Country Living UK CL Xmas Special 2022

…to our favourite time of year at Country Living. We love everything about Christmas – decorating our homes, finding the perfect gifts (and wrapping them beautifully), indulging in delicious food and, of course, spending precious time with those closest to us. Within the pages of this special magazine, we’ve collated some of our favourite seasonal features to help you with all these joyful activities… and a lot more besides. We’ve got fantastic ways to add seasonal sparkle to your home, tons of creative crafting ideas, inspiration for sustainable gift-wrapping, fabulously festive real homes, gorgeous wintry gardens, chats with some of the best Christmas traders, and recipes for everything from turkey to a full-on Italian-influenced feast. Here’s to the most wonderful time of the year… Merry Christmas from everyone at Country…

WARM WELCOME Genevieve’s front door (opposite) is swagged in evergreens and decorated with one of her pheasant feather wreaths. Inside, her collection of vintage baubles from boot fairs and charity shops, plus heirlooms, is piled in a bowl – a lovely way to give a new life to timeworn ornaments. Add tiny presents or satsumas if you don’t have enough to fill the bowl. WATCH THIS SPACE Genevieve crafts her projects in the room she also uses for laundry (above left), and hangs the wreaths she sells from a ceiling-mounted clothes airer. But a clothes horse or simply nails on the wall can give you a place to store your creations. Similar pulley clothes airer, from £60, Cast in Style (castinstyle.co.uk) PRESENT PERFECTION Keep presents eco-friendly with recyclable paper (nothing with glitter) and ribbon rather…

The power OF THREE Every stylist knows that groups of three make the most impact, so instead of one lonely wreath, craft three. Form a ring with strong florist’s wire. Then cut your foliage into fairly small, uniform pieces. Tie on one or two sprigs at a time with the wire, until the wreath is covered. To finish, push the last stems under the first twigs, then twist a length of florist’s wire around the wreath a few times to secure it. Glass ACT Start saving those old jam jars – they can make the most wonderful decorations. Place a small block candle* in the bottom of each jar, surrounding the candle with a small layer of damp moss or lichen. Tie a length of eco-friendly ribbon (many are now made from recycled…

Darkness fell hours ago in the village of St Boswells in the Scottish Borders, but the windows of The Mainstreet Trading Company glow golden, their colourful hand-drawn decorations singing out to all who pass by. Customers come and go, clutching books, truckles of Cheddar and bags of sugar mice. This is so much more than a regular bookshop. A favourite among the likes of Michael Morpurgo and Maggie O’Farrell, it’s also an awardwinning café, deli and homeware store – a destination for buying, browsing and hobnobbing with friends. It’s Christmas shopping night and owners Rosamund and Bill de la Hey are restocking bookshelves, arranging bowls of glinting baubles and slicing wedges of Stilton. “We aim to stock everything a customer needs for Christmas, except the turkey,” says Bill, who ensures the…

Sarah’s decorating tips PLAN AHEAD We harvest allium heads in June/July and hang them to dry. CHOOSE CUT FLOWERS THAT STAY THE COURSE Anemone coronaria and freesias are ideal, as are lilies, with anthers removed to make them last longer. RAID THE GARDEN FOR FOLIAGE You’ll be surprised at what you can find – rosemary, purple-leaved sage – and I use scented-leaved pelargoniums, for example ‘Attar of Roses’. LIGHT UP Drape simple fairy lights over a deciduous branch of silver birch or hawthorn (ideally with berries and lichen). GO CLASSY WITH GLASSES I bring out red goblet-shaped vessels that always feel Christmassy. Filled with gold-sprayed Briza maxima or Chasmanthium latifolium, they add gentle bling. DECK THE FRONT DOOR We have a big, welcoming wreath with lights on our main door and another huge one of dried…

Bowled OVER Create a fragrant botanical corner – perfect in a hallway to welcome guests – by piling dried oranges in a simple, rustic bowl, then adding sprays of scented winter-flowering plants, such as sweet box and winter honeysuckle, and others with white berries, such as boxberry. HEART OF GLASS Show off a collection of coloured glassware by arranging it where it will catch the light. Mix old chemist bottles with modern candle holders. Add foliage, small pine cones and baubles, but let the glass take centre stage. Hang IT ALL Having a party? Make cones of paper, hang in the window on lengths of ribbon and fill with chocolate Santas, sweets and home-baked biscuits, ready for your guests to take home. Hold a CANDLE Create a simple yet stunning traditional windowscape by cutting out paper snowflakes…