retreat back to the comfort of the couch. For an extended Christmas lunch, where the fun and conversation continues long after the pavlova, let everyone know that the table is going to be the backdrop for their day.

ikea christmas 3

As soon as guests arrive, have the children escort them to the table and show them the parts they’ve helped decorate. Not only will this encourage conversation around the table from the start but it will make the younger children feel more involved. This is likely to encourage the children to enjoy the experience more and therefore sit for longer, without being distracted.

3. Laughter and fun are the ingredients for success

The real secret to a successful lunch is laughter and fun. Create this for guests by handing out some party games as soon as they sit down. Christmas means different generations around the table and so finding games that appeal to everyone from age seven-to-97 is the key.

ikea christmas 1

Christmas ‘I Spy’, a pre-prepared pass the Christmas parcel or ‘Who am I?’ are always great options. Have a few options prepared, this will allow you to hand over the role of chief fun maker to a family member whilst you focus on the food.

4. Keep everyone talking

After a starter and a main course, it’s easy for guests to enter into a food coma and for the conversation to begin to dwindle. Keep everyone talking by introducing a mid-lunch twist with a game of pre-prepared Christmas Bingo! Nominate a caller from the table and encourage everyone else to participate.

ikea christmas 2

Not only will this buy time for dessert preparation but it will also reignite the room with a second burst of energy.

5. Encourage guests to linger

Add another element of fun and a reason to remain at the table by turning desert into a blind taste-test challenge. Bring out blindfolds and a desert selection and challenge the entire family to guess what each desert is. This is a great way to encourage the little ones to give Christmas pudding a try and also a great way to continue the fun, together.

ikea christmas

By adding this final element of theatre, guests will feel as though they’re enjoying their lunch so much they won’t be in any hurry to get up and leave, meaning even more time to chat and play games.

For more from Ikea visit their website.

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Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps 🤕

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (🤪) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a 🍷

Funny how we go into super organised mama mode in times like these. Grabbed dinosaurs, textas and scrapbook on the way out in case we had a long wait!
Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

#interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop
#creatingbeautifulspaces #homestylingdesign
#designbywomen #homestylingtips #sydneycreatives
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#interiorinspiration #myhomedesign
I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new @madeinaustshow in Sydney this August.

🦘🐨Forget every tacky association you ever had about touristy Australian made and prepare to see a showcase of the best of home, lifestyle, fashion and beauty made right here. If the pandemic has made you appreciate buying local even more, this is for you.

It's the first business to business trade event connecting retailers with Australian made products to champion our local makers🙏

Apply to exhibit or find out more at their website, via their bio, now!

Are YOU buying more Australian made post covid?

#madeinaustralia #australianmade #aussiemade #aussiedesign
Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
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About Olivia Shead

When she's not writing for Interiors Addict, Olivia is now a TV and radio news producer. She's a journalism graduate of UTS Sydney.

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  1. AvatarEuropean Interior Design/ Ładnie mieszkać says

    December 17, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    so lovely inspirations! 🙂

    Reply

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